Grand National Festival set to bring £60 million to local economy

Video report by Granada Reports journalist Anna Youssef

Around 150 thousand people are expected at Aintree for this year's Grand National Festival which is one of the most anticipated events of the racing calendar, and it provides a big boost to the local economy.

Dickon White from The Jockey Club said: "We've recently done an economic impact study which was absolutely fantastic.

"It brings over £60 million pounds of benefits to the local area and it's not just about Aintree.

"It's about the local bars, the restaurants, the nightclubs, the hairdressers, the barbers, who all benefit from this fantastic event."

Not everyone is in favour of the event though, and with one horse dying during the first day of racing, animal activists are threatening to disrupt the main event, the Grand National steeplechase on Saturday.

Dickon said they are aware of the threat and are working with Merseyside Police to make sure they have plans in place should anything happen.

He added: "We absolutely understand people have the right to protest peacefully and we will work with the police to give them an area where they can protest… but we want to make sure people have an enjoyable day and there are no issues for the horses."

This year marks 50 years since Red Rum won his first Grand National at Aintree.

To this day he remains the only horse to have won the race three times, earning his place in the record books forever.

Red Rum is buried by the finishing post and fans still come from around the world to see his life-size sculpture at Aintree.

On Saturday 15 April the eyes of the world will be on Aintree with more than 500 million people around the world expected to tune in to watch the Grand National.

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