Next weekend's Grand National, postponed due to coronavirus, is to be replaced by a televised virtual race.

A field made up of those most likely to have contested the real thing at Aintree, will set off in a television first on Saturday April 4 at 5pm on ITV.

The favourite Tiger Roll, was targeting a hat-trick of wins but has been denied a moment in history by the race being called off.

Executive producer Rob McLoughlin told BBC Sport: "We use the latest CGI technology and algorithms and were ready to go ahead as a forerunner to the big race, but now we want to cheer the nation up and ask the computer if history could have been made."