1981 Grand National In second place was the 8/1 favourite, Spartan Missile, ridden by 54-year-old amateur jockey and grandfather John Thorne. The story of Bob Champion and Aldaniti was made into a film "Champions", with John Hurt portraying Champion. The film is based on Champion's book "Champion's Story", which he co-wrote with close friend and racing journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Powell. 1981 Grand National The 1981 Grand National was the 135th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 4 April 1981. It is remembered for the winning horse Aldaniti, who had recovered from
1981 Pepsi Grand Slam 1981 Pepsi Grand Slam The 1981 Pepsi Grand Slam was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Boca Raton, Florida, USA The event was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was held from February 14 through February 15, 1981. Four–time winner and defending champion Björn Borg withdrew a day before the tournament began after coming down with the flu. He was replaced by Vitas Gerulaitis. John McEnroe won the singles title and $150,000 first prize money. This tournament was televised by CBS Sports immediately following their