Tiger Roll created history today by becoming the first horse since Red Rum (1973, 1974) to win back-to-back renewals of the Randox Health Grand Health National. The crowd was a sell-out 70,000.
Dickon White, who runs Aintree Racecourse as North West Regional Director for Jockey Club Racecourses, said:
"The 2019 Randox Health Grand National has thrown up another incredible story. Millions of people will have watched Tiger Roll becoming the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back Grand Nationals. Our congratulations go to the Gigginstown team, Gordon Elliott, Louise Magee and Davy Russell. And what a race it was with the remarkable spectacle of so many runners still in contention so late into the race.
"Over three days of world-class Jump racing we've welcomed more than 150,000 people to Aintree, with millions tuning in live around the country on ITV, BBC Radio Five Live, Racing TV and in betting shops, and taking to social media. I'd like to thank them and our headline partner, Randox Health; it's fantastic to stage an event that really does stop the nation."
Up For Review
Following a fall at the first fence, Up For Review was immediately attended by veterinary professionals. Sadly, he had sustained a fatal injury.
Dickon White added: "As a sport of animal lovers, we wanted every horse to come home and sadly that's not been the case with Up For Review.
"All of us at Aintree extend our sympathies to Andrea and Graham Wylie and the team behind the horse. You have to go back to 2012 since we lost a horse in the Grand National, thanks in part to the huge amount of effort and investment we put into horse welfare. However, while you cannot remove all risk from our sport, we will analyse what happened and leave no stone in doing so."
Notes to Editors for information:
*99.47% of runners in British racing complete their race without incurring any long-term injury. Moreover, the fatal injury rate has fallen by one third in the last 20 years to just 0.2%
* Faller rates during jump races have decreased to an all-time low of 2.53%. That is a decrease of 30% in the last 20 years as a result of initiatives to make racecourses and jump racing safer
* There had been no fatal injury in the Grand National since 2012, after which £1.5 million worth of changes were made to the Grand National Course including swapping the wooden cores of fences to an EasyFix plastic or natural birch
* Sport horses are at no greater risk of injury when running and jumping on a race course, than when turned out in the field - a study by Liverpool University found that 62% of traumatic injuries in sport horses occurred in the field, compared to 13% while being ridden
