Grand National draw to determine runners!

Why, four days before the race is there to be a draw to determine which horses are 41 and 42.

Surely when a number of horses have the same weight, their order should be sorted out when the weights are done in February and stay in that order.

Flintoff was a lower number than Cerium but has jumped ahead of that horse and is now in the race because Phil Smith, the handicapper, ranked the horses on their current ratings.

What would happen if there were say ten horses on the same weight and numbered 41-50 and a horse came out on the Monday before the race, the five day declaration stage.
The horse as low as number 50 could get in if Mr Smith decides to give it the highest current rating and the other nine would go into a draw on the Tuesday to detemine who stands by as the four reserves (41-44).
If another horse came out then a horse with the lowest rating could, by the fact of being lucky in a draw, take it's place in the race.

It needs to be more consistent than that. If the order of same weight horses was set when the weights came out then it would make things much easier and be less confusing four days before the race. It would also give trainers and connections more of an indication if their horse is likely to run or not at a much earlier stage.