Grand National the run-in and, two strides from the finishing post, he pipped the tiring Crisp to win by three-quarters of a length in what is arguably the most memorable Grand National of all time. Red Rum finished in 9 minutes 1.9 seconds, taking 18.3 seconds off the previous record for the National which had been set in 1935 by Reynoldstown. His record was to stand for the next seventeen years. Two years before the 1981 Grand National, jockey Bob Champion had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and given only months to live by doctors. But by 1981 he had recovered and
1946 Grand National stables. Symbole fell at Becher's Brook, incurring a fatal cervical fracture. 1946 Grand National The 1946 Grand National was the 100th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 5 April 1946. It was the first true Aintree Grand National since 1940 due to World War II. It was the last Grand National to take place on a Friday, which had been the traditional day for the race since 1876. The National was won by 25/1 shot Lovely Cottage, ridden by jockey Captain Robert Petre and trained by Tommy Rayson.