Grand National and the 1976 winner Rag Trade were both part-owned by celebrity hairdresser Raymond Bessone. 1994 winner Miinnehoma was owned by comedian Freddie Starr. What A Friend ran in 2011 and 2013 when part-owned by Alex Ferguson, the former manager of Manchester United. Notes Sources Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over 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 2017. An
Grand National are jumped twice. Horses completing the race cover a distance of , 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 forward away from the crowds and grandstands, reducing the race distance by from the historical . The course has one of the longest run-ins from the final fence of any steeplechase, at . 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