{"id":524757,"date":"2026-04-11T07:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T07:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/524757\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T07:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T07:04:09","slug":"tiktok-effect-brings-sellout-crowds-and-younger-fans-to-grand-national-meeting-grand-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/524757\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018TikTok effect\u2019 brings sellout crowds and younger fans to Grand National meeting | Grand National"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Aintree morning was still young, and the temperatures frigid enough for a thick coat, when Hayley Bentley arrived at Ladies\u2019 Day wearing only a bridal dress and veil. \u201cI love racing and got my future husband into it,\u201d she explained. \u201cSo what better excuse is there to get dressed up for Ladies\u2019 Day and spend your hen party with 23 of your favourite people?\u201d<\/p>\n

Everywhere you looked that sentiment was being echoed and magnified by 55,000 other racegoers, most dressed in their finest suits and silks, who were basking in the first Ladies\u2019 Day sellout since 2012.<\/p>\n

Forget the limping economy and the violent headwinds from the war in the Middle East. Liverpool was determined to look its best and party like it was the roaring 20s. Indeed, such was the demand for hairdressers on Friday that ITV\u2019s racing presenter Ed Chamberlin revealed that one of his friend\u2019s girlfriends could only get an appointment at 4am.<\/p>\n

Racegoer and bride-to-be Hayley Bentley: \u2018What better excuse is there to get dressed up for Ladies\u2019 Day and spend your hen party with 23 of your favourite people? Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

This was also a much younger and less fusty crowd too \u2013 dressed more in Burberry than Barbour \u2013 with the majority appearing to be in their teens and 20s. This, it turned out, was not an accident, but rather a determined campaign by the Jockey Club, racing\u2019s 276-year-old organisation, to use TikTok and Instagram to stress the social side of the sport to younger audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jockey Club now has 162,000 followers on TikTok, and in January we also started an account for Aintree, which is more focused on those very much interested in the day-out experience,\u201d said Joe Hughes, the social media manager at the Jockey Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got our team and cameras out there and they\u2019re asking people about their race day routine, how long it takes to get ready and how they are enjoying the day. We\u2019ll post a lot of that today, and reuse it in the build up to next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TikTok effect is definitely helping, along with better marketing. But Ladies\u2019 Day has become even more of an event too. There\u2019s a big demand to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

One racegoer, Tracy Ramsey, said that her outfit from Abundance and hat from Lynne Young had cost \u00a31,000 \u2013 although her shoes were only \u00a33 off Vinted. \u201cToday was a Christmas present from our children,\u201d she said. \u201cI love horses. And what people often don\u2019t realise is how well they\u2019re looked after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile her husband, David Beck, was revelling in the atmosphere after making the trip from Middlesbrough. \u201cWhere could you go this time of the year in the UK and get dressed up like this, as if you\u2019re in San Tropez?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracy Ramsey and David Beck from Middlesbrough enjoy Ladies\u2019 Day at Aintree.
Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Dickon White, whose role at the Jockey Club includes overseeing Ladies\u2019 Day, said that about half of Friday\u2019s crowd were women, who had largely come to be seen and to escape the unrelenting grind of the news cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cLadies\u2019 Day is targeted at a younger demographic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t hide from that. It has a fantastic atmosphere. People come here to forget about some of the challenges outside of life. Because we are in tough times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of those casual fans might think Red Rum is a type of alcohol. But, crucially for the sport, they are happy to pay upwards of \u00a350 for the day \u2013 and enjoy not just the racing, but the accompanying musicians, jugglers and fanfare, including competitions that award prizes such as trips to Ibiza for best-dressed and best-suited fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not cheap to come racing, but it\u2019s all about value for money,\u201d said White. \u201cWe\u2019re giving people the opportunity to come and enjoy some absolute top class sporting action, but we also want them to have entertainment, excitement and to enjoy the colour.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will be another sellout crowd for Saturday\u2019s Grand National<\/a>, which is expected to attract more than five million viewers on TV. But the dangers inherent in jumps racing were again illustrated on Ladies\u2019 Day when screens were placed around the winner of the 2.20pm, Gold Dancer, 100 metres after he had crossed the line. Later it was confirmed he had died, having suffering a broken back after jumping the final fence.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideTownend escapes sanction after Gold Dancer deathShow\"\"<\/p>\n

The second day of Aintree\u2019s Grand National meeting yesterday was marred by a fatal injury to Gold Dancer which was sustained as Willie Mullins\u2019 gelding jumped the final fence on the way to victory in the Grade One Mildmay Novice Chase, but did not become apparent until after the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul Townend, Gold Dancer\u2019s jockey, told a subsequent stewards\u2019 inquiry that his mount \u201chad made a mistake at the last fence after which it had taken a stride or two to gather himself before, in his opinion, running on in a straight line to the winning line\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Townend added that it was \u201conly rounding the bend towards the pull up area that the gelding\u2019s action changed \u2026 after which he immediately dismounted from the gelding\u201d. His explanation was noted by the officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

James Given, the British Horseracing Authority\u2019s director of equine, safety and welfare, also gave evidence to the track stewards, saying that in his view, Gold Dancer\u2019s action had been \u201ctypical of a three-mile chaser in the final stages of a race and supported the evidence of Townend\u201d. Greg Wood\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photograph: Mike Egerton\/PA<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n

Everyone in racing understands that the Grand National is the sport\u2019s shop window. It reaches the parts the sport would otherwise not reach. About a third of British adults will have a bet on the race, and stake \u00a3150m on the outcome. The action is spectacular, the bravery of horse and jockey unmatched. But when a horse pays the ultimate price, what was a joyous afternoon feels less like a party and more like a wake.<\/p>\n

The Jockey Club says it has made the race safer in recent years by making the fences less perilous, and reducing the field from 40 to 34 horses, and White acknowledges that more might need to be done.<\/p>\n

A packed crowd watch the third race in the Liverpool sunshine. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cThe welfare of horse and rider has always been our No 1 priority,\u201d says White. \u201cIn recent years we have made changes, and we won\u2019t be afraid to make future changes if we need to. The Grand National jump racing is enjoyed by millions of people around the world and we have to just make sure that we don\u2019t stand still.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, one of the favourites for the National is called Panic Attack, which is aiming to become the first mare to win since Nickel Coin in 1951. But racing will be praying for no alarms or palpitations when the world\u2019s greatest steeplechase gets under way at 4pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Aintree morning was still young, and the temperatures frigid enough for a thick coat, when Hayley Bentley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-524757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}