Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Grand National Health Service day of tribute
Race meeting honours Covid heroes
THE Grand National Festival starts with a tribute to the nation’s health workers who are selflessly battling the deadly Covid pandemic.
Today’s meeting has been named Liverpool’s NHS Day in honour of them.
The Jockey Club had planned to distribute 10,000 free tickets to health and care workers as a thank you.
But the continuing Covid crisis means the racing at Aintree will be held behind closed doors over the next three days. The freebies will be given out next year.
Jockey Club Racecourses North West regional director Dickon White said: “I’m not sure any of us anticipated we’d be in the position we are with the pandemic.
“We’re honouring the donation and rolling it forward to the 2022 Randox Grand National Festival to show our appreciation for everything they’ve been doing for us. We’re delighted to rename the first day of the festival Liverpool’s NHS Day as a way to show our gratitude.”
Jan Ledward, chief officer at NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group, welcomed The Jockey Club’s ticket gesture. She said: “We are delighted the enormous effort from our dedicated people across local health and care will still be recognised next year.”
An estimated 600 million TV viewers worldwide will watch the 173rd Grand National on Saturday, and up to £250million is expected to wagered on it. The 2019 race pulled in a UK TV audience of 10 million.
Cloth Cap , ridden by Tom Scudamore, is favourite to win the National at 4-1.