'Touch and go' in Midlands Grand National planning

Race organisers said getting their track ready for the Midlands Grand National has been "touch and go" because of the relentless rain so far this year.

The event, one of the biggest of the region's sporting calendar, will take place at Uttoxeter Racecourse in Staffordshire on Saturday.

More than 10,000 people are expected to turn up and watch the seven races through the day.

But Libby Dennis, clerk of the course, said it had been a "frustrating" challenge to get their track set up, after the site saw heavy rain in January and February.

She told BBC Radio Stoke they saw double the amount of wet weather that the course had seen last year and it meant preparations for the event were "completely different".

"I'll be brutally honest, it has been touch and go," Dennis added. "We had to go out with the very lightest machinery we've got and see if we can get on it.

"Luckily, we've had windows of opportunity and we've grasped them. Thankfully we've been able to get on and do a bit to the track but not everything we'd liked to have done.

"It's just the weather, we can't change it unfortunately."

The Midlands Grand National has been a flagship event at the site since 1969 and is worth an estimated £1m to the town's economy, organisers say.

Carrie Gillam, executive director at Uttoxeter Racecourse, said it was "huge" to be part of what she described as a "pretty iconic race", which had become synonymous with the venue.

"It's a really big accolade, not just for the racecourse but for the town as well," she added.

"To be able to be part of a team delivering that is pretty special."

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