2013 Grand National to modifications made for the previous year's race, Aintree announced that a number of further changes had been made for the 2013 National. Twelve of the 16 fences on the course were rebuilt with the timber frames within them replaced by a softer material known as "plastic birch". The fences are still covered with at least 14 inches of spruce and will remain the same height. The starting line was also moved 90 yards closer to the first fence, further away from the spectators' stands and thereby reducing slightly the overall distance. Aintree and the Professional Jockeys' Association jointly issued
What Strong Fences Make entire script of the play available as a downloadable PDF on the website of Theater J. "What Strong Fences Make" is set at an IDF military checkpoint just outside Ramallah. Horovitz calls it "a simple and clear stage-play that attempts to make a statement about a real-life situation that is anything but simple and clear." The first reading was staged by New York's Barefoot Theater Company on April 15, 2009. The play was produced at the Boston Theater Marathon in 2009. What Strong Fences Make What Strong Fences Make is a 2009 play by Israel Horovitz. Horovitz told an interviewer