Inaugurated 1969 Surface Turf | Race type Steeplechase Sponsor Betfred | |
Location Uttoxeter Racecourse,
Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England Website uttoxeter-racecourse.co.uk Distance 4 miles 1½ furlong (6,723 metres) | ||
Firebird flyer betfred midlands grand national 2016
The Midlands Grand National is a Listed National Hunt race in Great Britain. It is a handicap steeplechase and is run at Uttoxeter Racecourse in March, over a distance of about 4 miles and 1½ furlongs . During the race there are 24 fences to be jumped.
Contents
History
The first race was run on 3 May 1969. The race was initially run over 4m2f and was increased up to 4m4f in 1977. During this period it would have been, assuming accurate measurements, by 24 yards or approximately the length of a cricket pitch, the longest race in the NH calendar. In 1991 the distance was dropped to 4m, before being upped to 4m2f in 1993. It has been run at its present distance of about 4m 1½f since 2004.
The 1977 winner Watafella finished third in the race but was promoted to first place after the first and second, No Scotch and Evander were disqualified after it was realised they failed to meet the conditions of the race, along with three other runners.
The race was not covered on television in its early years but was shown by Channel 4 during the 1980s and up until 1998. The BBC took over coverage between 1998 and 2005 before the race returned to Channel 4, who continued to show it until their coverage of British racing ended in 2016. It is now broadcast on ITV Racing.
Records
Most successful horse:
Leading jockey (2 wins):
Leading trainer (4 wins):
Winners
1 The 1983 running was cancelled due to a waterlogged track.
2 The 2001 running was cancelled due to a foot-and-mouth crisis.
3 The 2004 running was cancelled due to high winds.