A court hearing involving a teenager charged over a crash in which a 10-year-old boy was killed has been postponed.

The most brilliant jump jockey of all time lands his first victory in the greatest show on turf at the 15th attempt

If determination had anything to do with it, Tony McCoy would have satisfied that craving for a first National winner years ago.

His wholehearted response to Tony McCoy in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham last month was insufficient to rid Albertas Run of the notorious Timeform squiggle, awarded to especially unreliable or uncommitted animals. Perhaps that will change if he digs deep for another Grade One prize at Aintree today, just 22 days after a hard race, but for now you could not know what to expect of a horse who made hard work of a distant third in the equivalent contest last year.

Trainer willing to sacrifice place to get form contender Cerium into National field

One of the more unlikely transfers of the season has been Tadcaster Albion's acquisition of the former Leeds and Scotland captain Gary McAllister for a signing-on fee of a pint of ale and a sports drink. The Albion manager, Paul Marshall, had played alongside him in an over-45 veterans competition and after making the offer "half-jokingly", was stunned by McAllister's acceptance. The deal, he said, was completed at the bar over a pint of John Smith's and a Lucozade Sport. With Tadcaster only one point behind the leaders Brighouse Town and having three games in hand, McAllister, who hasn't played yet, should be in line for another glittering honour to add to his 57 Scottish caps, League championship, FA Cup and Uefa Cup: the Koolsport Northern Counties East League Division One title.

Artisan breweries are enjoying a rise in sales while mass-marketed lagers and keg beers suffer. By Roger Protz

Only the most heroic punting appetite will remain unsatisfied after the past four days. Happily, however, the racing calendar tends to introduce a sorbet at just the right stage of the banquet. So while the Festival is over, Flat racing resumes on turf next weekend – not to mention the richest meeting in history, in Dubai – and a fortnight later many Cheltenham stars will reconvene at Aintree. And both themes are usefully anticipated by today's televised action, which features a Grand National trial and the climax of the all-weather Flat season.

John Smith, the former Labour Party leader, used to tell a story about Michael Foot from the dying days of the 1970s Labour government.

PM admits to fights with Blair and holds back tears in his most intimate interview

January signals not only the arrival of a new year – for many, it will also open another chapter of obsessive diary-writing. What drives these solitary scribblers? Tim Walker delves into their secret world

Chancellor Alistair Darling's punitive PBR has provoked a fightback by the Square Mile and could even lead to a new brain drain

Economic view

Almost 200 prisoners including murderers and sex offenders have been freed early by mistake over the past five years, according to official Government figures.