A National Treasure

Antiques expert Mike Litherland traces the history of the Grand National and reveals an artefact dating back to the origins of the world's greatest steeplechase.

ONE of the world's greatest horse racing events takes place this month. The Grand National can be traced back to the very first races at Aintree which were initiated by the owner of Liverpool's Waterloo Hotel, Mr William Lynn, who leased the land from Lord Sefton, built a course, constructed a grandstand and staged the first flat racing fixture on July 7th 1829.

On February 29th 1836 the first steeplechase, the forerunner of the Grand National, was held. In those days the field had to jump a stone wall (not the water jump), cross a stretch of plough land and finish over two hurdles.In 1847 the race was given the title of The Grand National Handicap Steeplechase, the name it still holds today. In order to build better facilities and generally improve the course wealthy patrons were enlisted to subscribe, presumably for shares. In return they were issued with a proprietor's ticket; one of the original tickets is shown here. Made of silver and showing the grandstand and the Liverpool coat of arms this one is numbered 166.

INSERT IMAGE OF TICKET

In 1949 Lord Sefton sold the course to the Topham family who appointed ex-Gaiety Girl Mirabel Topham to manage it. Mrs Topham built a new track and named it after Lord Mildmay, a fine amateur jockey . The Mildmay course opened in 1953, the same year as the motor circuit which still encircles the track. The motor circuit was another of Mrs Topham's ideas and it quickly gained a reputation as one of the best in the world , hosting a European Grand Prix and five British Grand Prix.

The racecourse suffered some lean times in the post-war years and in 1965 it was announced that the course would be sold to a property developer. In 1973 such a deal was finally done, but with a commitment on the buyer's behalf to keep the race going.

However, the National lacked a will for it to succeed and things went from bad to worse - the attendance at the 1975 National was the smallest in living memory (probably because the admission price had tripled). Ladbrokes made a bid in 1975 and signed an agreement with the property developer that allowed the bookmakers to manage the National.

Ladbrokes like all true racing professionals had a genuine love for the race and its place in the sport's history and were determined to keep it alive. Their task stretched over eight years but, when the time came for a new contract, the developers were reluctant to renew it. Instead they were determined to sell Aintree.

Racing and the general public realised the serious threat to a national institution and a huge campaign was launched to rescue the race once and for all. Donations from the public helped the Jockey Club pay the asking price and in early 1983 the developers finally sold the racecourse. That year the National was sponsored by the Sun newspaper, but in 1984 Seagram Distillers stepped in to provide a solid foundation on which Aintree's revival has been built.The last Seagram sponsored National was in 1991 when the race was won by a horse called, appropriately enough, Seagram. The Seagram subsidiary, Martell, took over the sponsorship in 1992. Aintree racecourse has overcome all the obstacles and today enjoys its most successful period in modern times.

Members of the Topham family have been clients of my company for over 40 years. Some years back we were asked to sell the original Topham Trophy with, among others, Red Rum's name on it. It was an exciting sale but the tale is for another day and another article.

By the way, if you would like a free valuation of items, pop into Outhwaite and Litherland's Southport Office at 43 Hoghton Street,  01704 538489. If items are too large to bring then feel free to email photographs to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it