some of their clothing, revealing pink t-shirts with AR's name and logo emblazoned on them (the "Second Unauthorised Access").
27.
Before they could reach the second fence, officers from Merseyside Police and the Private Security Providers managed to apprehend the three AR Protestors. It is my understanding that their intentions were to affix themselves to the second fence, as they were each carrying bottles of glue.
Consequences of the AR Protestors' Actions
28.
Like any sporting event, there is a timed programme that we work to before a race. Normally, horses and their jockeys would have a reasonable period of time to prepare ahead of the Grand National. In the half hour leading up to the race this would normally see horses in the parade ring (approximately 15-20 minutes before the start of the race), jockeys then mounting (approximately 5-10 minutes before the start of the race) and exiting on to the Racecourse to head for the start line. In light of the First and Second Unauthorised Accesses, however, we had no choice but to delay the start of the 2023 Grand National. The safety of the racehorses, jockeys, spectators, and the AR Protestors themselves was paramount. Until the AR Protestors had been cleared from the Racetrack, and it had been determined that there was no risk of other protesters accessing the Racecourse, the Grand National simply could not commence. As above, the police and our Private Security Providers were engaged in an ongoing battle to prevent the AR Protestors from accessing the Racecourse and potentially causing significant harm, or even death, to the horses, jockeys, and themselves. The threat of injury, or worse, is very real — at the Grand National, approximately 40 horses are moving at over 40mph. If something, or someone, gets in the way, it would be very difficult to stop the horses when they are in motion. As a result of the delayed start to the 2023 Grand National, the horses waiting to race had to be held in the paddock, and they became agitated because of this. The horses had to alter their whole routine, effectively halting preparation. The horses were kept waiting for a substantial period of time. The 2023 Grand National commenced at 5:30pm, after the AR Protestors involved in the First and Second Unauthorised Accesses had been removed from the Track. This was 15 minutes after the scheduled start time.
29.
30.
31.
Impact of the AR Protestors' Actions
917 378
7
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator