The world-famous Grand National is held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. It is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 3½ furlongs with horses jumping 30 fences during two circuits. The race is currently sponsored by Randox Health and is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million.
The 2024 running of the world’s most famous steeplechase took place at 4pm on Saturday, 13 April.
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JP McManus’s I Am Maximus won the 2024 Grand National under Paul Townend for trainer Willie Mullins.
The fences in the race differ from the typical steeplechase fences used in Britain, as the cores are topped with at least 14 inches of spruce. It is also longer than most races at with 30 fences to be jumped over 4 miles 3½ furlongs.
In 2013 a number of changes were made to the race in response to the deaths of four horses in the previous two meetings. These included changing the core of the fences from traditional wooden stakes to birch and plastic cores in an attempt to make the fences more horse-friendly and moving the start.
Further changes were brought in for the 2024 race, including reducing the field size to a maximum of 34 runners, the first fence being moved closer to the start, a standing start being reintroduced and the start time being changed, as part of changes designed to further improve safety.
“The most important thing is for him to go into a home where he’s going to be given something active to do because it can be very hard for these horses – he’s not ready yet just to spend his time in a field”
Potters Corner was the winner of the race that never was, with Red Rum securing yet another triumph with victory in the race of champions
H&H takes a look back and some memorable Aintree heros
A number of major UK bookmakers have pledged to donate profits from the race to NHS Charities Together
Get involved in this unique Aintree style award from your own living room
’In these difficult times we want the public to simply enjoy the race that sadly never was and think about what might have been’
Artist Paul Curtis said it was a ‘privilege to paint such an iconic horse’
‘Very sadly these are exceptional times and this is the responsible thing to do’
The weights for this year’s Grand National have been revealed
Sulekha Varma takes on the role as Andrew Tulloch, who has been at the helm for 24 years, moves on to a new position in the equestrian world
The 2017 Grand National runner-up heads to Royal Windsor after a standing champion at his affiliated showing debut last week
‘The images are generally years old and are specifically designed to shock people who don’t know anything about racing’
On Saturday 6 April 2019, Tiger Roll achieved legendary status by becoming the second horse to win two Grand Nationals — a feat only previously achieved by Red Rum. Here we reveal a few facts about this small but incredibly mighty horse…
The Gordon Elliott-trained little hero with a big heart won his second Grand National today (6 April) in emphatic style
Who has a good chance of becoming the 2019 Grand National hero? The experts reveal their best tips for the famous race
The top jockey hopes to break his losing streak in the world’s greatest race aboard Rock The Kasbah on Saturday, 6 April.
