How racing rallied round to raise funds as well as spirits in a time of crisis
High and low, rich and poor, north and south – across the board people in racing came together to offer their time, effort and money to support good causes as the nation wrestled with Covid-19. David Carr recalls the best of those achievements
Virtual Grand National
Racing's most high-profile fundraising effort during the Covid-19 shutdown was the virtual Grand National, with 4.8 million locked-down ITV viewers watching Nick Luck and Stewart Machin bring an animated version of the great race to life.
Potters Corner came home in front for Christian Williams and young jockey Jack Tudor – who might not have been eligible had the National taken place for real – but the real winner was the NHS Charities Covid-19 Urgent Appeal, which received more than £2.6 million after bookmakers donated their profits.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on 2 June 2020inFeatures
Last updated 16:18, 18 June 2020
Copy- Government says it is working 'at pace' to have white paper measures in force by the summer
- 'The only thing you can do is lie fallow and regroup' - Meades to return with scaled-back operation following blank period
- The Gambling Commission has launched its new corporate strategy - but what are the key points?
- 'It was tragic it happened to Paddy but it was a good thing for the jockeys who followed - good came out of bad'
- Acquisitions, exits and retail resilience - what we learned from Flutter and 888's results
- Government says it is working 'at pace' to have white paper measures in force by the summer
- 'The only thing you can do is lie fallow and regroup' - Meades to return with scaled-back operation following blank period
- The Gambling Commission has launched its new corporate strategy - but what are the key points?
- 'It was tragic it happened to Paddy but it was a good thing for the jockeys who followed - good came out of bad'
- Acquisitions, exits and retail resilience - what we learned from Flutter and 888's results