The start of 2009's National by Flickr user Tim. Edwards
If you've seen
National Velvet then you'll know something of the excitement of the
Grand National. But however engaging youthful Liz Taylor's acting ability is, nothing can compare to the visceral excitement of attending this horse race in the flesh.
It's partly the distance: over four miles and 865 yards there's plenty of time for a dramatic narrative to play out between several runners. Partly the fact that it's a steeplechase: this sort of racing always seems particularly precarious, and as the horses come over the bushes and into the water you can tell that it's actually pretty dangerous. And partly the history of the event: this is a race for gentlemen, having run every year since 1836,
wars permitting, and England's most famous runner, and three time National winner,
Red Rum is buried at the finish line.
The Grand National has been the scene of many great victories and losses, including in 1928 when 40 of the 42 horses running were involved in a melee coming over one of the water jumps and a horse with odds of 100/1 won, and the 1956 event where a winning horse, owned by the Queen Mother, had a fit and belly flopped only 40 yards shy of the finish line.
What you'll see on the day is two laps of the
Aintree course on which sixteen
'fences' – or
'formidable obstacles' - are erected. On the second time around the horses only jump fourteen, then run to the finish. There are only a few jumps taken by the stands, as you can imagine, but it's all televised now, so you can see every precarious landing and horse on horse crash.
Note: in recent years animal welfare have become involved and while the track still looks deadly it's actually much safer than it was.
Aintree's Stands by Flickr user The start of 2009's National by Flickr user Tim. Edwards
The atmosphere of being there is tense – even for those in the crowd who haven't had a flutter, and the National is known for being the race that even confirmed non-gamblers bet on. You're hardly British if you don't, around £100 million is placed in bets on this race in the UK alone. And some of the 600 million other people who watch it world wide probably place a bet as well. This race captures attentions and imaginations near and far.
As well of the thrill of the race itself, there's also the pleasure of a day at the races to be had. Naturally, ladies are expected to don their brightest and most ostentatious hats, men must suit and boot and champagne is the
bev. du jour. Apart from the famous race itself,
Ladies Day on Friday is the highlight of the weekend, when the nation takes notice of the styles on display and it's a different sort of filly that people are most interested in.
As well as the kudos of winning, the stakes are close to a cool million, a lot more than in Velvet's day.
