The biggest horse racing event in Britain just became more lucrative, as Aintree announced that there would be a £210,000 boost to prize-money spread throughout the 2018 Randox Health Grand National festival.
Various races will benefit from the increase in prize money, with The Grade 1 Betway Aintree Hurdle and JLT Melling Chase gaining the most, as the overall prize money for the two races is elevated by £50,000, taking it to £250,000.
Clerk of the course Andrew Tulloch commented: “We are delighted to announce that prize-money at the Randox Health Grand National festival will exceed £3 million this year.
“The feature Grade 1 contests on each of the three days have all received a substantial boost, while all of our Grade 3 handicaps are now worth a minimum of £75,000 each.
“We strive to keep prize-money levels as competitive as possible to attract the very best horses to Aintree and we are confident that the increases announced today will enable the Randox Health Grand National festival to continue to offer exceptional jump racing when the world is watching.”
The festival of horse racing begins on Thursday 12 April and culminates on Saturday 14 April, the early ante post favourite for the race, is nine-year old Nigel Twiston Davies trained Blaklion.
Elsewhere, the prize money for the Grade 1 Betway Bowl was increased by £40,000 to £190,000, the Grade 1 Ryanair Liverpool Hurdle received a £30,000 boost, while there was a £20,000 increase to the Grade 3 Randox Health Topham Chase, meaning it’s now worth £140,000.
Source: SBC News
