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
1951 Grand National course. All of the horses returned safely to the stables. In the long history of the Grand National only 13 mares have won the race, Nickel Coin being the most recent. 1951 Grand National The 1951 Grand National was the 105th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 1951. A crowd of 250,000 people saw the race won by Nickel Coin at odds of 40/1. The nine-year-old mare was ridden by jockey John Bullock and trained by Jack O'Donoghue. Royal Tan, who won in 1954, finished second, and