Winning Grand National jockey dies

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.

• Read more about Dick Sanders’ life in this week’s Horse & Hound (31 January 2002), or click here to subscribe.
• Click here to read about Red Marauder, winner of the 2001 Martell Grand National
• Click here to read HHO’s tribute to 1986 Grand National winner, West Tip.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now