The Grand National Home > Events > Horse Racing > Grand National The Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 3½ furlongs, with horses jumping 30 fences over two circuits. The Grand National was first run in 1839. It is a handicap horse race, which horses carry diverse weights allocated by the handicapper, where competitors were required to jump varied fences and ditch obstacles over 4 miles 3 ½ furlongs (7,141 m) with horses jumping 30 fences over two circuits. It is the most important jump race in Europe and the price is £1 million in 2014. The Aintree’s National Course is extremely difficult. It has larger fences than those seen on conventional National Hunt tracks. The complexity of the Grand National fences and the quantity of runners (around 40 horses) is what make the race unique. Horses and riders compete against different types of fences and lots of other horses trying to jump them at the same moment.

The Canal Turn (90 degree turn after the jump), Becher’s Brook and The Chair are some of the fences that became famous in their own right, combined with the distance of the event, creating the “ultimate test of horse and rider”. There are 17 fences, in total. The horse race has been broadcasting live on free-to-air terrestrial television in England since 1960 through BBC. Over 500-600 million watch the Grand National in over 140 countries, broadcasting since 1927. Events steeplechase | horse racing | Britannica.com horse racing the Palio Steeplechase, in horse racing , a race over jumps or obstacles. Although dating back to Xenophon (4th century bc), it derives its name from impromptu races by fox hunters in 18th-century Ireland over natural country in which church steeples served as course landmarks. It differs from hurdle racing, in which the barriers or hurdles are portable. Steeplechasing was long a favourite sport of cavalry officers. It is popular in England, France , and Ireland and to a lesser extent in the United States . A steeplechase race.

Lorax Because of the stamina that is required, mature horses are preferred, and racing through age 10 and beyond is not uncommon. Many steeplechasers are “half-bred,” the term applied to any horse that is not a pure Thoroughbred . The most famous steeplechase race is the Grand National held annually at Aintree, near Liverpool , Eng., over a distance of 4 miles 855 yards (7,180 m.) with 30 or so fences. It has been won several times by horses carrying 175 pounds (79 kg). Other steeplechase events include the Irish Grand National and the Grand Steeplechase de Paris. An American steeplechase, the Maryland Hunt Cup, was first run in 1894 in Glyndon, Md. The steeplechase appears in the Olympic Games as part of the three-day event in equestrian competition. Learn More in these related articles: Grand National Live Stream Aintree Racecourse Online Feed, Weather Event Information: The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England.

It is a handicap chase over a distance of four miles and 856 yards (7,242 m), with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course. It is currently scheduled to take place each year on a Saturday afternoon in early April. The steeplechase is the centrepiece of a three-day meeting, one of only four run at Aintree in the racing season. It is the most valuable National Hunt event in Britain, offering a total prize fund of ï¿½950,000 in .The race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year. The Grand National has always been run over the same course at Aintree and consists of two circuits of sixteen fences, the first fourteen of which are jumped twice. Participating horses cover a distance of four miles and four furlongs, the longest of any National Hunt race in Britain. The course is also notable for having one of the longest run-ins from the final flight of any steeplechase, at 494 yards.

The Grand National was designed as a cross-country steeplechase when it was first officially run in 1839. The runners started at a lane on the edge of the racecourse and raced away from the course out over open countryside towards the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The gates, hedges and ditches that they met along the way were flagged to provide them with the obstacles to be jumped along the way with posts and rails erected at the two points where the runners jumped a brook. The runners returned towards the racecourse by running along the edge of the canal before re-entering the course at the opposite end. The runners then ran the length of the racecourse before embarking on a second circuit before finishing in front of the stands. The majority of the race therefore took place not on the actual Aintree Racecourse but instead in the adjoining countryside. That countryside was incorporated into the modern course but commentators still often refer to it as "the country", much to the confusion of millions of once-a-year racing viewers. Many well-known jockeys have failed to win the Grand National.

