THE Aintree Grand National reminds me of JFK or Elvis. People remember where they were when they heard that the American president had been shot dead in Dallas in 1963. It’s the same with the news that The King had passed away 14 years later.

JOHN OXX clearly wasn’t happy with what he felt was the disdainful attitude of the chief executive of Paddy Power Bookmakers towards Irish racing at the Oireachtas meeting on funding for racing on Wednesday. Proof of that was the open letter John subsequently sent to the racing press.

The cabinet reshuffle didn’t please most people but the one good thing to come out of it was that racing has gone back into the Department of Agriculture from Sport.