One horse died during the 2025 Aintree Festival but none suffered fatal injuries during the main Grand National race on Saturday afternoon. There were scares over Broadway Boy and Celebre D'Allen when they were assessed by expert veterinary teams at Aintree Racecourse. Nick Rockett went on to win the race at odds of 33/1 under a strong ride from amateur jockey Patrick Mullins.

After being looked over on the track, Celebre D'Allen - who had pulled up - then walked into a horse ambulance with the vets and has returned to his stables for further checks. Similarly, Broadway Boy was treated on course and returned to his stable after his heavy fall.

With the condition of both horses initially unclear, the Maghull Novices' Chase was delayed until further notice as the track had not been cleared. The action at Aintree soon got back underway, with Kalif Du Berlais bouncing back to form with an impressive performance.

Thirteen horses were pulled up in the Grand National, with a further three falling. Paul Nicholls' Kandoo Kid being among those to hit the deck in the race, and he brought down Appreciate It as a result. Both horses and jockeys emerged from that incident unharmed. Perceval Legallois, who was well-backed throughout the week, also fell.

Willie De Houelle suffered a fatal injury earlier in the Grand National Festival. The gelding fell at the sixth hurdle when running in the Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle on the opening day of the three-day meeting.

The grey was being ridden by jockey Rachael Blackmore, who also suffered a heavy fall but was deemed 'okay' after initially being looked over in an ambulance.

Following the incident, Dickon White, The Jockey Club's Aintree & north-west regional director, was quizzed on Willie De Houelle's passing and the measures that are taken in horse racing to ensure that such fatalities can be avoided - and whether further changes could be made.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, White said: "Equine welfare is the number one priority for us at Aintree and across The Jockey Club. We'll continue to look at ways of making racing here at Aintree as safe as it possibly can.

"We're not afraid to make change. We'll review every year and look at doing that. But horseracing is like the majority of elite sports - there is an element of risk to it. We're very sad and [send our] condolences to the Ricci family. They had great success and have also lost a horse as well."