It's normally the scene of jam-packed stands filled with punters and guests, but Aintree racecourse looked eerily empty on Thursday as the Grand National prepares to get underway without fans for the second year running.
The world famous festival in Liverpool starts with Liverpool's NHS Day, featuring seven races - the first starting at 1.45pm, but jockeys will hear nothing but silence from the terraces that usually hold around tens of thousands of spectators.
Last year's event went ahead virtually as a result of the UK plunging into its first lockdown amid the Covid pandemic - using CGI technology and based on the algorithms of the 40 horses most likely to have competed.