4pm start time for Randox Grand National

Confirmation of the new time comes as a total of 94 horses were entered for the 176th running of the world’s greatest steeplechase on Saturday 13th April at today’s noon deadline.

The switch from 5.15pm is one of several changes to the £1 million showpiece first announced nearly four months ago as part of an ongoing focus on equine welfare.

Most of the changes, which include reducing the maximum number of runners from 40 to 34, moving the first fence nearer the start of the race and introducing a standing start, were announced in full in October last year.

But The Jockey Club explained at the time that while it had been agreed that bringing the start time forward would help assist in ensuring the safest ground conditions, discussions would need to take place to agree the specifics before a new start time could be agreed.

Explaining the decision, Sulekha Varma, The Jockey Club’s North West Head of Racing and Clerk of the Course at Aintree, said: “We leave no stone unturned in providing world-class standards of welfare for our participants and undertake a review after every Randox Grand National.

“These reviews look at a wide range of factors and the learnings from the process drives a number of changes, large and small, annually. In October we announced that one of the changes being made from 2024 would involve bringing forward the start time of the race, which has been 5.15pm since 2016.

“This was a decision we took after a number of participants and other racing stakeholders raised concerns about the long build-up to the race throughout the day and heightened tension as a result. These were not issues which had been identified as a problem when the race was previously staged at 3.45pm and 4.15pm.

“Bringing forward the start time of the Randox Grand National by 75 minutes to 4pm will also help us to maintain optimal jumping ground, as warm or breezy conditions can dry out the racing surface.

“We would like to thank both our broadcast partner ITV and the British Horseracing Authority for their assistance in helping to bring about this change to a race which remains a British institution, loved and watched by millions of people all over the world every year.”

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