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The Aintree is a racecourse found in Merseyside, England. The course was being served by Aintree railway station until its closure at around 1962. This course is commonly known for its annual hosting Grand National, the most famous steeplechase in the world. Before this race was moved to Aintree, it was being held in the nearby Maghull district. 

Organised racing was introduced as early as the 16th century but there were developments when a hotel owner started flat racing. After this race, Lynn decided to introduce hurdles meeting where small obstacles were being used. The first ever competitive race was won by a horse called Duke which was being ridden by Potts in 1837. The next race was won by Sir William. 

Steeplechase racing was introduced in this town at around 1839 though some form of armature racing had already been introduced. This year 1839 witnessed the first running of the Grand National. 

This steeplechase is considered as one of the toughest for horses to complete since it has 16 fences including canal turn and the chair both terrifying jumps. For many it's an opportunity to bet for real cash and enjoy the excitement of a brilliant spectacle. Water jumps are covered by spruce, contrary to other racecourses found in Britain. 

The racecourse also plays host to other four races which include Topham Chase, Fox Hunters Chase, Becher Chase, and Handicap Chase. Apart from the national race course, it is also fitted with a smaller course which contains fences and hurdles made of traditional material. There is no water jump on the Mildmay course. The National race which is participated on the main course covers around 7 kilometers making it the most difficult race in the world.

Forty horses compete in the race but often less than ten manage to finish due to the stiff task. It's so much easier to play https://www.casinositesreview.io/casino-games/. 1928 only two horses finished the race. Red Rum is the only horse to have won the race three times and finished second twice. There are various races that have been hosted in Aintree. 

The first winner of the Grand National was a horse called Manifesto which participated in the race eight times and winning twice in the years 1897 and 1899. 

Golden Miller is another outstanding performer since he was the only stallion to win both the Gold Cup and Grand National in one season. Vincent O’Brien is the only person to win three consecutive races with three different horses. Jenny Pitman who was the first lady to train a winner horse in 1983 and 1995. We cannot wrap this list without the inclusion of McCoy who won a race on his 15th attempt. 

Apart from horse racing, the course has been used in motor racing which events such as Grand Prix was hosted on five occasions. Apart from this, it has also played host to formula 1 race which was won by Mos. Alfonso is the only person to have participated in both motor and horse racing.

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Contact details: Aintree Racecourse, Ormskirk Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L9 5AS

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The Grand National Course at Aintree

Aintree racecourse opened in 1829 and the first official running of the Grand National came a decade later, with flat horse racing taking place in this corner of Merseyside for many years before. 

Originally held as a Cross Country race – the forerunner of the steeplechases that have become a staple of the National Hunt calendar – the Grand National course was always designed to be unique. 

Unofficial and early recognised renewals saw horses presented with leaps over brooks, ditches, gates and hedges marked by flags atop posts and running rails temporarily erected throughout the countryside in and around Aintree. 

Looking back, the ingenuity of the Grand National founders and organisers, who include former landowner Lord Sefton and generations of the Topham family, was quite remarkable. They also had a stroke of luck when a gap in the National Hunt schedule appeared after the Great St Alban’s Chase wasn’t renewed after 1838. 

That helped to increase both the profile of the Grand National and Aintree racecourse as a jump horse racing venue in general, thrusting their big race into the limelight. As its popularity soared, the Cross Country roots were slowly abandoned in favour of the spruce-covered fences we now see horses take on every April. 

The Grand National course today is officially four miles, two furlongs and 78 yards after being remeasured by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in 2015. Around two circuits, there are 16 different fences – 14 of which are jumped twice.

Both of the two that are only taken once lie in front of Aintree racecourse’s main stand, The Chair and The Water Jump, at the end of the first circuit as fence numbers 15 and 16 respectively. As obstacles, they couldn’t be more different. 

There’s a 6ft ditch to clear before the 5ft 2in fence that is The Chair. Ground on the landing side is actually raised a few inches compared to the take-off side. It was here during early renewals of the Grand National that the distance judge sat and recorded the finishing order, so you can see where the name comes from. 

Jumps like this make having a bet on Grand National winners all the more difficult as The Chair is just one of many tricky obstacles on the course, hence the 1000/1 odds on all horses finishing the race. The Canal Turn, where horses must either clear this fence at an angle or face a near 90-degree turn upon landing, is another formidable sight for horse and jockey. 

Back when it was a Cross Country race, horses who couldn’t make the turn back towards the stands would end up in the Leeds to Liverpool Canal! A ditch preceding this jump was removed following a pile-up during the 1928 race. Other famous Grand National fences, Becher’s Brook and Foinavon, precede The Canal Turn which is taken as the eighth and 24th obstacle on the way round the course. Becher’s is named after an amateur rider who sheltered in the brook after falling from his horse. 

That fence is the opposite of The Chair in that the landing side is below the level of take-off. It certainly catches horses out and jockeys must be brave by sitting back once over the 4ft 10in fence.

Foinavon is named after the unlikely 1967 Grand National winner, who was so far behind the field that a melee at this standard jump, which is the seventh and 23rd on the course, didn’t inconvenience him. His jockey simply steered him wide of the carnage and by the time any other riders remounted, Foinavon was uncatchable! 

That just leaves Valentine’s Brook, which follows The Canal Turn as fence number nine and 25. This obstacle is 5ft high and 3ft 3in wide but with a much broader stream than Becher’s on the landing side. This famous Aintree obstacle takes its name from the 1840 Grand National where it is claimed a horse called Valentine jumped in, hind legs first!