The Grand National is the most prestigious horse race in the United Kingdom and one of the richest. It is a steeplechase which takes place annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool.
The first-ever Grand National was held on Thursday April 12, 1839. The race was contested by 20 horses, and it was won by Lottery by a margin of 20 lengths from Don Juan. In that time, the race has only been cancelled twice; once during World War I and again during World War II when the event was not rescheduled. The race is steeped in history and tradition, with many people believing that it is steeped in superstition. The Aintree steeple chase course is home to some of the most famous fences in horse racing anywhere in the world, just a mention of the Becher’s Brook, The Canal Turn and especially The Chair is enough to strike fear in to even the bravest of jockeys.
The Grand National itself is part of the Aintree Festival that takes place in April each year. 2022 will be an especially good year as for the last 2 years no spectators have been allowed to attend because of the Covid pandemic. It will be crazy. The Grand National festival opens on the Thursday, Friday is Lady’s Day and finally the big one is on the Saturday (Grand National Day) with the big race itself traditionally going of second from last at around quarter past five in the evening UK time.
A lot of people turn up in Liverpool for Grand National weekend without ever intending to go to the festival, the atmosphere in the city is buzzing from the Thursday to the Saturday and there are plenty of pubs to park yourself and soak some of it up. Liverpool is a city in north west England, and is the capital of Merseyside. Horse racing has been a popular pastime in Liverpool since the 16th century. Liverpool is home to many gambling pubs that are frequented by horse racing fans and gamblers alike. One such pub is The Grapes, which has been around for about a century. It’s one of the most popular pubs in Liverpool, with over 100 screens showing horse races from all over the world. There’s also the Stable House Inn, the Birdcage or if you want something a little more modern McCooleys on Matthew Street usually has the horse racing on and has a bookmakers 50 yards down the road. They are handy for putting slips and pens on the tables.
If you can’t make it to Liverpool for the Grand National then don’t worry, there are always ways of watching the Grand National and whole Grand National Festival live online.