Grand National in front of the stands. The majority of the race therefore took place not on the actual Aintree Racecourse but instead in the adjoining countryside. That countryside was incorporated into the modern course but commentators still often refer to it as "the country". There are 16 fences on the National Course topped with spruce from the Lake District. The cores of 12 fences were rebuilt in 2012 and they are now made of a flexible plastic material which is more forgiving compared to the traditional wooden core fences. They are still topped with at least of spruce for the horses
1989 Grand National and further to criticisms following Dark Ivy's fatal fall in the 1987 Grand National, a question of the future safety of the race was raised in the House of Commons. In response Aintree made several changes to Becher's, including levelling-off the slope on the landing side and raising the brook itself to contain only one inch of water. Security on the course was also tightened after another incident in the later stages of the race where a group of intoxicated youths ran onto the course and were seen to be playing chicken with the runners as they turned towards the