# 1848 Grand National

The 1848 Grand National Steeplechase was the tenth official annual running of a handicap steeplechase horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday, 1 March. It attracted a then record, field of 29 competitors for a prize valued at £1,015 to the winner.
The race was won by Lieutenant Josey Little on Captain William Peel's Chandler trained by Tom Eskrett. Lieutenant Little wore Captain Peel's colours of white silks with a black cap. The horse won in a time of 11 minutes and 21 seconds, forty-two seconds slower than the course record set the previous year. With the proceeds of the race Lieutenant Little was able to purchase his promotion to the rank of captain in the 1st King's Dragoon Guards. Tom Olliver rode in the race for a record tenth time, finishing second on The Curate. The race was marred by the fatal falls of three competitors at the same fence in the latter stages of the second circuit, taking the total number of fatalities in the history of the race to five.

## Finishing order

No official returns for the Grand National exist prior to 1865. The return below is that published by the reporter of The Times newspaper the day after the race.
| position | name | rider | age | weight | starting price | distance or fate |
| Winner | Chandler | Lieut Josey Little | 12 | 11-12 | 12/1 | 1/2 a length |
| Second | The Curate | Tom Olliver | | 11-02 | 4/1 favourite | 1 & 1/2 lengths |
| Third | Standard Guard | William Taylor | | 10-12 | 100/6 | |
| Fourth | British Yeoman | Charles Bevill | | 10-08 | Not quoted | |
| Fifth | Sir Arthur | J.G. Murphy | | 11-01 | 15/1 | |
| Non Finishers |
| | Wolverhampton | Bartholomew Bretherton | | 11-12 | Not quoted | |
| | Saucepan | Tom Abbott | | 11-11 | Not quoted | Refused at the first fence on the second circuit, stopping many others. |
| | Mathew | Denny Wynne | 10 | 11-10 | 8/1 | Brought down on the first circuit |
| | Jerry | W. Sanders | | 11-07 | Not quoted | Pulled up |
| | Father Matthew | John Lamplugh | | 11-06 | Not quoted | Fell |
| | Mr O'Higgin's Pioneer | Captain William Peel | 8 | 11-06 | 25/1 | Brought down |
| | The Switcher | Lord Strathmore | | 11-05 | | Fell |
| | Ashberry Lass | J. Collis | 6 | 11-03 | | |
| | Cheroot | W. McGee | | 11-02 | | |
| | Aristides | J. Rowlands | | 11-01 | Not quoted | |
| | Khondooz | H Rackley | | 11-00 | 25/1 | Pulled up |
| | Sophia | William Ford | | 11-00 | Not quoted | |
| | The Irish Bard | D. Freeze | | 11-00 | Not quoted | |
| | Eagle | Johnny Broome | | 10-13 | Not quoted | Fell at Becher's Brook 2nd time when tailed off |
| | Mr Harrison's Pioneer | J Neale | | 10-13 | Not quoted | Brought down |
| | Picton | N Burke | | 10-13 | | |
| | Counsellor | John Frisby | | 10-12 | 25/1 | Fell fatally at the ditch and bank along the canal side on the second circuit |
| | Fortune Teller | Neptune Stagg | | 10-10 | 33/1 | Fell |
| | The Sailor | William Holman | 6 | 10-08 | | Fell fatally at the bank and ditch on the canal side on the second circuit |
| | The Gipsy Queen | W. Whitfield | | 10-06 | | Refused |
| | Variety | Horatio Powell | | 10-08 | | |
| | Blue Pill | W Allensby | | 10-03 | | Fell fatally at the bank and ditch along the canal side on the second circuit |
| | Sparta | T Turner | | 10-00 | | Fell |
| | Naworth | William Archer | | 9-08 | | |