The Grand National at Aintree on April 4th next will have a record prize worth an estimated £350,000 plus, an increase in added value of £50,000. "This is the second year in succession that we have increased added value by this amount," Aintree managing director Charles Barnett said yesterday.

"And this follows a £40,000 uplift from 1995 to 1996. This means that added prize money for the race has increased by nearly 90 per cent in just three years. It is already comfortably the most valuable race of the National Hunt season."

Barnett was speaking at Steve Brookshaw's Preston Farm Stables, home of runaway 1997 Grand National winner Lord Gyllene.

Changes to the race conditions introduced this year will remain in place, so the minimum qualification rating will again be 110, with the top weight 12st and the weights rising, if necessary, at the five-day and 48-hour declaration stages to 11st 10lb.

"We were very satisfied with the effect of these changes this year and there is no reason why in 1998 we should not again be looking at a field of 40 runners or, at worst, very close to that figure," Barnett said.

Hopes are high that the fact there is only a fortnight between the end of the Cheltenham Festival and the start of the Aintree meeting will not harm fields at Liverpool.

"Naturally, we are disappointed that in 1998 we will have to suffer the two-week gap between Cheltenham and Aintree, although I understand that it will be some years before this occurs again," said Barnett.

"As far as the number of runners is concerned, figures actually show that in 1996, when the Cheltenham/Aintree gap was two weeks, 27 Cheltenham runners came on to compete in the six top races at Aintree.

"One of those was Rough Quest, who'd finished second in the Gold Cup. And in 1997, when the gap was three weeks, the figures were exactly the same."