THE RANDOX GRAND NAT I ONAL F E S T I VAL 7-9 APRIL 2021
T he proprietor of Liverpool’s Waterloo Hotel, Lynne was the man who founded Aintree Racecourse and came up with the idea of the Grand National. Sadly he endured ill health up to his death in 1870 but he can be truly proud of his legacy – a unique and iconic sporting institution. Aintree takes its name from the Anglo Saxon ‘One Tree’ and what was once a small village now forms part of the City of Liverpool – a great metropolis like no other and a fitting venue for such a unique contest. The Randox Grand National is not just any horse race. It has overcome countless challenges to return stronger than ever
at home has been the beginning of a love affair with the sport, while for others it remains an annual ritual and perhaps their one ‘flutter’ of the year. It was no surprise that a survey of Britons undertaken by equine welfare charity The Brooke in 2006 saw the greatest Grand National hero of all, three-time winner Red Rum, named as the best-known horse of any kind. This recognition came despite his passing 11 years earlier at the age of 30, in 1995, and 29 years after his third victory in 1977. He was a comfortable 12 per cent clear of the second best-known horse – Black Beauty! On Saturday 10 April 2021, Aintree staged the 173rd running of the race,
on numerous occasions. Despite surviving two World Wars, Aintree Racecourse’s future was plunged very much into doubt in the 1970s and early 1980s, when several renewals of the world’s greatest steeplechase were rumoured to be ‘the last Grand National’. Since the future of Aintree Racecourse was secured by The Jockey Club in 1984, the Randox Grand National Festival has developed into three unmissable days of Jump racing. Each Grand National seems to have an uncanny knack of producing a fascinating story – no surprise then that it is often referred to as the ‘People’s Race’. For many, just watching the race with family
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker