The future of Aintree’s Grand National Festival has been secured after the Jockey Club announced that global healthcare company Randox Health has agreed to a five-year extension of sponsoring the Grand National and three days of racing.
The new deal will run from 2022 to 2026 and follows on from the existing five-year deal that runs until next year. It will see the company continue to hold the naming rights for the three-day Grand National Festival as well as continuing its sponsorship of the Foxhunters Chase and Topham Chase.
Furthermore, the company has decided that it will drop ‘Health’ from its title in Aintree’s showpiece from 2021 with the race to be known as the ‘Randox Grand National’. The ten-year sponsorship will be the second-longest partnership in the history of the Grand National.
Dr Peter FitzGerald, Founder and Managing Director of Randox, said: “2020 has been a year of massive change and Randox has been at the forefront of countering the greatest pandemic to sweep these islands in 100 years.
“As a result, we are comfortable that our core company name is now synonymous with ‘health’ so are very happy to combine with Aintree to rebrand the world’s greatest steeplechase as, more succinctly, ‘the Randox Grand National’.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Jockey Club’s team at Aintree and look forward to another successful five years, when we are once again able to come together to celebrate the Randox Grand National.
“This terrible pandemic has increased understanding of the importance of diagnostics and testing across our society. As a company founded with the ultimate aim of saving lives, we will work hard to convert that better understanding into the improvement of people’s health in the future.”
Dickon White, North West Regional Director for Jockey Club Racecourses, added: “I am delighted that Randox has agreed to extend their sponsorship for the Grand National Festival for a further five years.
“It’s been a fantastic partnership over the past few years and we’ve been extremely impressed with their operation as well as their dedication to one of sport’s most iconic events.
“At a time when we are facing massive challenges in British racing, it is a tremendous boost to the Jockey Club, and a huge endorsement to the Grand National itself, that a new multi-year deal has been agreed with Randox.
“The Randox Grand National continues to go from strength to strength and we look forward to working closely with Dr FitzGerald and his talented and committed team in the coming years.”
