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
Great Eastern Steeplechase is the fallen log which is literally a log about a metre high. All other jumps are brush fences. The height of jumps has been reduced in recent years to reduce the risk of falls and make for safer racing. The race uses a different course to other races held at Oakbank with horse using an inner track passing on the inside of a hill. Unlike other races that require two racecallers the Great Eastern can be viewed in its entirety from the grandstand. Great Eastern Steeplechase The Great Eastern Steeplechase is an Australian Thoroughbred steeplechase horse race held annually