Grand National Day at Aintree

For many people today is the most important date in the racing calendar - Grand National day at Aintree. It is estimated that half the adult population in Britain and Ireland will have a bet on the race, with total betting turnover between 300 and 400 million pounds in the U.K. alone, while a billion people worldwide will watch the race on TV. The weather forecast is for perfect, warm weather and the track continues to dry out - so much so that some selective watering was applied yesterday. Officially the going is good to soft, good in places, but by the time is run at 17.15 CET the ground will probably be good everywhere. At the time of writing, all 40 declared runners are expected to start; the only change to the line-up is that Roger Loughran will replace Paddy Flood (injured in a fall here yesterday) on Vic Venturi.