Horse racing-Jockey Club to honour health workers at 2021 Grand National

Britain's Jockey Club will donate 10,000 tickets for the first day of the 2021 Grand National meeting at Aintree to local National Health Service (NHS) and social care sector staff, it said on Thursday. The opening day of the Grand National Festival will also be renamed Liverpool's NHS Day in honor of the staff and volunteers who are caring for coronavirus patients.

"We understand just how hard the NHS and professional carers are working right now and this is our way of showing our gratitude," Dickon White, regional director of Jockey Club Racecourses North West, said in a statement. "The ticket process and distribution will begin at the start of next year and we'll be working with the relevant organizations to ensure those who should benefit from the initiative are included."

Tiger Roll was set to go for an unprecedented hat-trick of victories in the big race, which was scheduled for Saturday before it was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.