Grand National betting is popular and you often get the Grand National winner odds at a big price such as 40/1, 50/1 or 66/1 so it’s worth looking outside of the favourites for your bets. Grand National each-way betting is also popular and many bookmakers have increased Grand National place terms which means you can back a Grand National. The Grand National can be unpredictable with several outsiders winning the race. This was especially the case with the 1967 winner Foinavon. With odds of around 100-1, this outsider who was ridden by John Buckingham who managed to avoid a loose horse to storm home to victory. Although there were many giving chase, Foinavon held on. Since 1977, female jockeys have been allowed in the Grand National horse race following the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.A total of 16 female jockeys have entered the Grand National since then. Charlotte Brew on her horse, Barony Fort, was the first woman to compete in the race, in 1977. In 1982 Geraldine Rees became the first woman to complete the course. Unofficial winners Pre-1839 The first official running of the 'Grand National' is now considered to be the 1839 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase. There had been a similar race for several years prior to this, but its status as an official Grand National was revoked some time between 1862 and 1873.
An estimated 300 million people around the world were watching the race, held at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool, live on television, when 30 of the 39 riders failed to realise a false start had been called and set off around the racetrack.
The Jockey Club was forced to declare the race void after several riders completed both laps of the gruelling 30-obstacle course and passed the finish line before they realised their mistake.
Aintree has said it is unlikely the race will be re-run, and bookmakers are faced with repaying the £75 million in bets placed on the race.
False starts
The disastrous sequence of events began seconds before the race was due to start, when protestors got onto the track near the first fence.
They were spotted, and after a delay, the race officials asked horses and riders to line up again.
Then there were two false starts caused by horses getting tangled up with the starting tape. On the second false start, the recall flag, which signals riders to pull up once they have started, was not waved, and all but nine riders raced away.
The recall man, Ken Evans, is being interviewed by stewards to find out why he did not wave his flag.
1st Grand National Winner
Frantic shouting
The crowd shouted frantically at the jockeys to get them to stop, and officials tried desperately to flag them down from the side of the track, but without success.
In the end, 11 riders had completed the first circuit before pulling up, and seven never realised anything was wrong, racing right to the finish line in the four-and-a-half-mile (7 km) race.
Esha Ness, a 50-1 outsider trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by John White, crossed the line first. 'I could see there were only a few horses around, but I thought the others had fallen or something,' White said after the race.
First Grand National Winner 1839
Mrs Pitman, who became the first woman to train a first Grand National winner in 1983 with Corbiere, was devastated.
'This is no Grand National, even though I have won it,' she said.
The owner of Esha Ness, Patrick Bancroft, is understood to be considering suing Aintree over the £76,000 prize money for first place.
David Pipe, spokesman for The Jockey Club, said there would be an urgent inquiry into the incident.
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