These include champion jockeys such as Terry Biddlecombe, John Francome, Josh Gifford, Stan Mellor, Jonjo O'Neill (who never finished the race), Fred Rimell and Peter Scudamore. More recently Richard Johnson and Adrian Maguire have failed to win the race. Local Weather: Grand-National-Guide.co.uk - Grand National 2016 - Customer Reviews Note: The analysis of the external links is based on the most recent data. Technical information The web server with the IP-address 94.236.99.183 used by Grand-national-guide.co.uk is run by Rackspace Ltd. and is located in Great Britain. This web server runs a few other websites, mostly in the english language. The websites were created using the programming language PHP and they are hosted on a Apache server, which runs on the operating system Debian (Linux). The website does not specify details about the inclusion of its content in search engines. For this reason the content will be included by search engines.

Information about the server of the website IP address: Steeplechase - aBitOfIreland Steeplechase / 0 Comments /in Castles and Abbeys , Irish Interest , Places of Interest , Uncategorized /by JoAnn This is where the first Steeplechase took place in 1752, between the two churches of Buttevant and Doneraile in County Cork. The race was 4 miles long. The steeple has fallen off the church at Doneraile and hasn’t been replaced yet. Steeplechase A steeplechase is a distance horse race in which competitors are required to jump diverse fence and ditch obstacles. Steeplechasing is primarily conducted in Ireland (where it originated), the United Kingdom , Canada , United States , Australia and France . The name is derived from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple , jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside. Modern usage of the term “steeplechase” differs between countries.

In Ireland and the United Kingdom, it refers only to races run over large, fixed obstacles, in contrast to “ hurdle ” races where the obstacles are much smaller. The collective term “jump racing” or “ National Hunt racing ” is used when referring to steeplechases and hurdle races collectively (although, properly speaking, National Hunt racing also includes some flat races ). Elsewhere in the world, “steeplechase” is used to refer to any race that involves jumping obstacles. The most famous steeplechase in the world is the Grand National run annually at Aintree Racecourse , in Liverpool , since its inception in 1836 (the official race was held three years later), which in 2014 offered a prize fund of £GBP 1 million. The steeplechase originated in Ireland in the 18th century as an analogue to cross-country thoroughbred horse races which went from church steeple to church steeple, hence “steeplechase”.

The first steeplechase is said to have been the result of a wager in 1752 between Cornelius O’Callaghan and Edmund Blake, racing four miles (6.4 km) cross-country from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church in Doneraile , in Cork , Ireland . An account of the race was believed to have been in the library of the O’Brien’s of Dromoland Castle . Most of the earlier steeplechases were contested cross-country rather than on a track, and resembled English cross country as it exists today. The first recorded steeplechase over a prepared track with fences was run at Bedford in 1810, although a race had been run at Newmarket in 1794 over a mile with five-foot bars every quarter mile. [1] The first recognised English National Steeplechase took place on Monday 8 March 1830. The 4-mile (6.4 km) race, organised by Thomas Coleman of St Albans , was run from Bury Orchard, Harlington in Bedfordshire to the Obelisk in Wrest Park, Bedfordshire.

The winner was Captain Macdowall on “The Wonder”, owned by Lord Ranelagh, who won in a time of 16 mins 25 seconds. Report of the event appeared in the May and July editions of the Sporting Magazine in 1830. In Great Britain and Ireland, “steeplechase” only refers to one branch of jump racing Collectively, Great Britain and Ireland account for over 50% of all jump races world wide, carding 4,800 races over fences in 2008. Jump racing in Great Britain and Ireland is officially known as National Hunt racing . In the United States, there are two forms of Steeplechasing (or jumps racing). Hurdle and timber. Hurdle races occur almost always over the National Fences, standardized plastic and steel fences that are 52 inches tall, with traditional natural fences of packed pine (Springdale Race Course in Camden, S.C.) and live hedges (Montpelier, Va.) in use on a few courses.

