Valentine's Brook is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England. Originally named as the Second Brook, it was renamed after a horse named Valentine was reputed to have jumped the fence hind legs first in

1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janu ...

. The horse eventually finished third. It is jumped twice during the race, as the and fences. The fence is similar to, but less daunting than,

Becher's Brook 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 and fence, as well as on four other occasions ...

, being 5 feet high and followed by a ditch of 5 feet 6 inches. It accounts for around 2% of fallers in the Grand National race. The fence has, however, caused several fatalities in races run over the course, and calls have been made for its removal.

References

Grand National {{horseracing-stub