First run in 1897, when about 15 local runners drew a line in the dirt at Metcalf's Mill out in Ashland, it is the longest-running annual race at the distance and, most agree, the world's most prestigious.
Specifically, a road that runs across the Aintree racetrack close to the starting line means that Grand National horses face a two-furlong gallop up to the first fence, the longest approach of any jumps race in Britain.