National fences stand 52 inches tall at the highest point, but are mostly made of synthetic “brush” that can be brushed through (much like the synthetic fences now used in other countries). The hurdle horse is trained to jump in as much of a regular stride as possible. This allows the horse to maintain its speed upon landing. Since it is not always possible to meet a fence in stride, the horses are also schooled in how to jump out of stride. An out of stride jump can decrease a horses speed drastically. Hurdle races are commonly run at distances of 2–3 miles. Hurdle races occur at steeplechase meets mainly in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast and on the turf courses of several racetracks – Saratoga, Colonial Downs, Penn National, Monmouth Park and others. Timber racing is conducted over solid and immovable wooden rail fences that, in the most extreme case, may reach five feet high. The distances are longer, ranging from three to four miles (6 km) in distance, and the jumping effort required of the horse is much different.

Because of the size of the fences and their solid and unyielding construction, a timber horse is trained to jump with an arc, unlike a hurdle racer. An important factor in success at timber racing is for the horse to land in stride, so that it can carry its speed forward on the flat part of the race course. This is harder than in Hurdle races because the nature of the obstacle being jumped – if a horse hits a timber fence hard enough, it can bring it almost to a complete stop. Most notable US timber races include the Maryland Hunt Cup in Glyndon and the Virginia Gold Cup in The Plains . Timber races currently are not held at any major US tracks (since the fences are not portable) but can be found at almost all steeplechase meets. American jump racing happens in 11 states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York. The National Steeplechase Association is the official sanctioning body of American jump racing. Thomas Hitchcock (1860–1941) is known as the father of American steeplechasing.

In the late 1800s, he built a steeplechase training center on his 3,000-acre (12 km) property in Aiken, South Carolina and trained horses imported from England. No less important are the contributions by fellow Aiken seasonal resident F. Ambrose Clark . Clark held many important chases on his Brookville (Long Island) estate, Broad Hollow, in the 1920s and 1930s. Ford Conger Field was built by F. Ambrose Clark and is the site of the annual Aiken Steeplechase, a part of the Triple Crown in March. The first Steeplechase Meet in Aiken was held March 14, 1930 in Hitchcock Woods. In addition to the Aiken Steeplechase, South Carolina is also home to the Colonial Cup and the Carolina Cup, which is the largest event on the circuit. Both of these races are held in Camden, South Carolina . The Virginia Gold Cup is also among the oldest steeplechase races in the United States, with its first running in 1922.

Up until recently, the Gold Cup was a four mile (6 km) long hurdle race. The length of this race prompted many jokes – such as the jockey’s putting marbles in their mouth, spitting one out each lap to keep track of what lap they had completed. Since the Gold Cup moved to the present course, it has been changed into a timber race with a very large purse. Every first Saturday in May, more than 50,000 spectators gather at Great Meadow near The Plains, Virginia (45 miles west of Washington, DC). The 4-mile (6.4 km) grass course with 4-foot (1.2 m) high timber fences is often referred to as the “crown jewel of steeplechasing.” According to Tennessee State Historian Walter T. Durham, Grasslands relates the history of the Southern Grasslands Hunt and Racing Foundation, a group that organized the first international steeplechase held on U.S. soil 80 years ago at Grassland Downs, a 24-square-mile (62 km) course located in Gallatin, TN between 1929 and 1932.

In addition to holding an inaugural race in 1930, two international steeplechases were held at Grasslands in 1930 and 1931. The winners were awarded a gold trophy designed by King Alfonso XIII of Spain. The Iroquois Steeplechase event is held in Nashville , Tennessee . Beginning in 1941, with one year off during World War II , the race has been run continuously at Percy Warner Park on the a course inspired by Marcellus Frost and designed by William duPont. The Queens Cup Steeplechase is another major annual steeplechase event. It is held the last Saturday of April at Brooklandwood , a farm and estate in Mineral Springs, North Carolina , about 20 miles (32 km) from Charlotte . This day-long event of racing and social activities attracts over 10,000 spectators, many of whom travel great distances to attend.

