WITNESS STATEMENT OF DICKON WHITE
I, DICKON WHITE, of Jockey Club Racecourses Limited, 75 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6LS WILL SAY as follows:
I am the Aintree and North-West Regional Director for the Applicant. I am currently based at Aintree Racecourse, Ormskirk Rd, Aintree, Liverpool L9 5AS (the "Racecourse"). I have worked for the Applicant for approximately 25 years and have been in my current role since September 2018. I am responsible for the management and performance of the three racecourses owned by the Applicant in the North-West of England, namely the Racecourse, Haydock Park Racecourse (located in Newton-le-Willows), and Carlisle Racecourse (located in Cumbria). Between them, these three venues stage approximately 65 racing fixtures a year, including some of the Applicant's most prestigious races. One such race is the Grand National, which is a national hunt horse race held annually at the Racecourse (the "Grand National"). First run in 1839, the Grand National is one of the most watched sporting events on television in the United Kingdom, regularly attracting millions of viewers. In 2022, the Grand National attracted a peak audience of 7.9 million. It is broadcast in over 140 countries across the globe. The Grand National is a handicap steeplechase that covers a distance of approximately 4 miles and 2.5 furlongs, with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps (the "Racetrack").
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The Grand National is part of a three-day race meeting, with more than 150,000 people regularly in attendance over its duration (the "Festival").
At this year's Festival — which took place between Thursday 13 April and Saturday 15 April inclusive (the "2023 Festival") — certain incidents took place involving groups of protestors. It is my understanding that the protestors involved were affiliated with Animal Rising, an animal activist movement based in the United Kingdom ("AR"). It is also my understanding that AR is not a corporate entity and that it has no particular hierarchical structure. Rather, AR is a collection of members who all share a common purpose. I do not know the names of any of the protestors who engaged in the incidents I describe below but I am confident that those involved were associated with,
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