Aintree Racecourse: Where 30 Spruce Fences Define the Ultimate Test

If Cheltenham is where champions are made, Aintree is where legends are forged and reputations destroyed. The Grand National course at Aintree Racecourse in Merseyside, just north of Liverpool, represents the most formidable challenge in British jump racing. Its 16 spruce-clad fences, 14 of which are jumped twice to create 30 obstacles over 4 miles 514 yards, have become as famous as the race itself.

The Location and History

Aintree Racecourse officially opened on 7 July 1829, initially staging only flat racing. The first jumps race, the Liverpool Grand Steeplechase, took place in 1836. Three years later, in 1839, the inaugural Grand National was run, won by Lottery in front of a crowd estimated at 50,000 spectators.

The course is easily accessible via Merseyrail trains between Liverpool Central Station and Aintree Station, which sits directly across the road from the racecourse. From the south, the M62 west to M57 provides road access; from the north, the M6 to M58 route serves visitors.

The Topham family bought the racecourse outright in 1949 after leasing it for 100 years from Lord Sefton. During World War II, the course was requisitioned for use as a storage depot with hundreds of U.S. servicemen stationed there. Only one race, won by Bogskar in 1940, took place during the war years.

The Three Courses

Aintree operates three distinct courses:

**The Grand National Course**: A left-handed triangular track of approximately 2 miles 2 furlongs featuring 16 spruce fences ranging from 4ft 6in to 5ft 2in in height. The Chair, one of the open ditches, is the largest fence on the course at 5ft 2in with a 6ft ditch on the take-off side.

**The Mildmay Steeplechase Course**: Opened in December 1953 and named in honour of Lord Anthony Mildmay (1909-1950), four-time champion amateur jockey who advocated for a ‘nursery’ course at Aintree with smaller versions of the National fences. The Mildmay Course enabled Aintree to stage all-National Hunt cards for the first time. It is sharper than the National Course with stiffer fences than historically used hosting Grade 1 races including the Aintree Hurdle, Liverpool Hurdle, Bowl Chase, and Melling Chase during the Grand National Festival.

**The Hurdles Course**: Running inside the steeplechase courses, used for hurdle races throughout the season.

The Grand National Fences

The fences are the story. Approximately 150 tons of spruce branches from the Lake District are used annually to dress the 16 obstacles. Until 2013, each fence was constructed from a wooden frame covered with spruce. That year saw a radical change: the frame was replaced with a softer material known as “plastic birch” to improve safety.

The most famous fences carry names that resonate far beyond racing:

**Becher’s Brook (Fences 6 & 22)**: Named after Captain Martin Becher, who fell here in the 1839 race. The fence features a significant drop on the landing side, reduced by several inches in safety modifications in 2011-2013 but still formidable.

**The Canal Turn (Fences 8 & 24)**: A sharp 90-degree left turn immediately after landing, requiring horses to be balanced and jockeys to be positioned correctly before take-off.

**Valentine’s Brook (Fences 9 & 25)**: Another brook obstacle with a drop, named after a horse who reputedly jumped it while his jockey picked violets.

**The Chair (Fence 15)**: At 5ft 2in the tallest fence, jumped only once on the first circuit. Named after the chair where the distance judge sat when races were run in heats in the 19th century.

**Foinavon (Fence 7 & 23)**: Named after the 100/1 outsider that won the 1967 Grand National when a loose horse caused a mass pile-up at this fence and only Foinavon avoided the chaos.

**The Water Jump (Fence 16)**: A 2ft 6in obstacle with a 12ft 6in spread, jumped only on the first circuit.

The Melling Road

One phrase instantly evokes the National’s unique character: “the Melling Road”, the road between Aintree and Melling villages that intersects the racecourse before the first fence and at the 13th. Horses cross it twice during the race, and in the 1840s the road was flanked by hedges that horses had to jump into and out of. The Anchor Bridge near the road is a popular vantage point and marks where runners are said to be “re-entering the racecourse proper” after being “out into the country.”

The Grand National Festival

The three-day April meeting is British jump racing’s second-most prestigious after Cheltenham. Highlights include:

– **Day One**: Manifesto Novices’ Chase, Doom Bar Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle, Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle, Grade 1 Betway Bowl, and the Foxhunters’ Chase (first race over the National fences)
– **Day Two** (Ladies Day): Grade 1 Melling Chase, Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle, Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle, Mildmay Novices’ Chase, and the Topham Chase (second race over National fences)
– **Day Three**: The Grand National, with 40 runners tackling 30 fences

The Challenge Defined

Aintree’s course is one of the flattest in National Hunt racing, yet its 494-yard run-in from the final fence is one of the longest in steeplechasing. The winner almost always leaves the back straight still on the bridle, and those that aren’t visibly struggle to reach the line. As a general rule, horses that can get into a rhythm, racing nicely on the bridle, do best at Aintree.

Red Rum holds the record for Grand National victories with three wins (1973, 1974, 1977) plus two second places (1975, 1976). No feat better illustrates what Aintree demands: stamina, jumping brilliance, courage, and the ability to repeat the performance when history and expectation press down.