15 quirky facts and figures about the Grand National

It’s that time of year again…. the most valuable jump race in Europe! Where will your money be… Tiger Roll, a favourite for a back-to-back win, or the Welsh National Winner Elegant Escape? There is no better place to watch the race action than our Live Bar, and just for fun, we thought we’d tell you what we love about Aintree’s star fixture;

1. A horse owned by the Queen, Devon Loch, collapsed mysteriously right before the finish line in 1956. An incident that still cannot officially be explained…
2. The tallest fence at the Grand National, the Chair, stands at 5ft 2in and is the broadest.
3. William Dutton, an amateur, entered the race in 1929 and was told by a friend that he would only win if all the other horses fell. They did, only 2 out of 41 finished the race and Dutton won!
4. The Grand National has a number of named fences. One of the most famous is the Water Jump where most of the spectacular shots can be seen.
5. The first woman to complete the course was Geraldine Rees in 1982.
6. Ambush II, the Grand National winner in 1900 was owned by The Prince of Wales (King Edward VII.)
7. The youngest jockey to win a race was Bruce Hobbs, aged 17 aboard Battleship in 1938.
8. Wood from spruce trees from the Lake District were used to make the fences at Aintree. The building work cost tens of thousands of pounds and took months to complete.
9. A successful 19th century punt came in 1866 when owner/ trainer Edward Studd had £1,000 at 40/1 about Salamander. His £40,000 winnings would equate to nearly £3 million at today’s values.
10. Five of the first Grand National’s had a wall jump made of stone situated where the water jump now is.
11. Mr Frisk recorded a victory in 1990 with the fastest ever time is the 8 minutes 47.8 seconds.
12. In 2013 Channel 4 saw the first screening of the Grand National.
13. The most successful horse of the Grand National is Red Rum, winning the Grand National three times: 1973, 1974 and 1977.
14. 51 year old Rosemary Henderson finished fifth in 1994 on her own 100/1 shot Fiddlers Pike. She then went on to write a book about her exploits called ‘Road to the National.’
15. The only horse to have won the Grand National and the American Grand National is Battleship.