Martell Grand National day dawned bright and clear at Aintree today.
In contrast to the deluge which preceded racing 12 months ago, Liverpool was bathed in bright sunshine as it prepared to welcome upwards of 55,000 racegoers for the world's most famous steeplechase.
Fine weather had drawn big crowds for the first two days of the meeting, with Friday's turnout of 42,500 up more than 9,000 on last year.
And the dry weather was likely to make the big race itself a very different spectacle from 12 months earlier, when only two runners put in a clear round in heavy conditions which had many questioning whether racing should have been allowed to go ahead.