Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 19/06/2026 21:20:00

Home to the Grand National, the world's most famous steeplechase, Aintree Racecourse sits on the northern edge of Liverpool, around six miles from the city centre. Racing on the site dates back to 1829, when the hotelier William Lynn laid out a course and grandstand on land leased from Lord Sefton and staged the first flat fixture in July of that year. The track turned to jump racing in the mid-1830s, and the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase of 1836 is widely regarded as the forerunner of the National. In February 1839 a horse named Lottery became the first official winner of the race that would grow into a national institution, contested over roughly four and a quarter miles and a circuit of formidable fences. Those obstacles have become household names in their own right, among them Becher's Brook, the Canal Turn, Valentine's and the Chair. The Topham family, long associated with the course, bought it outright from Lord Sefton in 1949, and after an uncertain period in the 1970s the racecourse passed eventually into the hands of Jockey Club Racecourses, which manages it today. The Grand National Festival, held over three days each spring, is the centrepiece of the calendar and draws enormous crowds, with the racecourse able to accommodate around 75,000 spectators on the big day. Broadcast around the world, the race reaches an audience estimated in the hundreds of millions, making it one of the most watched events in the sporting year. Beyond the National, Aintree stages further fixtures and hospitality events, and its grandstands and suites are used for conferences and functions throughout the year. Easily reached from the M57 and M58 and by rail, the course combines more than 190 years of racing heritage with the modern facilities of a major spectator venue. Among the most celebrated chapters in its history is the career of Red Rum, the only horse to win the Grand National three times, whose victories in the 1970s helped secure the course's revival. The course also stages a hurdle meeting and further National Hunt fixtures across the season.