The Breeders’ Cup Grand National Steeplechase (formerly known as the American Grand National ) is held each October at the Far Hills Races in Far Hills, New Jersey and draws about 50,000 spectators for a single day race-meet. It is the richest event in American steeplechasing with a purse of $500,000. Steeplechasing Notes Steeplechasing Notes °Steeplechasing has its roots in "pounding matches" held in Ireland in the late 17th century; matches held across haphazardly chosen country until the loser was "pounded" into the ground by being out-lasted by the winner, or fell. Horses were typically heavy animals who could handle rough ground, stay, and jump. °By the mid-18th century chosen courses with a terminating winning post of a pre-agreed upon landmark, often a church steeple or tower, were more typical than not. Thus, the word "steeplechase," although the term "steeplehunt" was apparently the original term used.

Many authorities cite a 1752 match over four and one-half miles from Buttevant Church in Co. Cork to the spire of St. Leger Church, between a Mr. Edmund Blake and a Mr. O'Callaghan, as one of the first of these more recognizable types of races. A draft of conditions for an Irish steeplechase race held in 1803, "...a sweepstake with added money of a hogshead of claret, a pipe of port and a quarter-cask of rum," and the use of the word "steeplechase" in the Irish Racing Calendar of 1807, to describe a six mile cross-country match race, help bracket the use of the term. A stag hunt, c. 1740. By John Wootton. The open country of Leicestershire. By Geoffrey Giles, c. 1895. °In England, as the Industrial Revolution began to to consume forests, which supported deer populations, the British aristocracy turned from stag hunting to fox hunting, which apparently proved to be more exciting in any case.

Charles, the second Duke of Grafton established a (fox) hunting pack of hounds at Wakefield Lodge sometime around 1715, and was such an enthusiast of the sport that King George II commented in 1735 that it was "...a pretty occupation" for a man of quality and of his age to hunt a poor fox [Grafton was age 52 at the time]." It became clear that slower horses who were not required to jump much, nor show much speed, were inadequate to keep up with faster prey that would race across open country. °Initially English fox hunts were a matter of running down the fox, in a battle of attrition through heavy country, but the notion of chasing foxes at speed across open grazing country enclosed by hedges, stone walls, irrigated by ditches, caught on. Lightly wooded Leicestershire, with its vast enclosures offering good open runs, became a fashionable location, and horses who could run fast and jump handily became the mounts of choice.

Thoroughbred sires were increasingly crossed on grade mares of various types; one such example is the fourth Duke of Grafton's decision to send one of his well-bred thoroughbreds, Pioneer (1804, Whiskey - Prunella) to Wakefield Lodge to serve as a hunter sire for his mares, and those belonging to his tenants. The notion of matching these faster hunters against each other, without the fox, was irresistible. Dick Christian in Melton Mowbray, 1841. By John Ferneley, Sr. John Spence and Fugitive clearing the last hurdle at Bedford. By C.H. Schwanfelder, 1817. °Dick Christian (1779-1862), one of a number of chasing/hunting characters with roots in Melton Mowbray, rode in steeplechases during the first few decades of the 19th century for owners such as Lord Plymouth, Berkeley; Craven and Lord Forester.

One of his races was a match between Clinker, who Christian rode for White and Ross, and Clasher, ridden by George Osbaldeston; Christian's description of the race was recorded by The Druid in Post and Paddock... "he was such a good one at rails was Clincker; I thought he was winning, but deary me, down he comes at the last fence, dead beat..." Christian described the ideal hunter as one who had "great rump, hips and hocks, forelegs well afore him and good shoulders, but none of your high short horses." Generally, in Ireland, thoroughbreds, or at the very least thoroughbred sires, were considered essential in breeding hunters and chasers. Through judicious crossing of mares who were not completely thoroughbred--or who at least could not be traced back to foundation mares listed in the General Stud Book-- a number of half-bred mare families were established, especially in Ireland. They have provided steeplechasing with some of its greatest winners. ° Matches across country were held in both England and Ireland, from the mid-eighteenth century. One of the earliest recorded matches in England was in 1790, between Mr.

