Amazing Viewing Figures For Virtual GN
 

With the UK's biggest race the Grand National having to be cancelled yesterday due to the present situation, yesterday ITV ran a virtual computerised version of this years race with the horses likely to have taken part had the real thing gone ahead. It got a huge TV audience of 4.8 million which was 30% of the overall TV audience. It was the biggest racing audience in the last 12 months. To give context 1.75m watched last years Derby and it was half of the audience for the real thing in 2019 which got 9.6m viewers. Most bookmakers bet on the race and are donating the profits to Health Service charities.

Link not available in US. :confused:

They have actually started running and accepting bets in this nonsense in the US. Only difference is the races are actually replays of a previously ran race. They are operating at select ADW's right now and working on being offered to a much wider audience.

Amazing Viewing Figures For Virtual GN
 

Years ago, I designed Practice Race Past Performances from historical races and my handicapping software for the purposes of handicapping education. See the image of one horse below from a historical race at TAM.

My goal was to make it difficult if not impossible for beginner to novice players to figure out the identity of each horse so they would have to handicap the race rather than figure out which horse won the race by other means. This was no small task. As the market for handicapping education shrunk, I never did put these practice races to use. I'm still not sure if my goal was achieved.

I imagine the PA sharpies here could identify the names of each horse pretty quickly and determine which horse won without handicapping.

Nonetheless, I wonder if this concept, if not my actual practice race design, has any applicability given the current mad rush to playing historical races until the pandemic is over?

Anyone here care to take a crack at identifying this horse?

Thanks.

Timeless Classic...