28 January 2002
Tribute to veteran jockey Dick Saunders, winner of the Grand National with Grittar in 1982
Dick Saunders, who won the Grand National as an amateur on Grittar, has died.He was 68.
By steering Grittar to victory at Aintree in 1982, Saunders became the oldest jockey to win the race at the age of 48.
But his piece of Grand National history was only part of a life devoted to the horse and the turf.
He was elected as a member of the Jockey Club in 1981 and was chairman of the Licensing Committee and a Jockey Club Steward from 1986-87.
Saunders, whose daughter Caroline Bailey runs one of the most successful point-to-point yards in the country, was also a racecourse steward for more than 20 years.
He officiated at seven different courses including Aintree, where he was chairman of the Stewards’ Panel during the Grand National meeting, and Newmarket.
He also served onmany Jockey Club Committees and Working Groups, most recently on the Jockey Club’s Grand National Entry Review Panel.
