Grand National / Andy Morris / 02 May 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now

The richest and most prestigious steeplechase in the world, the Grand National is arguably Britain's favourite betting event.

From the regular punter to the armchair fan to those who wouldn't know one end of a horse from the other, millions of pounds is wagered not only in the UK but around the world.

The historic race dates back to 1836 when The Duke won the inaugural Great Liverpool Steeplechase at Aintree, later to be renamed the Grand National.

Fans of the race have come from far and wide, and include royalty. The future King Edward VII owned the 1900 winning horse Ambush II, while the late Queen Mother almost had a winner in 1956 when her horse Devon Loch, ridden by future author Dick Francis, unseated his jockey just 45m from the line while in the lead.

The two great steeplechase races on the calendar, the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, have only once been won by the same horse in the same year when Golden Miller triumphed in 1934.

It virtually never pays to pick a grey horse in the great race - The Lamb won in 1868 and again five years later, but the only grey to win since then was Nicolaus Silver who won in 1961.

There have been many dramatic incidents in the race, not least of which was the 1967 success for Foinavon who won at 100-1. A pile-up at the 23rd fence held up many horses in the race, allowing Foinavon - who had been trailing badly - to skirt the trouble and take a winning lead.

The most famous horse in the race's history is undoubtedly Red Rum, trained by Ginger McCain and the only horse to win the race three times. Red Rum won in 1973 and again the next year, then finished second in the next two years before sealing a hat-trick in 1977, the Queen's Silver Jubilee year.

The preserve of men for so many years, that particular barrier was broken down in the late 20th century when Charlotte Brew became the first woman jockey in the race in 1977 and six years later Jenny Pitman became the first successful woman trainer, with Corbiere.

Twice the race was beset by controversy in the 1990s. First the 1993 race was declared void after many of the riders did not hear the starter's recall, then in 1997 the race was delayed by 48 hours due to a suspected IRA bomb threat.

Due to the large field, favourites rarely come out on top although twice in the last four years the favourite has won - in 2005 when Hedgehunter won and again in 2008 when Comply or Die was the 7/1 joint favourite.

There have also been some big priced winners in recent years, Jenny Pitman training Royal Athlete to win at odds of 40/1, while Red Marauder won in 2001 at odds of 33/1, as did Silver Birch when he won in 2007.