How Many Jumps In The Grand National

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Grand National Quiz I

  1. How many fences does the winning horse have to jump in the grand national?

  2. On which racecourse is The Grand National annually held?
  3. Which fence, named after a soldier, have jockeys compared to 'jumping off the edge of the world.'?
  4. Which horse (ridden by jockey Davy Russell) won both the 2018 and 2019 National?
  5. In the 1956 Grand National which horse famously belly flopped forty yards from the line in what was a certain victory?
  6. Red Rum won the Grand National in which three years?
  7. Can you name the trainer of Red Rum?
  8. Who became the first woman to train a Grand National winner in 1983? And can you name her horse?
  9. Which year's Grand National was postponed after two coded bomb threats were received from the Provisional IRA?
  10. Who was said to be the greatest jockey to have never won the Aintree Grand National until he won it in 2010 after 15 attempts?
  11. Name the famous owner of Miinnehoma, the winning horse in 1994?
  12. What was remarkable about Marcus Armytage, the winning jockey of Mr Frisk in 1990?
  13. How many horses lined-up at the start of the 2019 race? And which trainer broke the record by entering 11 horses?
  14. How old do horses have to be to be elligible to run in the Grand National under changes made to improve safety?
  15. What links actor Steve McQueen to the 2000 winner?

Answers:

Getting home over those Grand National jumps and the extended 4m 2f trip remains the ultimate stamina test for National Hunt thoroughbred horses. Even smaller obstacles can cause carnage at Aintree. Grand Canyon leads country's national parks in suicides. In this file photo released by the National Park Service, a car is hoisted from the bottom of a cliff after the driver drove off it in an.

  1. 30 fences
  2. Aintree Racecourse (Liverpool)
  3. Becher's Brooke
  4. Tiger Roll
  5. Devon Loch (owned by the Queen Mother and rode by jockey (and later author) Dick Francis)


  6. 1973, 1974, and 1977
  7. Ginger McCain
  8. Jenny Pitman. Corbiere was her horse.
  9. 1997
  10. A P McCoy or Tony McCoy (Don't Push It was the name of his horse)
  11. Freddie Starr
  12. He was an amateur jockey (a journalist by profession). He also won in a record Grand National time!
  13. 40 horses. The trainer is Gordon Elliot.
  14. 7 years of age or older
  15. Papillon (the name of the winner and also an iconic role played by Steve McQueen)

Grand National Quiz II

  1. In the 1967 Grand National, most of the field were hampered or dismounted at the 23rd fence, allowing which 100/1 rank-outsider to win?
  2. Which jockey recovered from cancer to win the 1981 Grand National? Can you name his horse? And which actor portrayed him in a 1984 film?
  3. Which company sponsored the Grand National from 1984 to 1991?
  4. Which horse won the 1993 Grand National?
  5. In 2009, which horse became the longest-priced winner of the National for 42 years, winning by 12 lengths, at odds of 100/1?
  6. Each year branches of which tree are sourced and transported from forests in the Lake District for use in building the fences?
  7. Which horse posted the course's fastest winning time in 1990?
  8. Which trainer won the Grand National from 1953 to 1955 with three different horses and is often dubbed 'The greatest trainer of the 20th century'?
  9. Which fence positioned in front of the grandstand, is the tallest on the course?
  10. In 1982, Dick Saunders became the oldest winning jockey on Grittar, but how old was he: (a)39, (b)43, or (c)48?
  11. Complete the names of the following winning horses: (a)Hallo ..., (b)Neptune ..., and (c) Earth ....?

Answers:

  1. Foinavon
  2. Bob Champion. The horse was Aldaniti. John Hurt was the actor.
  3. Seagram
  4. None! The race was declared void after a series of incidents and a false start that was never stopped.
  5. Mon Mome
  6. Spruce tree
  7. Mr Frisk
  8. Vincent O'Brien
  9. The Chair at 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m)
  10. (c) 48
  11. (a) Hallo Dandy (1984), (b)Neptune Collonges (2012), and (c)Earth Summit (1998)

Of the 16 fences which make up the National course six of the jumps have become famous in their own right. Becher’s Brook, Valentines’ Brook, The Chair, Canal Turn and Foinavon are names which are known throughout the world. These fences are woven into the very fabric of the Grand National race. The Grand National course is a left-handed triangular shaped course of about 2 miles 2 furlongs, with 16 fences, including three open ditches and a water jump. The fences range in height from 4 ft 6 ins to 5 ft 2 ins ('The Chair', one of the open ditches, and the largest fence on the course).

Grand National Trivia III

  1. In which year was the race first run: (a)1789, (b)1839, (c) 1879, or (d)1899?
  2. How many fences on the course are negotiated only once? Can you name them?
  3. Name the first female to compete in the race? And in 1982, who became the first woman to complete the course?
  4. Fence number 9 and 25 was renamed after a horse that reputedly jumped it hind legs first in 1840, can you give the name?
  5. Which horse was famously 15 lengths ahead of Red Rum in the 1973 race, but carrying 23 pounds more weight began to tire badly and was pipped on the line?
  6. Can you name the horse racing commentator for the BBC from 1947 to 1997 who described some of the greatest moments in the history of the Grand National?
  7. Seagram finished sponsoring the event in 1991 but can you remember which horse won that year?
  8. The 1928 race saw the lowest number of finishers. It remains the record but how many horses finished the race that year?
  9. Which fence is notable for the sharp left turn that the runners have to take as soon as they have negotiated the fence?
  10. Ginger McCain is the trainer that won three times with Red Rum, but with which horse did he also win with in 2004?
  11. Which jockey won the race three times: in 1968 on Red Alligator, and on Red Rum in 1973 and 1974?
  12. The 1980 winner was named after a mountain, name the horse?

