The Jockey Club have announced that the 2021 Randox Grand National will still go ahead as planned on Saturday afternoon following the death today of the Duke of Edinburgh. Following his death, all of today’s racing has been switched from ITV to ITV4, however the famous steeplechase and the whole of the Saturday afternoon coverage will remain on ITV at 5:15pm, Saturday 10th April.
Confirming the continued running of the Grand National 2021 , owners of Aintree Racecourse, the Jockey Club said:
“Jockey Club Racecourses has held discussions with the British Horseracing Authority regarding the staging of Randox Grand National day tomorrow at Aintree racecourse. Following consultation with government, we can confirm it will go ahead on Saturday.
“Following the sad news of the death of The Duke of Edinburgh a two-minute silence will be held on course ahead of the 173rd Grand National, jockeys will be invited to wear black armbands and flags will be flown at half-mast at the racecourse.
“ITV will broadcast its coverage of Randox Grand National day on its main channel as scheduled,” it said in a statement.
There will be a four-hour broadcast on ITV from Aintree Racecourse on Saturday afternoon and ITV Racing have also announced that the Virtual Grand National will be rescheduled for 1pm on ITV4.
An ITV Racing spokesman said: “The Randox Grand National will remain on the main channel on Saturday, April 10 from 2-6.15pm as scheduled. The Virtual Grand National will be on ITV4 at 1-2pm.”
The Duke of Edinburgh was a long-standing honorary member of the Jockey Club for many years and he has been a highly-regarded and long-standing owner-breeder of British racehorses. As a mark of respect, all jockeys taking part in each race at Aintree on Saturday will be invited to wear black armbands.
