The legendary Grand National is set to make its triumphant return with a huge 70,000-strong crowd expected to turn up. On top of drawing all of those fans, the prize money pool is set to be a blistering £1 million.
Aintree, the racecourse where the Grand National is held, has indicated that horse racing is on its way back to normality in recent announcements. These announcements included the fact that the prize for winning the Grand National will be worth £1 million again – the value it was before the pandemic.
Also making a return is the customary weighing ceremony, much to the delight of punters. Ticket sales have also been through the roof – it’s set to be one of the busiest years in terms of punters making bets as well. When it comes to making these bets, sites such as Smarkets exchange make placing them safe and easy.
The Race Itself
The Grand National is a 4-mile, 514-yard handicap steeplechase that sees the horses having to clear 30 fences in total over two laps of the course. It’s easily the most valuable race in terms of prize money and also a massive hit with punters. It’s expected that over 600 million people from over 140 different countries all over the world will be watching the showpiece race!
Seen as the creme-de-la-creme in British racing, 40 horses line up with their jockeys to compete and take home their cut of the prize money. The course also has fences that are bigger than normal.
There are also some formidable runners looking to scoop up a victory, including: Galvin, Any Second Now, Run Wild Fred and IWillDoIt. Also running is last year’s winner, Minella Times, who went down in the history books for being ridden by Rachael Blackmore, the first female jockey to win the Grand National.
Increased Prize Pool
The Grand National had reduced winnings of £750,000 last year, with Rachael Blackmore and Minella Times taking first place. In 2022 though, the race is going to have a purse of seven figures. The Regional Director of Jockey Club NW, Dickon White, was delighted to announce that the purse value has gone back up thanks to the support of sponsor Randox.
Mr White also emphasised how important the prize money is in rewarding the horses and their teams that run at Aintree. The demand for tickets and hospitality is the highest it’s ever been – and White said this could be down to the superb effect Blackmore had with Minella Times last year.
With the prospect of 70,000 punters coming to watch in April, this will be the first time the Grand National will have had an audience since 2019. The race wasn’t staged during 2020 and it was run behind closed doors in 2021.
Mr White also stated how thrilled he is with the fact people will be in attendance once again and the atmosphere will be coming back to the races. Planning for a full crowd won’t be easy and there are constant talks with the local authorities on the matter of health and safety for the punters in attendance. He was clear about the fact that there will be measures and protocols in place to keep people safe.
The Weights Ceremony
The revered weighing ceremony wasn’t up to its usual spectacle last year, with them being revealed from the course via Racing TV in a live stream. That won’t be the case this year – the ceremony is returning much to the delight of Grand National fans. The ceremony is set to be held in Liverpool at the Rum Warehouse on 15th February.
When it came to planning the ceremony this year, Dickon White again emphasised the safety measures that they are putting in place. This could all change though if restrictions set by the government tighten.
The event has been planned due to its importance to the Grand National and its promotion of the race. Over the span of a quarter of a century, the weighing-in ceremony has become an integral part of the event and enjoyed by both the runners, riders and punters.
The Rum House, which will be hosting the ceremony, is seen as one of Liverpool’s most premier event spaces and has been ever since the city was crowned European Capital of Culture back in 2008. Planners of the weighing ceremony are hoping to run an event that is the same size and magnitude as previous years, albeit with the correct social distancing measure put in place.
