Urban Sports

Posts Tagged ‘racing’

Aintree track is one of the most famed racecourses in the country and is located on the A59 at Ormskirk Road, Aintree (North West, England) in the northern border of Liverpool, just six miles from the city centre. The track occupies 250 acres and has two left-handed racing tracks. The first, the Mildmay Course is rectangular and opened in 1953. It is nearly one and a half miles in long, with sharp turns and steeplechase jumps. The Aintree Grand National race isn’t as sharp as the Mildmay course but is much more tough which is why it is known as one of the hardest races in the world – one which all horse jockeys would desire to acquire access to. The
Aintree Grand National course is far longer than the Mildmay at roughly two and a quarter miles, and is fully flat, with jumps that have a drop on the landing side lower than the take-off side.

William Lynn is the chap accountable for bringing steeple chase racing to the community of Aintree. Lynn was the property-owner of the Waterloo Inn, and launched steeple chase racing on the land which he leased from the Earl of Sefton. The grandstand started being constructed in 1829 and after five months the first assembly for Flat races was held. They didn’t start hurdle horse racing until 1836, when the first Liverpool Grand Steeplechase was held at Aintree on February 29th. This steeplechase was recognised by some as being the first ever Aintree Grand National and was won by The Duke, ridden by Captain Martin Becher. However, the more documented Liverpool Steeplechase of 1839 is celebrated as the first, and was won by Lottery, ridden by Jem Mason. The competition of 1839 was a four miler, across country, and the decree was that ‘no rider to open a gate or ride through a entryway, or more than 100 yards along any thoroughfare, footpath or driftway’.

The track , and after the 1940 National it was again taken over by the army. Horse racing resumed in 1946 and in 1949 the track was purchased by Messrs Topham Ltd; who had leased the property for practically a 100 years; from the Earl of Sefton for 275,000. Mirabel Topham, an enterprising soul, went on to create the Mildmay course and a car circuit which held the Euro Grand Prix and five British Grand Prix.

Bill Davies purchased the track in 1973 for 3 million and in 1975 Ladbrokes saved the Aintree Grand National, which was in threat of becoming extinct, by managing and administering it for 7 years at a yearly rent of 250,000. In 1983 the track was deemed safe and sound when the Jockey Club purchased it.

Aintree is now more suitable for purpose with vehicle links vastly improved. In the start it had been accessed by rail and paddleboat, but now it is reached by car, coach or air. There is a 6 acre area for landing by helicopter or the John Lennon airstrip 20 minutes drive away, merriment. Meaning visitors to Aintree have a superior experience. Meaning everyone enjoys the Aintree Grand National festival even more.

The Grand National 2010 is the highlight of the racing calendar and the most high status racing event in the racing world. Every April forty horses plan to tackle the famous Aintree course. The course is four and one half miles , which has 30 big fences, the National is questionably the hardest test of horse and jockey in the world.

A lot of the Nationals attraction lies in the complicatedness of the race. With such a grueling course the chances of a fav winning are pretty remote! This only adds to the excitement for those who watch on TV. In the last 100 years only a small percentage of favourites have gone on and won the National. Recently the jumps have been made smaller to stop the runners and jockeys from getting injured but, it is still one of the most open races in England.

Sea The Stars Signs Off

Following Sea The Stars’ captivating victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, it has been questioned whether he is the greatest Flat racehorse ever to have existed. The horse bred from Cape Cross and mare Urban Sea has provided horseracing with one of the greatest horses to ever grace the turf. So it has come as a bit of a shock to hear that he is going to be retired. Some, although well able to admit his brilliance refuse to believe that he is one of the three greatest racehorses of all time. Joe Mercer, a former champion jockey who rode Brigadier Gerard in the early 1970s, is one voice of skepticism. He fears that we are in danger of being swept up in the momentary hype, but he remembers horses such as Galileo who won the King George in 2001. Back then everyone thought that Galileo was the best horse that had ever been seen – and as Mercer affirms: you can’t have a best horse you’ve ever seen every other year! He points out that the horse he rode, Brigadier Gerard won thirteen Group Ones, whereas Sea The Stars has only won six.

Others though have been less hesitant to vilify Sea The Stars. Pat Eddery who rode Dancing Brave to victory in the Prix de l’Arc in 1986 has said that Sea The Stars is ‘up there with the best’, and laughed at the suggestion that he might resent the current champion being regarded by many as a better horse than the one he rode.