Uttoxeter ready for biggest day

Uttoxeter is hosting the Midlands Grand National for the 40th time

Uttoxeter Racecourse is ready for its biggest crowd of the National Hunt season when the 40th Midlands Grand National takes place on Saturday.

Eighteen horses will go to post for a prize fund worth over �100,000.

General manager David MacDonald told BBC Radio Stoke: "Being our 40th anniversary race makes it very exciting for everyone here.

"We're expecting a real competitive race on Saturday if the early declarations are anything to go by."

The training duo of Sue and Harvey Smith from Yorkshire trained Himalayan Trail to victory in 2008.

The race follows immediately after the Cheltenham Festival, and it attracts a number of Irish people who finish off their week in Britain by watching the year's showpiece event to Uttoxeter.

The four-and-a-quarter mile race is poised to become a �3m race with a group of punters trying to select the winner.

The bonus fund from the Scoop6 bet, run by Tote bookmakers, is now worth �3,184,369.

That would be the largest pay-out ever for British horse racing.

MacDonald added: "The 40th anniversary race was exciting enough, but now it looks as if Uttoxeter Racecourse will enter the record books for another reason.

"We will be thrilled if the Tote Scoop6 bonus race is the Midlands Grand National."

One of Britain's most famous punters - Harry Findlay - holds four of the 17 winning Scoop6 tickets that entitle him to go for the bonus race.

He is currently trying to liaise with the other winning ticket-holders to give them all the best chance of landing the �3m prize.