__NOTOC__ 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 ...

is a

National Hunt 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: ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

which is held annually at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, whi ...

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 popul ...

, England. It is a handicap

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

over 30 fences and a distance of approximately 4 miles 3½

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s. Aintree publish a roll of honour in their racecards each year, the earliest entries on which were compiled largely from the memories of racing enthusiasts sometime around 1880–1890. Aintree officials consider that their honours record prior to 1860 is likely to contain inaccuracies, and therefore the British Horseracing Board's records taken from the press accounts of the time have been used as a more reliable source for the connections of winners prior to 1865. *Weights given in stones and pounds. *Amateur jockeys denoted by a title, e.g. ''Mr'', ''Capt'', ''Lord''.

Unofficial winners

Pre-1839

The first official running of the "Grand National" is now considered to be the 1839 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase. There had been a similar race for several years prior to this, but its status as an official Grand National was revoked some time between 1862 and 1873.

1916–18

For three years during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Grand National could not be run at Aintree, and so a substitute event was held at another racecourse, Gatwick. This venue is now defunct, and it is presently the site of

London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

. The course was modified to make it similar to Aintree, and the races were contested over the same distance, with one fence fewer to be jumped. The 1916 running was titled the Racecourse Association Steeplechase and for the next two years it was known as the War National.

Winners

The 1843 winner Vanguard was trained at Lord Chesterfield's private stables at

Bretby Hall Bretby Hall is a country house at Bretby, Derbyshire, England, north of Swadlincote and east of Burton upon Trent on the border with Staffordshire. It is a Grade II listed building. The name ''Bretby'' means "dwelling place of Britons". Histor ...

References

External links

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

: ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ----
Aintree
– ''Grand National Media Guide.''
aintree.co.uk
– ''Winners 1886–present''.
horseracinghistory.co.uk
– ''Grand National''.
pedigreequery.com
– ''Grand National – Aintree''.

– ''The Grand National''. {{Grand National