John Smith's People's Race
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The John Smith's People's Race is an amateur flat race for members of the public, held at Aintree during the April Grand National meeting.
30 applicants were chosen from 3500 postal applications. These 30 attended assessments on the weekend of 3/4th February 2007. Following the results of these assessments, 14 people were chosen to undergo 16 days of intensive race training. Of these 16, 10 were finally chosen to compete in the race.
The final 10 to compete on Grand National day 2007 and final results were:
WINNER- KEVIN OLD, 44, a Bournemouth pawnbroker, has always loved racing and jumped at the chance to live the whole Aintree experience. Charity: Injured Jockeys fund.
SECOND PLACE - VANESSA MARSTON, 44, is a dental practice worker from York. Her family have booked a double-decker bus in the hope she wins a place in the starting line-up for the John Smith's People's Race. Charity: Injured Jockeys Fund.
THIRD PLACE - ALAN LANE, 23, a telephone engineer from Pickering, North Yorkshire, has never been to Aintree - but he's hoping to change that this year. Charity: Alzheimer's Trust and Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
OTHER COMPETITORS:
SUSAN PLUMB, at 48, Susan, a farmer from Carmarthen, Wales, is the oldest competitor - but she'll give the youngsters a run for their money. Charity: Rheumatoid Arthritis.
LISA RODGERS,A LIFE-LONG fan of horse-racing, Lisa, 33, is a civil servant from Liverpool. She and husband Peter held their wedding reception at Aintree racecourse in 1999. Charity: Cancer Research.
LAURA MONGER, 23, from Chinnor, Oxon, spends her time sorting out other people's jockey licences - but she's looking forward to seeing it from the jockey's point of view now. Charity: Cancer Research.
GEORGE HOPE, 39, a hospital manager from Carlisle, is always glued to the TV on National Day. Charity: Retired Racehorses.
MICHAEL SWEENEYis a 47-year-old plumbing engineer from Hale, Cheshire. George Best's goal against Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final is his favourite sporting memory. Charity: Christies Cancer Research Hospital. Sensationally, Michael was thrown from his horse at the start and was unable to complete the race.
MARK GALLIERS, 35, a farrier from Bridgend, is a signed up Grand National fan. He said: "It's the most spectacular race of all time." Charity: Sandville Self Help Foundation.
JAMIE ROBERTSON, a 28-year-old guitar teacher from Brighton, said: "It looked fun." Charity: Harefield Heart Hospital. Jamie came off his horse after the finish line and broke a wrist in the fall.
A total prize fund of £100,000 has been donated by sponsors John Smith's Brewery. This will be donated to charities of the competitors' choosing. Each competitor will automatically get £5000 for their nominated charity, and the winner, Kevin Old, will gain an extra £50,000 for his chosen charity - The Injured Jockeys' Fund. He will also receive a four day trip to Dubai for the 2008 World Cup.
A decision has yet to be taken on whether the John Smith's People race will run again in 2008 but early indications are that it has been a huge success.
