Debut of changes to Grand National main event

It's Grand National day... but the world famous race will look a bit different compared to previous years.

Changes have been made to the main event to improve horse welfare - they include:

• The maximum number of runners has been reduced from 40 to 34 to reduce the risk of incidents during the race.
• The first fence has been moved 60 yards closer to stop the horses from building up too much speed too early.
• The race start has been brought forward to 4pm to make sure the ground conditions are as suitable as possible.

A host of infrastructure improvements have also been made, including:

• Altering the alignment of the running rail on the inside of the course to help with the early capture of loose horses
• Reducing the height of Fence 11 by two inches on take-off side, with some 'levelling off' on landing side to reduce the height of the drop
• Introducing foam and rubber toe boards on every fence
• More investment in pop-up irrigation to allow for more effective watering of the course
• Widening the walkways in the paddock

These follows changes made since 2012, which include modifying every fence, levelling off areas to reduce the landing side drop, and introducing a fully equipped cooling and washdown area post-race for the horses.

Giovinco died on Ladies Day after falling mid-race.

Sulekha Verma, Clerk of the Course at Aintree, said:

"As science moves on, as data becomes available, we learn and we grow and the changes that we're making to the Grand National this year are all evidence-based.

"It's not about knee-jerk reactions, it's not about feelings, it's about looking at the data, what it's telling us about the race, where we're at, and what we can do to reduce risk so that's why we've seen these opportunities and we've taken them."

The gates open at 10am.

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