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As the field of 40 runners shapes up for this year’s John Smith’s Grand National meeting at Aintree, the Liverpool racecourse is inviting the public to ‘feel the passion’ and buy tickets for its number one racing occasion. Much more than a single day’s steeplechase, the Grand National is three full days of music, entertainment, and sports in one of the world’s most unique cities.

The excitement begins on Thursday, 8th April, when the track hosts Liverpool Day, featuring the Foxhunters’ Steeplechase on the Grand National course. On Friday, 9th April, it’s Ladies’ Day at Aintree with John Smith’s Topham Steeplechase heading the bill along with competition for fashion prizes in the Red Rum Garden as Style 2010.

Then, on Saturday, 10th April, the stage will be set for an audience of 70,000 to view the world’s greatest steeplechase. The horses are scheduled to dash for Fence 1 at 4:15 p.m. sharp. A new page will be added to the record books, and the celebrating will continue till 2 a.m. at the Official Grand National Winner’s Party at Alma de Cuba on Seel Street. The festivities are open to the public as well as the winning jockeys, owners, trainers, and celebrity fans.

In the meantime, bookmakers are busily setting the odds for the favourites and long shots. Last year’s winner Mon Mome, trained by Venetia Williams, has attracted lots of early attention at 12-1 odds. The 10-year old is a sure crowd pleaser, but can he join Red Rum and Reynoldstown as the only horses ever to have won the Grand National twice in the past 100 years?

Read More >> Aintree Readies for England’s 2010 Grand National

Grand National betting allows the general public to experience the thrill of the world’s greatest jump race from any location. Tens of millions of pounds are wagered on each year’s 40 runners. They can be watched live now all over the globe, thanks to syndicated television broadcasts provided by the BBC as well as live streaming video channeled through the Internet.

The field can be divided into four groups according to the betting odds. The first group are the Favourites, the horses considered to be very good Grand National bets and typically limited to no more than four picks. They are offered at between 5/1 and 8/1. This compares well to flat-track favourites that pay much lower prices.

A second group are the Challengers, about eight horses whose odds will range from 10/1 to 20/1. Up until a few days before the running, even the Favourites will fall into this range, so early wagering presents an opportunity to those who know their horses well. Four of the last ten winners were from this collection.

The third group of Chaser feature odds of 20/1 to 33/1—about ten horses in all. These are excellent choices for each way bets, as some almost always run in the top four. In the past decade, three winners came from this pool, too, compared to only two Favourites.

Read More >> The Grand National: Place Your Bets

Tours of the grounds at Aintree are conducted throughout the year. They start at the Visitors Centre, where exhibits bring history to life and reveal such mysteries as what jockeys wear under their colours and what link the King of Afghanistan had to a race considered “suitable only for scoundrels.” There are paintings inspired by the Grand National on display in the Gallery and photographs of the most famous moments in racing on the walls.

Guests can tour of Aintree’s weighing room, walk around the dressing room, visit the famous Winner’s Enclosure, and do a look-see in the Aintree stable yard. A stop by Red Rum’s statue and grave is always in order, too.

Of course, no visit can compare to being at Aintree for the Grand National Steeplechase. And it has grown to be much more to Liverpool and the nation than the 10-minute dash around a 16-fence circuit. The race programme has been expanded over the years to include three full days of racing leading up to the John Smiths Grand National meeting.

Thursday, Opening Day, features a huge festival. In 2010, the theme selected was Liverpool Day, celebrating the city’s history and importance. Races run on this first day of the Grand National include the Liverpool Hurdle, the Foxhunters’ Steeplechase, and the Melling Chase, a two-mile and four furlong steeplechase for Group One jumpers.

Read More >> The Grand National: Experiencing the Aintree Aura

The Grand National Steeplechase course at Aintree is one of the most famous horse racing tracks in the world. The 2¼-mile circuit features 16 permanent fences ranging from 4’6” to 6” in height. The first 14 of these are jumped twice. The last two are crossed only on the first of two laps, so that the challengers finish with a final 494-foot run.

Many of Aintree’s jumps are “drop fences,” meaning their landing sides are lower than their take-off sides. Other fences are the opposite, with elevated landing planes. Horses approaching these cannot know any of this until they are already in mid-air, making the obstacles especially challenging to both riders and their mounts.

All of the fences at Aintree are steeped in Grand National History. Many have been given names to keep their role in past races alive. For example, Fence 6 (also 22) is known as Becher’s Brook, where Captain Martin Becher fell from his mount during the inaugural meeting. Fence 7 (also 23) is where, in 1967, every horse but one refused the second circuit jump—The Foinavon Fence.

Fence 8 (also 24) is called the Canal Turn for the 90-degree angle that runners must take upon clearing its 5-foot height. St. Valentine’s Brook is Fence 9 (also 25) with its 5’6” water hazard, named after horse that corkscrewed near here back in 1840; the Bench is Fence 11 (also 27) with its 6-foot approach ditch; Westhead is Fence 12 (also 28); and opposite the seat reserved for the distance judge is the Chair, Fence 15, jumped only on lap one, but the tallest fence at six feet and known to cause many a stumble.

Read More >> The Grand National: Running the Course

Ladbrokes contract with Davies was set to expire in 1982. The developer did not want to renew it. He wanted to sell the property, and again the Aintree racecourse seemed destined to become the Grand National’s burial ground.

When a member of the Jockey Club, Dick Saunders, mounted Frank Gilman’s Grittar for the 1982 meeting, he brought with him much more that the allotted 11 stone 5. He was carrying the hopes of all Grand National fans. That very day, the Club launched a National Appeal, hiring a firm of professional fundraisers and opening a public subscription to save Aintree.

Saunders won the race as a 7/1 favourite. At age 48, he became the oldest jockey and the first Jockey Club member ever to step into the Winner’s Enclosure. And he did so with style, having posted the course’s second-best time ever at 9’12.6”.

Of note, in 1982 Geraldine Rees on Cheers also became the first female jockey to complete the Grand National. These triumphs spurred even greater interest in the race and instilled confidence in the National Appeal, which would raise £4 million in donations toward purchase of the course.

But Davies could get more than that from other buyers, and there would not be enough time for the Jockey Club to raise the balance required before the 1983 running. They convinced Davies to extend the Club’s option for a year. As Jenny Pitman’s horse Corbiere beat Greasepaint to make her the first female trainer to win the Grand National, the Jockey Club scrambled to find a sponsor for the future of event.

Read More >> Saving the World’s Greatest Steeplechase