Loraine Hardy and Hon. Mr. Willoughby's horses for 1,000 guineas over nine miles, from Melton Mowbray to Dalby Wood. None of these early matches, from "point to point," had a course set--the rider was free to select his own course to the winning post. Later, flags were occasionally placed along the agreed-upon course to be followed. In an 1813 match in Co. Roscommon Ireland, over six miles, the obstacles included "...six walls five feet high and several yawning ditches." °The first known steeplechase course,as opposed to a race across country, to be laid out in England was in 1810 at Bedford, a three mile course with eight fences, 4' -6" high. Horses entered in this hurdle race had to be certified hunters. ° As the number of steeplechase races increased, both in England and Ireland, so did the frequency of evils perpetuated during the running; out in the country, rivals would run into interference from a favorite's supporters; holes in fences would appear to ease a fancied horse's way, and other abuses were common.

In this, 'chasing was not unlike its sister sport, flat-racing at this time. For this reason, and others, many of the establishment racing community and in the fox hunting community, particularly in England, did not favor steeplechasing: Charles Apperley ("Nimrod"), the first influential turf writer, considered it dangerous to man and horse; others opposed to it during the first half of the 19th century included prominent members of the Jockey Club, such as Admiral Rous, the "dictator of the English Turf." Finally, the Grand National Hunt Committee was formed to control the sport and assess penalties. It was recognized by the Jockey Club in England in 1866; in Ireland the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee was formed in 1869 to perform the same tasks.In 1889 The Grand National Hunt Committee's name was changed to the National Hunt Committee, by which it is known today. St. Albans Grand Steeplechase, 1834. By James Pollard. The Grand National running of 1839 at Aintree, Lottery in the lead. By F.C. Turner.

°1830 was the inaugural year of the St. Albans steeplechase, near London, which proved to be highly popular with the public. The following year was even more successful, four miles cross country with horses carrying 11 st. 7 lb.; it was won by a famous early steeplechaser, Moonraker, owned by Mr. Beardworth, who also won the St. Leger that year with his horse, Birmingham. St. Albans is significant for its influence on the establishment of other steeplechase meets elsewhere in England. A decade later, there were more than sixty held in various parts of England. °The first flat-race meeting held at Aintree, near Liverpool, was in 1829. In 1836, the Liverpool Grand Steeplechase was first held there; the course included twenty fences in two circuits. It was significant in that the course was enclosed and the fences were flagged along the route. It was held again, under slightly different conditions and with the name The Liverpool Steeplechase, in 1837-38, and some people date the commencement of the Grand National from these dates.

Others consider the first true running of it to be 1839, when a syndicate of trustees comprised of prominent turfites took over the management of the race from the original lessee of the land at Aintree and operator of the course, Mr. Lynn, owner of the Waterloo hotel. It was originally called the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, changed to the Liverpool and National Steeplechase in 1843, and finally, the Grand National in 1847. ° In Ireland, steeplechasing was an on-going feature of racing meetings, primarily in the west. In the 1830s courses were laid out at Mayo, with graded obstacles and weight based on age; at Ballinrobe, at Tuam, at Cashir, and elsewhere. Still, the actual route of travel to the final flag was left to the rider. In 1854 the first regular steeplechase meeting, which included the race for The Corinthian Cup, was held at Punchestown; the racing here was over a defined circuit.

