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The John Smith's Grand National Meeting, Aintree 6th April 2006

The John Smith's Grand National meeting is a three-day horseracing event featuring what is probably the most famous race in the British horseracing calendar, The John Smith's Grand National Steeple Chase.

The John Smith's Grand National Steeple Chase is held on the Saturday afternoon and is an event that attracts bets from people who do not normally gamble. As a result, it's often our first experience of horseracing gambling.

If you have never placed a horse racing bet before, our types of horse racing bet page will give you some information about the types of bet you can place. Our Horse Racing Glossary will also help you to understand some of the terms you may come across when betting on horse racing.

The race card also provides a number of other horse races you may like to bet on. Seven races are run on each day of the meeting.

The Opening Day's race card includes:

• The John Smith's and Batleys Liverpool Long Distance Hurdle
• The Betfair Bowl Steeple Chase
• The John Smith's Red Rum Handicap Steeple Chase
• The John Smith's Mersey Novices Steeple Chase.

Ladies Day, held on the Friday, includes:

• The John Smith's Mildmay Novices' Steeple Chase
• The John Smith's Top Novices' Hurdle
• The John Smith's and Spar Topham Steeple Chase
• The John Smith's NUSSL Sefton Novice's Hurdle.

On the Saturday, together with The John Smith's Grand National Steeple Chase, the race card also includes:

· The Scottish and Newcastle Aintree Hurdle

· The John Smith's Maghull Novices' Steeple Chase.

History of the John Smith's Grand National Steeple Chase

The present John Smith's Grand National Steeple Chase is a 4 mile 4-furlong race consisting of 30 jumps.

The first Grand National was held in 1839, and was won by Lottery, ridden by Jem Mason and owned by John Elmore. It was then called The Grand Liverpool Steeple Chase,

In 1843, the race became a handicap steeplechase, and in 1847 its name was changed to The Grand National Handicap Steeple Chase. The Grand National was first broadcast on radio by the BBC in 1927, and was first televised in 1960.

The Grand National Steeple Chase has been newsworthy over the years not only because of the popularity of the event, but also because of some of the dramas that have unfolded. In 1993, for example, there were two false starts. On the second the recall assistant didn't give a clear signal so 30 of the 39 jockeys continued. The race was declared void and trainer Jenny Pitman's horse, Esha Ness, ridden by John White, was denied the winner's title although finishing first.

The course includes some of the most famous jumps in horseracing. The most well known jump on the Grand National racecourse is Becher's Brook. The jump became known by this name after the 1839 Grand National, in which Conrad crashed into the sixth fence, hurling Captain Martin Becher over the fence and into the brook.

Valentine's Brook was named in 1840, when Valentine's rider, Alan Power, made a bet that he would be ahead at the wall. He was in the lead when he approached the second brook, but Conrad slowed right down and nearly halted. Suddenly Conrad changed his mind, clearing the jump in a spectacular manner, and Power managed to win the bet.

Foinavan, the seventh and twenty-third jump on the Grand National course was named after the winner of the 1967 race, in which a riderless horse, Popham Down, veered across the course on the second circuit at the fence bringing down all the horses except for Foinavan, ridden by John Buckingham.

Previous Winners of the Grand National Steeple Chase

The most successful horse to race in the Grand National Steeple Chase was Red Rum, who won the Grand National three times in 1973, 1974 and 1977. Red Rum is now buried at the winning post.

A more recent Grand National record was set in 1998 when Earth Summit, ridden by Carl Llewellyn and trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, became the first horse to win the English, Scottish and Welsh Grand Nationals.

Jenny Pitman made it into Grand National History when she became the first woman to train a Grand National winner. Pitman trained Corbiere, the winner of the 1983 race.

The most successful jockey in the Grand National was George Stevens in the, who won five times during the nineteenth century (1856, 1863, 1864, 1869 and 1870).

The most successful trainers have been:

• Ginger McCain who trained Red Rum and also trained the 2004 Grand National winner, Amberleigh House
• Fred Rimmell, who trained four Grand National winners: ESB (1956), Nicolaus Silver (1961), Gay Trip (1970) and Rag Trade (1976).

The last five winners of The Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree were:

Year Horse Trainer Jockey

2006 Numbersixvalverde Martin Brassil Niall Madden

2005 Hedgehunter Willie Mullins Ruby Walsh

2004 Amberleigh House Ginger McCain Graham Lee

2003 Monty's Pass Jimmy Mangan Barry Geraghty

2002 Bindaree Nigel Twiston-Davies Jim Culloty

Betting on The John Smith's Grand National Steeple Chase

If you are considering betting on the Grand National, it's worth looking at some of the statistics of the race.

Only thirteen mares have ever won the Grand National, and no mare has won it since Nickel Coin was first past the post in 1951. The Grand National has only ever been won three times by greys. The Lamb was the first grey to win in 1868, and won again in 1871. The only other grey to have won the Grand National Steeple Chase was Nicolaus Silver in 1961.

You might also want to consider where a horse, that you are considering placing a bet on, was trained. There have been twenty Irish-trained winners in the history of the Grand National, and although no Irish-trained horses won between 1958 and 1999, Irish-trained horses have been making a comeback in the event in recent years. The following winners were all trained in Ireland: Bobbyjo (1999), Papillon (2000), Monty's Pass (2003), Hedgehunter (2005).

On the other hand, there have only ever been two French-trained winners (Huntsman in 1862 and Cortolvin in 1867) and although the Grand National Steeple Chase has attracted horses from overseas (Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Norway, Japan and Spain), none have managed to complete the course.

The most frequent ages for winners are nine years and eleven years old and a high percentage of winners have carried less than 11 stone.

Favourites have won the race on a number of occasions, and you may also want to consider looking at which horses ran well in the Coral Welsh National, The Paddy Power Gold Cup and The Hennessey Gold Cup earlier in the year, as horses that do well in these races also often do well in the Grand National Steeple Chase.

Betting on Horseracing Events – Further Information

The John Smith's Grand National Meeting is just one of many events in the horseracing calendar. Check out the other forthcoming events!

If you want to bet on The John Smith's Grand National Steeple Chase but would like some tips on how to bet on horseracing, visit the Horseracing – How To Bet section.

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