Ecstatic local dad thanks daughters as he wins big at Grand National
A local dad who won big at the Grand National has thanked his daughters. Melvin Pratt went to the iconic race at Aintree Racecourse with his wife, Lesley - and after his win, he is now preparing to treat the whole family. The lucky man won just over GBP1,000 in yesterday's big race, the Echo[1] reports.
He backed Corach Rambler to claim first place - and he was spot on. But to be fair to him, he'd been doing his homework. The dad said he had closely followed the horse's form in recent months.
"When he went out at Cheltenham, he absolutely strolled up," he said. "He was 10lbs out for the handicap and I knew he's got a great chance." Melvin - from Hinckley - has actually been a horse racing lover since he was 16. But like many fans of the races, the National has often let him down.
Amazingly, Saturday was the first time he had ever backed the winner. But he said it was all down to a touching birthday gesture from his four daughters - Charlotte, Hannah, Martha and Millie.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He said: "They paid for the tickets for my 60th birthday that got me here." The good news for them is that Melvin is now planning to return the favour by doing something special for the whole family. He said: "I've got to treat the girls and I'm going to treat the lady." Melvin and Lesley had travelled up for the big race and said they were grateful to the people of the city for a warm welcome.
He said: "To all the Liverpool people, thank you so much for being so accommodating and brilliant."
Protests and horse deaths at the National
Merseyside Police arrested more than 100 people after they attempted to gain entry to the track ahead of the National. Dozens of protesters climbed fences at Aintree. At least two fixed themselves to a fence using glue and lock-on devices, climate and animal rights group Animal Rising said.
The protesters breached security fences as the National runners were in the parade ring. It caused a delay of around 15 minutes to the race, which eventually got under way at 5.29pm. A total of 118 people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and public nuisance offences.
Their concerns about animal welfare were put in stark relief at the Aintree festival.
Police detain protesters at the Grand National (Image: PA)
Three horses have died there this year. British Horseracing Authority chief executive Julie Harrington said a "painstaking" analysis would take place in an attempt to understand what caused three fatalities over the three days of the meeting. Sandy Thompson's Hill Sixteen suffered a fatal fall at the first fence in the National.
That came after the deaths of Dark Raven earlier in the afternoon and Envoye Special on Thursday.
Sign up for our daily newsletter here[3] for all the latest news about Coventry[4].