In 1861 the Punchestown Races were reorganized as The Kildare and National Hunt Steeplechases, permanent stands and enclosures were constructed; the Conyngham Cup course was opened and used first in 1862 for the National Hunt Steeplechase. Fairyhouse, near Dublin, and the Ballybrit course near Loughrea, site of the Galway Plate, also were established in mid-century; the 3 mile-5 furlong Irish Grand National was inaugurated in 1870 at Fairyhouse. The Conyngham Cup of 1872, at Punchestown in Ireland, won by Heraut d'Armes. The famous "Double," a 6 foot-6 inch wide and 3 feet deep first ditch, the top 6 foot-6 inch wide, the second ditch 4 feet wide. By John Sturgess. ° The first steeplechase at Cheltenham was held in 1841. Because Lottery (winner of the 1839 Grand National) won it, he was required to carry the incredibly heavy weight of 13 st. 4 lbs.

in his 1841 race at Aintree, where he was pulled-up by his rider, the famous Jem Mason. Steeplechases were run in and around Prestbury park for many years; the present course where the Cheltenham Gold Cup (steeplechase--a flat race with that name was run in the vicinity over 100 years ago) is run was laid out in 1902. It became the permanent venue for the four mile National Hunt Steeplechase, then open only to maidens ridden by amateurs, in 1911. In 1924 the Chelteham Gold Cup was instituted, to offer a chance for long-distance chasers to compete against each other under level terms in a weight-for-age race. At first it was considered a training race on the way to the Grand National, but has since become a prestigeous race in its own right, now recognized as the championship of steeplechasing. Wrack won flat and hurdle races in Britain; exported to the U.S. he became a leading sire of flat racers. °Hurdle races in England date back to the early 19th century, if not earlier.

One story has it that they became popular after, for amusement, George, Prince of Wales, Mrs. Fitzwalter, and some soldiers raced over sheep hurdles on the Downs near Brighton around 1808. By 1882 hurdle race courses were required to be at least 2 miles in length, with at least eight flights of hurdles, the hurdles to be no less than 3' 6" in height. In 1927 the Champion Hurdle race was established to provide a venue for top hurdlers. Both in England and on the continent, horses that did poorly on the flat were often tried over hurdles. Then, as now, the few horses that show a special aptitude for jumping are moved on to steeplechases, but most of these former flat racers succeed only at hurdling. Wrack (1909, Robert le Diable - Samphire) did well on the flat, and then won over hurdles, winning six of seven outings, before export to the U.S. and his place in history as a good sire of flat racers in the U.S.

(leading sire by number of winners in 1923, 1930, 1931). His son, Petee-Wrack sired American Grand National winner Brother Jones, and Maryland Hunt Cup winners Peterski and Pine Pep. °Up until 1882 the number and types of obstacles to be jumped in steeplechases in Great Britain were left to the whim of the course organizers. The National Hunt Committee regularized this, specifying the number of fences required for races of various lengths, and the minimum number and type of jumps. ° Point-to-Point race meetings began around 1880; unlike the increasingly regularized steeplechases and hurdle races, in point-to-points the object was to get to the finish over four miles of open country in the fastest time possible; the course route was left to each individual rider. In addition, the races were designed for horses that hunted, ridden by amateurs, although professionals began to take part in increasing numbers.

In 1913 the Master of Hounds Point-to-Point Association was established to govern the meets, and 1937 point-to-points were brought under the rubric of the National Hunt Committee, which does not allow professional riders in these races. They serve as a source of income for local hunts and as a training ground for both horses and riders--Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National winners, such as Teal, Merryman II, Four Ten, and The Dikler, all started as point-to-pointers. Top french jockeys, "cracks," a number of them aristocrats, commemorated by Pichot in a cross-country chase at Vincennes in 1865. °French steeplechasing was heavily influenced by young French gentlemen exposed to the sport in England. Cross-country matches of the "English type" were held in the late 1820s near St. Germain, and courses au clocher[races to the steeple] started to appear in race programs in the 1830s and '40s, largely contested by gentlemen-riders and cavalry officers of the aristocratic class.

