Even if you are not particularly interested in horse racing there is a good chance that you’ve heard of the Grand National. You may even have had a little flutter in the betting shop or joined a sweepstake at work. The race is famous all over the world.

 In February 1839, a horse named Lottery became the first winner of the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, the race that would become known as the Grand National.

The Aintree racecourse opened in 1829 on land that was leased from Lord Sefton. In 1843 Mr Edward William Topham, a respected handicapper, oversaw turning the Grand National into a handicap after having been a weight-for-age race for the first four years. The Topham family owned a substantial amount of land around Aintree and in 1949 they bought Aintree racecourse outright from Lord Sefton.

The Grand National has run every year since 1839 with the exception of 1941-1945 when the track had been commandeered for use in defence. The race was run but declared void in 1993 due to a false start and was postponed in 1997 due to a bomb scare, this race was eventually run 48 hours later on the following Monday. The National was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, however a virtual race was held in its place, cleverly created using CGI technology and algorithms.

 I’ve always watched the Grand National, I’ve even had a few wins on it, more losses but a few wins, nonetheless. This year we wanted to make it a bit of an event, so we set to work organising our own race day.

 We had a wonderful time, making racing helmets and betting slips, it was hilarious watching everyone trying to squeeze their heads into their paper hats. We all joined in the sweepstake and watched the big race together, glass of bubbles in hand. It was fabulous, so much fun.