Grand National race to be televised in high-definition in the UK. In August 2013 Crabbie's was announced as the new sponsor of the Grand National. The three-year deal between the alcoholic ginger beer producer and Aintree saw the race run for a record purse of £1 million in 2014. In March 2016 it was announced that Randox Health would take over from Crabbie's as official partners of the Grand National festival from 2017, for at least five years. The Grand National is run over the National Course at Aintree and consists of two laps of 16 fences, the first 14 of which
2011 Grand National 2011 Grand National The 2011 Grand National (known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 164th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race held at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase began at 4:15 pm BST on 9 April 2011, the final day of the three-day annual meeting. The maximum permitted field of forty runners competed for prize money totalling a record £950,000, making it the highest valued National Hunt race in the United Kingdom. Nineteen of the forty participants completed the 4½-mile course; of the 21 who did not, two suffered fatal