Obstacles were initially as challenging as those in Great Britain, and French owners and breeders even sent some chasers to Aintree to compete in the Grand National--one, Lutteur III, won it in 1909, and the 1865 winner, Alcibiade, was bred in France. The Société des Steeple-Chases de France was founded in 1863 to regulate chasing and, as in England, to attempt to control abuses. A little more than a decade later the racecourse at Auteuil, in Paris, was built as a venue for 'chasers and hurdlers. Both the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris and the Grande Course des Haies d'Auteuil were established there in 1874. The course follows a figure eight form requiring horses to run in both directions, and the brush fences, while large, are comprised of soft privet, designed to be jumped through, rather than over.

Today, in both France and Italy, horses that fail on the flat at age 2 are often reschooled to jump hurdles at 3, and there are hurdle races throughout the country exclusively for 3 or 4 year olds, although the trend towards jumping 3 year olds seems to be slowing now. Average prize money for these races is higher than in Great Britain, which encourages owner and trainers to send their less-likely flat horses to jumping school. Speed is an essential component of these races, with only moderate jumping ability where horses jump from the forehand. Those with the conformation, ability to use their hind ends, and stamina are trained on to steeplechases. There have been a number of French-bred and/or trained winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, King George VI Steeplechase at Kempton, and important hurdle races in England in the past thirty years-- some of the top ones are half-bred or AQPS (Autres de que Pur Sang)-- but none have succeeded in the Grand National. French chasers have also frequently raided into Italy, winning the Gran Premio Merano. Jerome Park water jump, 1877. Print by Currier and Ives.

Kentucky-bred Trouble was trained in Canada; brought back to the U.S., he won the Grand Steeplechase Handicap at Jerome Park twice. °In the U.S., steeplechasing was introduced by the Washington Jockey Club in a race in Washington D.C. in 1834. After the Civil War, steeplechasing became a regular feature at Jerome Park in New York, and for a time it became a minor American obsession. Steeplechase and hurdle races and courses were established on tracks across the country, from San Francisco to Louisiana, some of which lasted up through the first World War. In 1895 the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association was formed to regulate the sport; in 1899 the American Grand National Steeplechase was first held over 2 1/2 miles at Morris Park. The Agnew-Hart anti-gambling bill, passed in New York in 1908, impacted racetracks across the country, and steeplechasing, along with flat racing was dealt a serious blow as tracks such as Brighton Beach were sold, and Saratoga closed.

In the interregnum, steeplechasing was kept alive at local hunt meets and "betless" meetings at tracks such as old Belmont; when racing resumed across the country, many tracks were rebuilt, old ones permanently closed, and new ones erected without steeplechase courses. In the 1920s and '30s chasing was dominated by a few wealthy patrons and amateur jockeys and trainers. By 1940 only Belmont Park, Saratoga and Acqueduct actually had steeplechase courses, and sanctioned chases with portable jumps were operating only in New York, Maryland and Delaware (the latter due to the efforts of wealthy 'chasing fan William du Pont). With the institution of pari-mutuel betting in 1941, Saratoga, and then Belmont reintroduced hurdle racing, which proved popular with the betting public and, more significantly, with professionals who could school a horse quickly over the lower fences, and eventually stakes races with decent money were offered, among them the New York Turf Writers race, the National Hurdle, and others.

In 1974 jumps of packed pine or cedar were replaced by synthetic steeplechase fences made of a steel frame, foam-rubber and plastic "brush" with a 52 inch height--these portable "National Fences" are standard for more than 150 hurdle races held in the U.S. today. After the World War II, hunt racing resumed with increased support as well, with important amateur races at Fair Hill, Maryland, and Rolling Rock in Pennsylvania. The Maryland Hunt Cup (established 1894) and the Virigina Gold Cup (established 1923) are timber races that have been supported by generations of local hunt families, and are the closest type of race today to the Grand National, albeit they are held over open ground, and not a turf course. The Maryland Hunt Cup is considered the toughest test of horse and rider in the U.S., with twenty-two solid natural obstacles, mostly tall, difficult to jump, vertical post and rails, across 4 miles of undulating terrain with varying types of footing; two winners of the race, Ben Nevis II and Jay Trump, have gone on to win the Grand National in England.

