Racecourse maintenance Liverpool, Merseyside, UK Preparations under way for the Aintree Grand National. Contractors, using a John Deere 1600 turbo series ii, are busy at the site putting the finishing touches to the horse-racing event which starts on Thursday culminating in what is the world's greatest horse race on Saturday afternoon.
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 3 1⁄2 furlongs ( km) with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps. It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2015. The course over which the race is run features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks. Many of these, particularly Becher's Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn, have become famous in their own right and, combined with the distance of the event, create what has been called "the ultimate test of horse and rider". The Grand National has been broadcast live on free-to-air terrestrial television in the United Kingdom since 1960. From then until 2012 it was broadcast by the BBC. Since 2013, it has been shown by Channel 4, which holds the UK broadcasting rights until 2016. An estimated 500 to 600 million people watch the Grand National in over 140 countries. It has also been broadcast on radio since 1927; BBC Radio held the exclusive radio rights until 2013, however, Talksport also now holds radio commentary rights. The race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Aintree, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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