1846 Grand National 1846 Grand National The 1846 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the eighth official annual running of a Handicap Steeple-chase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase Horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday 4 March 1846 and attracted a then-record field of 22 entrants. It was won by the unconsidered outsider Pioneer. Veluti, ridden by Jem Mason, a rider who had previously won the race in 1839 was sent off as the 11/2 favourite to win while the top weight of 12 stone 8 lbs was given to Firefly, the mount of Larry Byrne.
John Sanford (1851) would become a major figure in the industry. He raced a number of top horses and in 1916 won the Kentucky Derby with his colt, George Smith. In 1923 he became the first American to win the most prestigious steeplechase race in the world when his horse Sergeant Murphy won the English Grand National. In 1923, Sanford won the American Grand National with Best Play. John Sanford was member of the New York Racing Commission and the Sanford Stakes, run annually at Saratoga Race Course, is named in his family's honor. In 1927, John Sanford changed the Hurricana Stock Farm