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
1986 Grand National how the horse had almost been killed years before in a road accident. "He needed 90-100 stitches and lost an awful lot of blood...It's a miracle he's here today, never mind winning the race." 1986 Grand National The 1986 Grand National (known as the Seagram Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 140th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 5 April 1986. The race was won by nine-year-old 15/2 second favourite West Tip, ridden by jockey Richard Dunwoody. in a time of 9 minutes, 33 seconds for a