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The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over an official distance of about 4 miles and 2½ furlongs, with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps. It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2017. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year.
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases. Alongside these there are "bumpers", which are National Hunt flat races. In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK, the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three days. Aintree also holds meetings in May and June, October (Sunday), November and December.
Becher's Brook is a fence jumped during the Grand National, a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is jumped twice during the race, as the 6th and 22nd fence, as well as on four other occasions during the year. It has always been a notorious and controversial obstacle, because of the size and angle of the 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m) drop on the landing side. Some jockeys have compared it to "jumping off the edge of the world."
The 2001 Grand National was the 154th official running of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 2001. It went ahead as planned, despite the cancellation of the 2001 Cheltenham Festival, caused by the foot-and-mouth disease crisis.
The 1837 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the second of three unofficial annual precursors of a Handicap Steeple-chase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on 4 March 1837 and attracted a field of four runners. This race did not carry the prestige of the future Grand Nationals and its status as an official Grand National was revoked some time between 1862 and 1873.
The 1838 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the last of three unofficial annual precursors of a Handicap Steeple-chase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Monday 5 March 1838 and attracted a field of only three runners. This race did not carry the prestige of the future Grand Nationals and its status as an official Grand National was revoked sometime between 1862 and 1873.
The 1839 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the first official annual running of a steeplechase which later became known as the Grand National.
The 1840 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the second official annual running of a steeplechase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase handicap horse race, which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Thursday 5 March 1840 and attracted a then smallest ever field of 13 runners.
The 1841 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the third official annual running of a steeplechase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase handicap horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on 3 March 1841 and attracted a then smallest ever field of 11 runners.
The 1842 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the fourth official annual running of a steeplechase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase, a horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on 2 March 1842 and attracted 15 runners.
The 1844 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the ninth annual running of a handicap steeplechase, later to be regarded as the sixth official running of the Grand National Steeplechase, a horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday 28 February 1844 and attracted a field of 16 runners from a field of 41 entrants. It was won by the 5/1 co favourite, Discount, ridden by John Crickmere.
The 1845 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the seventh annual running of a Handicap Steeple-chase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase, a horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday 5 March 1845 and attracted a field of 15 runners. It was won by the unconsidered outsider Cure-All, ridden by William Loft in a record time of 10 minutes, 47 seconds.
The 1846 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase, was the eighth official annual running of a handicap steeplechase. It took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on 4 March 1846 and attracted a then-record field of 22 entrants. It was won by the unconsidered outsider Pioneer.
The Canal Turn is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Named for the Leeds & Liverpool Canal which passes alongside the racecourse at this point, it is jumped twice during the race, as the 8th and 24th fences.
The 1847 Grand National Steeplechase was the ninth official annual running of a Handicap Steeple-chase horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on 3 March 1847 and attracted a then record field of twenty-six runners. It was won by Mathew, ridden by Denny Wynne in the colours of County Cork landowner, John Courtenay. This was the first time the race was officially named The Grand National Steeplechase, having previously been run under the title, Grand Liverpool Steeplechase.
Martin William Becher was a former soldier and steeplechase jockey in whose memory the Becher's Brook obstacle at Aintree Racecourse is named.
Bartholomew Bretherton (1812–1866) was a jockey from Maghull, north of Liverpool who rode many times in the Grand National as an amateur rider, winning the race in 1840 in the colours of Henry Villebois on his horse Jerry.
The 1849 Grand National Steeplechase was the 11th official annual running of a handicap steeplechase horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday, 28 February. It attracted a field of twenty-four competitors for a prize valued at £825.
The 1851 Grand National was, at the time, the 14th renewal of a handicap steeplechase horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, on 26 February 1851. However, this was later retrospectively recorded as the 13th official running by the Steeplechase Calendar of 1864 when the race of 1838 was disregarded as official.
References
- ↑ Vamplew, Wray & Kay, Joyce. (2004). Encyclopedia of British Horseracing. Routledge. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-7146-5356-3
- ↑ "1836".