As far as horse races go, the Grand National is by far and away the most famous around. Taking place annually at Aintree Racecourse, the Grand National is a race that captures everyone’s attention, whether they’re fans of the sport or not. And one of the most intriguing elements of the race continues to be the fences involved.
How many fences in the Grand National happens to be one of the most searched questions concerning the iconic race, and the short answer to this is thirty. But, you could argue that thirty should be the answer to the following, ‘how many fences are jumped in the Grand National?’ The reason is that most of the fences involved in the race are jumped twice.
The best way to describe the Grand National is a demanding and gruelling steeplechase run over a distance of four miles, two and a half furlongs. So, what that immediately should indicate is that stamina is the name of the game. If a horse doesn’t have the stamina to handle the distance, it won’t be built for such a unique race, and horses lacking in this area are rarely entered.
But, not only will horses and their jockeys be dealing with the test of the distance the Grand National provides, they’ll also be taking on a course where there will be thirty evenly spread fences to jump too, which is another huge task in itself, especially when there will likely be forty horses competing on the day.
Now, as well as asking how many fences are there in the Grand National, many will be wondering how high they are, what type of fences they are and which fences will be jumped more than once during the race. Well, here’s the full rundown of what to expect on that front, in order:
- 1 & 17 – 4’6” Plain Fence
- 2 & 18 – 4’7” Plain Fence
- 3 & 19 – Westhead – 5’0 Open Ditch
- 4 & 20 – 4’10” Plain Fence
- 5 & 21 – 5’0 Plain Fence
- 6 & 22 – Becher’s Brook – 4’10” with up to 10” drop
- 7 & 23 – Foinavon – 4’6”
- 8 & 24 – Canal Turn – 5’0
- 9 & 25 – Valentine’s Brook – 5’0
- 10 & 26 – 5’0 Plain Fence
- 11 & 27 – Booth – 5’0 Open Ditch
- 12 & 28 – 5’0 Plain Fence
- 13 & 29 – 4’7” Plain Fence
- 14 & 30 – 4’6” Plain Fence
- 15 – The Chair – 5’2” Open Ditch
- 16 – 2’6” Water Jump
As mentioned above, many will read that there are thirty fences to jump in the Grand National. And there are. But, as shown, fourteen of the sixteen fences are actually jumped on two occasions, with only fence fifteen, known as The Chair, which is an open ditch, and fence sixteen, a water jump, taken on a single time. Of course, this is because there are two laps of the track run, with the second lap the final lap, where the horses remaining in the race will run towards the finishing line.
It’s noticeable that the only two fences that aren’t re-jumped in the Grand National are deemed the most challenging. The Chair and the following water jump will usually see those watching on hold their breath until they’ve been cleared, which you could argue is a godsend considering they’ll be missed on the second lap.
The reason that these two fences, in particular, will be omitted on the second lap of the course is quite simple. They’re both located close to the Grand National finishing line at Aintree, and horses move to the right to head down the home straight rather than continue in line with the fences after fence 14 & 30.
The Grand National race is undoubtedly one of the toughest challenges in the sport because of the distance travelled and, therefore, the stamina required by both horses and their jockeys. But the fences are another animal entirely, with everything continuing to be under the control of the course clerk.
There are never any dramatic changes to the fences in terms of their height or make-up, but there have been over the years, and it’s the course clerk who makes the calls on this, which usually come in line with new or modified safety guidelines that are issued by the authorities involved.
As well as adjusting the height of fences and the make-up, reshaping and redesigning can also happen. But at this point, following on from the 2023 Grand National, there are currently no plans for any of the above to occur in dramatic fashion ahead of the 2024 renewal.
Instead, it will likely be as is, with the same thirty fences to jump, fourteen of the sixteen on the track taken twice, with the final two omitted on the second lap to allow for a gallop to the finish.
If you want to place a bet on the Grand National, sign up to BetVictor and have full access to all our horse racing betting markets.
18+ | Begambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly
