THE 2020 AINTREE Grand National has been cancelled after officials accepted that it would not be possible to stage the historic race behind closed doors.
The Jockey Club made the announcement this evening in light of new public health guidance issued by the UK government in the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The three-day Aintree Festival, of which the Grand National is the centrepiece, was due to take place from 2-4 April at the Liverpool track.
The decision signals the first time since the end of the Second World War that the race will not take place. The 1993 Grand National was run but the result was declared void following a false start, while the 1997 race was postponed by two days following a bomb threat from the Provisional IRA.
Tiger Roll, owned by Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud, was favourite for this year’s renewal where he was bidding to match Red Rum’s three wins and also become the first horse to win the race in three successive years.
“The Randox Health Grand National Festival was just three weeks away and it’s very clear to us it will not be possible for the event to take place,” Sandy Dudgeon, Senior Steward of The Jockey Club said in a statement.
“Public health must come first.
“We were working on a plan to stage the Grand National behind closed doors given its importance to the racing industry and beyond, but following the new Government measures confirmed this evening to help to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, this is not a viable option.
“I know this is hugely disappointing news for the many people who work in our sport and the many millions who were looking forward to this year’s event, but very sadly these are exceptional times and this is the responsible thing to do.”
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As a Munster fan I hate to say it, but Nienaber is definitely the man who can get Leinster to win trophies again. They have been in ruthless form for a few years, winning games almost by default, but then don’t do it when it really counts. Nienaber will be the guy who can make this Leinster team more resilient. I hope Munster can be even more resilient though and win the champions cup and the URC.
@Jorgen Hartogs: maybe last weekend was the start of that. Leinster have a habit of losing games in the last few minutes not the other way round.
@chris mcdonnell: I don’t know if we can conclude much from last week. Surely Leinster’s problem has just been the inability of their first team to beat the physically more powerful La Rochelle and prime Saracens. Sure they’ve lost a few more with heavily rotated teams, but that’s a different set of issues. At this time I’d say the major new concern would be whether we’re seeing post RWC rustiness/mental fatigue or whether some top players are now past their peak
Yikes