first in 1840.
1967 saw one of the running of one of the most amazing Nationals in history as the one hundred to one outsider.
Foinavon won the race after a pile up of horses at the twenty third fence , number seven on the first circuit, the smallest on the course at just four foot six inches. The fence was officially named Foinavon in 1984.
The next fence, the eighth is the Canal Turn, with a ninety degree turn immediately following the jumping of the five foot tall fence
Fence fifteen is known as The Chair, this fence being the scene of the only human fatality in the race back in 1862 when Joe Wynne died of injuries sustained in a fall. As a result a 6 ft wide ditch was dug in front of the 5 ft 3in fence to slow the runners down. The ground on the landing side is actually six inches higher than on the takeoff side, creating the opposite effect of the drop at Becher’s.
Looking back over the last fifty years or so there have been many memorable moments.
During the 1950s the Grand National was dominated by Vincent
O’Brien who trained different winners of the race for three consecutive years between 1953 and 1955. Early Mist secured O’Brien’s first victory in 1953, Royal Tan won in 1954, and Quare Times completed the Irish trainer’s hat- trick in 1955.
1956 saw one of the National’s more bizarre and heart breaking moments when Devon Loch, owned by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother was five lengths clear having safely negotiated the last fence but with only forty yards to run to the winning post, the horse suddenly appeared to half jump in the air before collapsing in a belly flop on the turf.
Jockey Dick Francis tried his best to remedy the problem but Devon
Loch was unable to complete the race, leaving ESB to cross the finishing line first.
The1967 Grand National featured one of the race’s most remarkable incidents when most of the field were hampered or dismounted in a mêlée, allowing the rank outsider Foinavon to become a surprise winner at odds of 100/1.
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