Animal Rising, the organisation behind the disruption at last year’s Grand National, has announced it has no plans to interfere with the meeting next week. Last year’s Grand National was delayed by 14 minutes after protestors attempted to glue themselves to a fence and hundreds more tried to get onto the racecourse to stop the race. It led to Merseyside
police making over 100 arrests and was followed by further smaller
protests during subsequent weeks. These included before the Scottish Grand National and at the Derby in June after which Ben Newman, one of the group’s founders, was given a suspended
prison sentence for breaching a Jockey Club injunction by running onto the track at Epsom. Callum Shepherd mourns friend Stefano Cherchi's ‘tragic, horrible and untimely’ death Devastated trainer Marco Botti pays heartbreaking tribute to Stefano Cherchi Ahead of next weekend’s race, Animal Rising issued a statement ruling out any disruption. “A year ago we delayed the Grand National and made headlines across the world , with over 100 Animal Rising supporters arrested as we protested the cruelty of horse racing . “This year, we want to let Aintree know - we don’t need to be there to affect change.” Police carry away a protester at Aintree ( Image: AFP via Getty Images) On Thursday the BHA announced the launch of the sport’s own dedicated website HorsePWR which would present the facts about horse racing and counter claims made by animal rights activists. The three day Grand National festival is regularly staged amid heightened security. A spokesperson for Aintree said the racecourse have not been contacted directly by Animal Rising and that they continue to work with Merseyside Police and their own security teams to plan for all eventualities. This week Merseyside Police announced restrictions on the use of drones over Aintree. Chief Inspector Iain Wyke, who is in charge of the Policing Operation for the event, said “The flight restrictions affecting drones will be in place for the duration of the three days of the event, and if we suspect a drone is being flown in the restricted area, then we will take action. “If you commit an offence and fly a drone within the restricted area without permission your equipment may be seized and you may be liable to prosecution.”