Grand National lease in 1848. One century later, the Topham family bought the course outright. Later in the century the race was the setting of a thriller by the popular novelist Henry Hawley Smart. For three years during the First World War, while Aintree Racecourse was taken over by the War Office, an alternative race was run at Gatwick Racecourse, a disused course on land now occupied by Gatwick Airport. The first of these races, in 1916, was called the Racecourse Association Steeplechase, and in 1917 and 1918 the race was called the War National Steeplechase. The races at Gatwick are not
Midlands Grand National Midlands Grand National The Midlands Grand National is a Listed National Hunt race in Great Britain. It is a handicap steeplechase and is run at Uttoxeter Racecourse in March, over a distance of about 4 miles and 1½ furlongs . During the race there are 24 fences to be jumped. The first race was run on 3 May 1969. The race was initially run over 4m2f and was increased up to 4m4f in 1977. During this period it would have been, assuming accurate measurements, by 24 yards or approximately the length of a cricket pitch, the longest race in the