Virtual Grand National to be broadcast by ITV after Aintree race cancelled

With racing – and every other sport in Britain – currently in lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak, fans have, for now at least, been denied the chance to see Tiger Roll’s historic Grand National hat-trick bid.

The early indications from trainer Gordon Elliott and owner Michael O’Leary are that the ten-year-old will stay in training for another crack next year but in the meantime, ITV are helping to fill the void by screening their increasingly popular Virtual Grand National even in the absence of the real thing.

The virtual race has been broadcast in the build-up to each of the past three renewals of the Aintree showpiece, and its algorithms have been remarkably accurate in their predictions of the outcome.

In 2017, Cause of Causes won the virtual race before finishing second in the real race, while the predictor got Tiger Roll’s 2018 triumph spot on. Last year’s winner, Rathvinden, would eventually finish third, with Tiger Roll second in the virtual but going one better in reality to land back-to-back wins.

The 40-strong field for the race this year has yet to be confirmed, since the declaration stage had not come around by the time the meeting was called off, but ITV say they will choose the most likely runners, rather than the top 40 in the weights.

The race will be shown live on ITV at 5pm on Saturday, 4 April, the same time as the real race was due to go off.

The programme will also feature a ‘Race of Champions’, featuring 40 past winners, including Tiger Roll and the only horse to have won the National three times, Red Rum.