Crowds arrive for opening day of Aintree
More than 150,000 people are due to attend the three-day race meet.
Thousands of racegoers have arrived at Aintree for the first day of the Grand National festival.
More than 150,000 people are due on the racecourse for the three-day racing festival, which culminates on Saturday when the world-famous Grand National steeplechase is run.
Crowds enjoyed the sunshine for the opening day on Thursday, which is expected to have an attendance of about 23,000.
Among the racegoers was the Princess Royal, who attended a lunch held by charity Racing Welfare, of which she is president, before watching the first race of the day.
Katie Young, 32, from Kildare in Ireland, wore a lilac dress and floral headpiece with a white coat for the races, where she was supporting her partner, jockey Mark Walsh.
She said: “The atmosphere is just completely different at Aintree, it’s more relaxed and everyone’s here to have a good time.
“It’s kind of hard to plan an outfit because of the weather – I tend to have two ready. The weather is warm so this dress came out!”
Organisers are expecting 10,000 bottles of prosecco to be drunk at the Merseyside racecourse over the three days.
This year the range of bars on the course includes one where drinkers can pour their own pints of Guinness and a BOXPARK, with food and drink outlets and a DJ.
Beer-lovers can even enjoy traditional pub The Rose and Crown, a temporary structure which has been built on the course and will be dismantled once racegoers have left on Saturday.
Kayla Jones, 31, from Wavertree, Liverpool, and Kaci-Lea Lynch, 22, from Huyton, Knowsley, were preparing for a DJ set in the course’s Red Rum Garden.
Ms Lynch said: “We come every year. It’s always a good atmosphere, everyone goes wild and there is good energy.
“This year the sun is shining and the weather makes a lot of difference!”
Ladies Day, held on Friday, is known for its fashion, with those attending competing to win the Style Awards.
Amanda and Stuart Coakley, 58, originally from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, travelled back from Thailand to attend the races as part of birthday celebrations.
They co-ordinated in gold and cream outfits, both wearing hats with feathers.
Mr Coakley said: “We are going even bigger with the outfits for Ladies Day.”
Mrs Coakley added: “We just love the atmosphere, love Liverpool and love the people. It’s got a real buzz.”
Security measures, including a flight restriction zone to stop drones, have been put in place during the festival.
Sniffer dogs and drug amnesty bins were at entrances and racegoers were searched as they came into the course.
Merseyside Police said uniformed and plain clothes officers would be deployed around the course.
Chief Inspector Kevin Chatterton said: “As with all big events, we carry out extensive planning alongside all partner organisations in the run-up, to ensure everyone who attends the races has a great time, stays safe, and it is memorable for all the right reasons.”
Two years ago, the Grand National was delayed by 15 minutes when animal rights protesters gained access to the course.
Last year, safety changes were made to the race, including an earlier start time of 4pm, and the highest number of horses crossed the finish line since 1992.
On Thursday, there was one horse fatality when Willy De Houelle, ridden by former Grand National winner Rachel Blackmore, fell in the second race of the day.
