Last Updated : 31 Aug 2009

Aintree is located north of the city centre. It is probably most well known for Aintree Race Course, a horse racing track which holds the world famous "Grand National" every spring.

The city first financed a race at Aintree in 1828 but the Liverpool Steeplechase was actually inaugurated at nearby Maghull in 1837 by William Lynn who had a pub in central Liverpool near the Lyceum Club. The race was run at Aintree as the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase in 1839 and then became the Grand National in 1843.

The film "National Velvet" made in 1944 with Elizabeth Taylor follows the story of a young girl who rides in the Grand National. The film "Deliverance" made in 1972 with Burt Reynolds featured a fictitious town of "Aintry" (pronounced Aintree) on a river in Georgia.