In pictures: Crowds flock to Aintree for Grand National meeting
- Published
The annual Grand National race meeting at Aintree has opened with blue skies and plenty of flamboyant outfits.
The meeting, which will include the 166th running of the Grand National on Saturday afternoon, is held over three days.
The opening day, which was called Liverpool Day last year, has traditionally been a day for less formal outfits, before the glitz and glamour of Friday's Ladies Day and the main event on Saturday.
Around 30,000 people were expected to attend the first day, with the crowd swelling to around 50,000 on Friday and a sell-out of over 70,000 for Saturday's racing.
Those asked about why they had come to Aintree said the course had "a festive feeling" and it was "a good day out" and a "chance to dress up".
Also, with it being the races, it was also a chance to study the form and have a bet on one of the day's seven races.
The Grand National meeting is at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool from Thursday to Saturday.