sport news SOUL OF SPORT: Crowds flock to Aintree to enjoy a Grand National Festival of ... trends now Racegoers were pictured enjoying the festivities at Aintree as crowds descended on Liverpool Punters dressed to impressed, enjoyed a tipple and were seen enjoying a dance at this weekend's races Willie Mullins claimed his second Grand National win as I Am Maximus powers to victory on Saturday By Andy Hooper Published: 07:00 BST, 15 April 2024 | Updated: 07:00 BST, 15 April 2024 Viewcomments Advertisement Welcome back to the Soul of Sport. For the latest episode of the series, ANDY HOOPER travelled to Aintree in Liverpool to capture all the sights from the Grand National Festival at Aintree. Huge crowds flocked to the iconic race meeting on Thursday for the start of the weekend, with fans spotted enjoying all the frivolities that this historic race has to offer. Next came Ladies Day, and there was plenty of fashion on show, as punters dressed to impress on Friday, with big hats, suave suits and high heels spotted around the race course as Nicky Henderson's Jonbon returned to top form, claiming victory in the My Pension Melling Chase. The weekend was lit up by Willie Mullins' second Grand National win as as I Am Maximus stormed to a superb seven-and-a-half length victory from runner-up Delta Work in what was a thrilling race. Our cameraman captured the action using Nikon Z8 and Z9 cameras with 24-70mm and 70-200 lenses. It was a bit soft underfoot this weekend, as one jockey was seen returning to the paddock with mud splattered all over his face The riders set off on Thursday, leaping over several fences that were dotted around the lushous green race track at Aintree A jockey sits on the floor after falling from their horse, as the rest of the field continue on with the race Aintree boasts a capacity of 75,000 fans, with hundreds of punters lining the gantrys, walkways and stands around the track Some spectators in the crowds jumped on eachother's shoulders to get a more advantageous view of the race track The tension was palpable as some punters screamed, shouted and danced in a bid to spur their horses on to victory A jockey and horse leap over a fence at Aintree. There are 16 individual hurdles dotted around the Grand National course Aintree is all about fashion, but when the rain comes down sometimes style has to come second to stay dry! The party begins! Patrons enjoy the festivities at Aintree, with some spotted enjoying a few drinks and a dance Three-time Grand National winner and legendary Irish champion Red Rum's grave is situated by the winning post at Aintree There were some brilliant hats being sported this year, but in the windy conditions some had a hard time keeping them on A seasoned race goer shows off their colourful collection of passes and badges from venues around the country The festival hosted 21 races across a three-day festival, which culminated in the historic Grand Naitonal on Saturday Grounds staff take their time to ensure the fences on the track are in emmaculate condition ahead of each race But their work is shortly undone, with some fences around the course being battered by the horses as they jump over them Even some younger fans were encapsulated in the action and were seen biting their knuckles as the tension mounted It was a busy weekend of racing and amid all the action some punters were seen taking a little rest against the fences Share or comment on this article: SOUL OF SPORT: Crowds flock to Aintree to enjoy a Grand National Festival of fashion, frivolity and racing which culminated in Saturday's epic... with ANDY HOOPER capturing all the emotion All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility