On this day in 1839 the first Grand National was held. A National Hunt horse race is a handicap steeplechase, the National is run over 4 miles 514 yards with the horses jumping 30 fences over two laps of the Aintree course. The most valuable jump race in Europe, it is prominent in British culture , and popular among people who do not normally watch or gamble on horse racing at other times of the year.

The Liverpool course, over which the race is run, features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks. Many which have become famous in their own right and, combined with the distance of the event, create what has been called ‘the ultimate test of horse and rider’.

26 February, 2019