Britain’s richest jumps race: The Grand National
The Grand National held at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool each year is also famous as ‘the National’. It is a 360 degrees test of the contestants who are put through the challenges of the steeplechase along with possibly the longest of distances. Over the track distance of four miles and four furlongs, the horses complete two circuits of the National Course as they jump thirty fences.
The jockeys too are put through one of the most testing races of their lifetime, only the one with the highest of courage can attempt a race that is held responsible of uncountable injuries of both the ride and the jockey, and the lives of many horses.
The race has some of the deadliest fences that are feared by even the best riders. Becher’s Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn are famous for their severity and difficulty. For many pairs it is not possible to get to the second circuit of the race. With the exception of the Chair and the Water Jump, the rest of the sixteen fences are jumped over twice.
The race is the feature of the three-day meeting, and is the richest as in 2012 the total prize money offered was £975,000. It is an attraction for many who avoid betting and attending racing for the rest of the season.
In 2005, the sponsorship of the event was taken from Martell by John Smith’s. BBC broadcasted the prestigious event for good fifty-two years, but in 2012 the rights for the broadcasting were shifted the Channel 4 with which the deal is fixed now for the next four years.
The Grand National records 500 to 600 million viewers in nearly 140 countries each year.
The most dramatic victory over the Grand National was made possible by Mon Mome in 2009, who won by dramatic 12 lengths, a record that was broken after forty-two years. The margin was not the only exciting fact about the success, the trainer, Venetia Williams, accomplished the honour for the first time, and the jockey, Liam Treadwell, also posted a Grand National success for the first time.
The causalities each year put the BHA to work for revising some aspects of the race and the track.
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