Answers:

  1. (b)1839


  2. Two. The Chair and The Water Jump.
  3. Charlotte Brew (in 1977). And Geraldine Rees completed the course in 1982.
  4. Valentine's
  5. Crisp
  6. Sir Peter O'Sullevan
  7. Seagram was also the name of the winning horse!
  8. Two horses
  9. The Canal Turn
  10. Amberleigh House
  11. Brian Fletcher
  12. Ben Nevis

There are more horse racing quiz questions coming soon.


How Many Jumps In The Grand National
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The Grand National fences are arguably the most famous horse racing steeplechases in the world. Dating back to 1829, racing over fences at Aintree Racecourse has evolved over the years, proving to be one of the most challenging tests, over distance, for runners and riders.

HOW MANY FENCES ARE IN THE GRAND NATIONAL?

In total there are 16 fences on the Grand National course, 14 of which are jumped twice along the four mile, two and half furlong distance, which is the longest Jump racing distance in the UK.


The fences used to be constructed from natural thorn hedges and were known as ‘thorn fences’. However, they are now created from Sitka or Norway spruce, which is brought down from the Lake District, and it is weaved into plastic birch structure which provides flexibility should a runner make a mistake at the jump. It takes the Aintree Groundstaff team three weeks to build the fences from 16 lorry-loads of spruce prior to the Grand National Festival.

There are many well-known fences at Aintree including Becher’s Brook, Canal Turn and Valentine’s, all of which provide different tests for the runners and rider. Each fence varies in height, with the lowest measuring at 4ft 6” and the highest, The Chair, at 5ft 2” which also has a 5ft wide ditch on the take-off side.

the fences explained Jumps
  • 1 & 17 4ft 6in high, 2ft 9in wide

The first fence marks the start of the Grand National race and is in fact one of the smallest on the course. It is parallel to the Embankment, the large slope to the right of the course which houses 13,000 racegoers, all eager to see the horses begin their trip over the fences. This is a ‘settling’ fence and helps the runners and riders find their stride at the beginning of the race.

  • 2 & 18 4ft 7in high, 3ft 6in wide
  • 3 & 19 – Open Ditch
  • 5ft high, 10ft 6” (total length with ditch and fence)

This is the first of three open ditch fences on the course, this being on the take-off side and measuring 7ft wide.

At 5ft high, it is also known as ‘Westhead’ after the late Steve Westhead who was one of Aintree’s fence builders and worked at Aintree Racecourse in the 1970s.

  • 4 & 20 4ft 10in high, 3ft wide
  • 5 & 21 5ft high, 3ft 6in wide

The landing side was levelled in 2013.

  • 6 & 22 - Becher’s Brook 4ft 10” high, 7ft 6” wide

The most famous fence in the Grand National race is named after Captain Martin Becher who landed in the ditch after being unseated by Conrad in the first official Grand National race in 1839.

This fence has been remodelled several times, with the drop on the landing side levelled in the 1990s and again after the 2011 Grand National race.

  • 7 & 23 – Foinavon Fence 4ft 6in high, 3ft wide

This otherwise ordinary fence became extraordinary in 1967, when Fionavon was the only horse to successfully jump the fence after multiple horses shied and caused chaos on the course, going from last place to win the race.

  • 8 & 24 – Canal Turn 5ft high, 7ft wide

This fence gets its name from the nearby Leeds-Liverpool canal and is noted for the sharp, 90-degree, left-hand turn that the runners have to take as soon as they have jumped the fence.

  • 9 & 25 – Valentine’s Brook 5ft high, 7ft wide

With a 5ft 6in brook on the landing side, this fence was originally known as Second Brook, but was renamed after a horse called Valentine was said to have jumped it hind legs first in 1840.

  • 10 & 26 5ft high, 3ft wide
  • 11 & 27 – Open Ditch fence 5ft high, 10ft spread

This is the fence where red-hot favourite, Golden Miller fell after refusing to jump in the 1935 Grand National race. He won in record time in the previous year, 1934, and became the first horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National race in the same season.

  • 12 & 28 5ft high, with a 5ft 6in ditch on the landing side

Also known as ‘Booth’ after the late John Booth, which was the foreman of Aintree’s maintenance team in the 1970s.

  • 13 & 29 4ft 7in high, 3ft wide

This fence had its landing side smoothed out prior to 2013.

  • 14 & 30 4ft 6in high

Although few horses fail here, it may lead them into a false sense of security before facing The Chair.

  • 15 – The Chair

How Many Jumps In The Grand National Bank

The highest fence in the race at 5ft 2”, The Chair has a 5ft ditch before the fence and a raised landing side. Jumped only on the first circuit, it’s named after the chair the distance judge used to sit in to gauge the official distance between the winner and the runners behind. These horses were classed as ‘beaten by a distance’, with a ‘distance’ being more than forty lengths.

The original ‘chair’ is now located on a podium in the Red Rum Garden at Aintree Racecourse.

  • 16 – Water Jump 2ft 6in high

How Many Jumps In The Grand National Monument

The final fence on the first circuit is the lowest of the 16 fences. It has a wide stretch of water on the landing side and was first introduced in 1841, replacing a stone wall which was, at the time, 16ft wide!