In this race there are a number of winners that trace back to American foundation mares, including the aforementioned Jay Trump. Thoroughbreds that Jump Quick Links Steeplechase Notes Aintree-Grand-National.net - Grand National Betting Odds 2017 | Race Cards Grand__National - visit Technical information The web server used by Aintree-grand-national.net is located near the city of London, Great Britain and is run by Virtual Internet (UK) Limited. This web server runs a few other websites, mostly in the english language. The websites of Aintree-grand-national.net are hosted by a Microsoft-IIS server and were developed in the programming language PHP. The HTML pages were created with the latest standard HTML 5. The website does not specify details about the inclusion of its content in search engines. For this reason the content will be included by search engines. Information about the server of the website IP address: Steeplechase Racing – by Jamey Price | The Photo Brigade Contact Steeplechase Racing – by Jamey Price Kentucky-based freelance photographer Jamey Price recently photographed the origins of steeplechase horse racing at a point to point in Ireland.

Steeplechase horse racing is one of the oldest organized sports in the world and the annual 4 mile chase held at Aintree near Liverpool England, known better as the English Grand National, is one of the most watched and bet on sporting events on Earth. Steeplechasing’s origins lie in rural Ireland during the 1700′s, where two fox hunters probably having had far too much to drink on a morning’s hunt decided to wager a ‘my horse is faster and better than your’s and I will prove this to you by racing you to the next town’s church steeple.’ Following this friendly race, the sport was born. To this day, the highest structure in a rural Irish town is the church steeple, hence where the name “steeplechasing” comes from as it was the easiest object to find on the horizon. My recent 10 day trip to Ireland to ride for a point to point trainer’s yard and go racing with the barn I was working for was yet another opportunity I couldn’t pass up while abroad. Point to pointing, or as the Irish say it ‘pint ta pinting,’ is the most basic and pure form of the sport.

Limited to amateur riders, the horses are very much thoroughbred race horses as you would see at any other track or steeplechase race meeting around the world, but under Irish racing rules, the horses must also be registered with a fox hunt in Ireland which keeps point to pointing very much grounded in it’s traditional roots. I was lucky enough to land in trainer Paurick O’Connor’s yard riding alongside his younger brother, Derek, who is a living legend and 7 times amateur champion jockey. It was 10 days filled with riding out on many sets in the morning but was a fabulous opportunity to school some of the horses over the chase fences and go racing on the two Sunday’s I was in the country. Continue reading and see more images on Jamey’s Blog . October 20th, 2010 | Posted in Photojournalism , Sports | Tags: England , English Grand National , Jamey , Liverpool , Price , Steeplechase Please support The Photo Brigade! You're awesome and that's why we work hard to bring you quality content, gear reviews, and guides.

If you're interested in purchasing any of the equipment or services mentioned in our posts, please use our links as we will receive a portion of the sale to help run the blog. You can also search for gear directly via Amazon , B&H , and Adorama . Please follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and listen to our podcasts on iTunes ! Grand National Horse Race, Liverpool Grand National Horse Race, Liverpool When: 8 April 2017 Where: Liverpool, England, UK The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. It is a handicap steeplechase over 6 km with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps. It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2016. The course The Grand National is run over the National Course at Aintree and consists of two laps of 16 fences, the first 14 of which are jumped twice. Horses completing the race cover a distance of 4 miles 514 yards (6.907 km), the longest of any National Hunt race in Britain.

As part of a review of safety following the 2012 running of the event, from 2013 to 2015 the start was moved 90 yards (82 m) forward away from the crowds and grandstands, reducing the race distance by 110 yards (100 m) from the historical 4 miles 880 yards (7.242 km). The course is also notable for having one of the longest run-ins from the final fence of any steeplechase, at 494 yards (452 m). 2016 Grand National Result 1st Rule The World (50/1) 2nd The Last Samuri (12/1) 3rd Vics Canvas (66/1)

Question: Which English steeplechase is held annually at Aintree near Liverpool?
Answer: Grand National