30 facts about Aintree and the Grand National

30 Aintree facts – one for each Grand National fence jumped

1.     The first officially credited Grand National, then named the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, was run in 1839, four years after Aintree staged its inaugural jumps meeting and long after Flat racing had begun. 

After several false starts leading to a two-hour delay, a crowd reported at 40,000 saw 5-1 favourite Lottery win

2.     Obstacles jumped in early Nationals included a stone wall and two hurdles, and horses had to run over an area of ploughed ground

3.     Edward Topham acquired the lease to Aintree in 1848 and took over as clerk of the course

4.     In 1856 the Grand National fixture became a two-day meeting

5.     Bad weather meant only 500 people were said to have witnessed the 1858 National

6.     The War Office took over Aintree in 1915 and replacement races were run at Gatwick Racecourse from 1916 to 1918 on a specially constructed track over the same distance as the National but with 29 fences

7.     When only a seven-year-old, Troytown, who lead much of the way and nearly came down when slipping four fences from home, won the 1920 National but was put down later the same year when falling in a race in France

8.     The first Grand National to be broadcast on BBC radio was in 1927 – in 1952 the Tophams had a row with the BBC and did the commentary themselves, with disastrous results

9.     Forty-two horses set out in the 1928 National, but just two finished after a pile-up at the Canal Turn from which only seven horses continued

Tipperary Tim (100-1) who beat Billy Barton (33-1) were the only horses to pass the post

10. Golden Miller became the only horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same year, when he took the Aintree race in 1934

He won five consecutive Gold Cups from 1932, but never added to his Aintree tally including when 2-1 favourite and unseating his rider at the first fence

11. Mirabel Topham became a director in 1935 following a career in the theatre, and three years later was Chairman and Managing Director, a post she held for nearly 50 years during which she added the Mildmay Course and introduced motor racing

Attempts to sell the land for housing were thwarted in the courts until it was bought by developer William Davies’ Walton Group, but planning permission was never obtained

Mirabel Topham died in 1980, aged 88

12. Starting at 100-1, Davy Jones was well clear of the 1936 field and looked to have the race sewn up when the reins broke at the final fence and he ran out, giving Reynoldstown his second Grand National victory

13. Aged 17, Bruce Hobbs became the youngest jockey to win the National in 1938 on Battleship owned by film actor Randolph Scott and his wife Marion du Pont Scott – in 1963 a horse owned by Gregory Peck finished seventh

14. There was no Grand National run between 1941 and 1945 and, unlike the First World War, no alternative race was organised

15. Prime Minister Clement Attlee requested that the race, which had always been run on a Friday, take place on a Saturday because so many people were taking time off, so the 1947 race switched to Saturday – 10 years later it returned to a Friday but a disappointing crowd meant Saturday became the norm

16. The Mildmay Course, an oval-shaped track of 1m3f within the Grand National course, was first used in 1953 for steeplechase and hurdle races

17. The Aintree motor-racing circuit was launched in 1954, to try to bring in extra revenue, and traced the outside of the Grand National course apart from an indentation between fences 11 and 12 where a ‘triangle’ in the infield comprised hair-pin bends

Four British Grand Prix were run between 1955 and 1962 and the last use of the full circuit was in 1964, although other forms of motorsport continued into the 1980s

18. Devon Loch, ridden by Dick Francis and owned by the Queen Mother slithered to the ground on all-fours for a still unknown reason when having the 1956 race at his mercy leaving the Queen Mother to say afterwards: “Oh, that’s racing”

19. The Grand National was sponsored for the first time in 1958 when the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes contributed £5,000 to the prize-money, with the winner receiving over £13,000

20. The BBC televised the Grand National for the first time in 1960 – in the same year the Sporting Life printed selected jockeys’ silks in colour, but because the colour pages were printed in advance, some of those pictured were non-runners and the eventual winner, Merryman II, was not included

21. Foinaven survived what commentator Michael O’Hehir called a “right old pile-up” at the 1967 National when the riderless Pophams horse veered across the take-off side of the 23^rd fence bringing down Rutherford with other horses then either unseating their riders, taken out, or refusing

Foinaven skirted the carnage to win at 100-1 and the fence now carries his name

22. Red Rum won the first of his three Grand Nationals in 1973, with further victories in 1974 and 1977 (and finishing second in the intervening years)

A further attempt to win in 1978 was prevented by an injury on the eve of the race and he was retired

23.  Aintree’s Flat track was last used in 1976 and most fixtures until then had been mixed-meetings (in 1967 a two-year-old made its racing debut and dead-heated for first place – it was Red Rum)

24. Having had a chequered financial history during the 1960s and 70s, which threatened its existence, with Ladbrokes stepping in to help stave off closure, Aintree was acquired by Jockey Cub Racecourses in 1983 thus guaranteeing its future

25. Amateur rider Charlie Fenwick asked trainer Captain Tim Forster, who had won the National three times, for instructions and was told “keep remounting” – he didn’t need to and won the 1980 race on Ben Nevis

26. A false start was called in 1993 but 30 of the 39 runners set off and the race, the 147^th running of the National, was declared void and bookmakers refunded stakes said to be over £70m

27. The 150^th renewal of the Grand National was due to be run on Saturday 5 April 1997 but two telephoned bomb threats meant the Aintree crowd of 60,000 was evacuated, many of them left stranded and taken in by local residents

The race was rearranged two days later when around 20,000 watched Lord Gyllene win by 25 lengths

28. Donald “Ginger” McCain trained his fourth Grand National winner, following two victories with Red Rum, when Amberleigh House won in 2004 – his son Donald (Jnr) trained the 2011 winner, Ballabriggs

29. The last favourite to win the National was Don’t Push It in 2010, which was 10/1 joint favourite

30. Due to the Covid19 pandemic there was no Grand National in 2020 and the 2021 running was set to take place behind closes doors with betting shops remaining closed