An event like no other: Why the Grand National continues to thrill us in 2022

In the very early days of the Grand National, you wonder whether the organisers had any idea that the race they were creating would become such a seismic part of British culture for so many years. The first official running of the race was in 1939, but for years before that, the likes of Captain Martin Becher and William Lynn had fantasised about a ‘Great Chase of the North’ that would be the true test of a horse and jockey’s mettle.

Nearly two centuries on, the Grand National still holds court as one of the showpiece occasions on the British sporting calendar. Each year, sports fans flock to Aintree racecourse or gather around their televisions to watch the action unfold, while those betting on horse racing study the form guides with interest to try and predict the winner. It’s an event that thrills the nation year after year, and there’s no doubt that the 2022 edition will be just as special.

But what is it that gives the Grand National such a unique appeal? Why has this race stood the test of time to become such a fixture in British sporting culture? Let’s take a deep dive into a few special aspects of the Aintree showpiece.

The ultimate test

There is no race quite like the Grand National in terms of the test of endurance it poses for both horse and jockey. The race covers a distance of over four miles and two furlongs, and when you throw in the forbidding fences and obstacles which stand in the way of the would-be winners, you can see why the race is such a fearsome proposition for so many entrants.

It speaks volumes that, of the 40 horses that enter each year, there’s usually only a dozen or so that actually finish the race. Whether it’s through being pulled up, falling, unseating their rider, or refusing a fence, there are a multitude of reasons why some horses just can’t cut it in the Grand National.

As a result, the jockey and horse that do manage to produce a clean run and finish ahead of their rivals more than deserve the adulation that comes with it. You only need to look at the rider’s face as they’re paraded in front of the cheering masses to understand what it means to record a Grand National winner.

Sense of the unknown

The forbidding nature of the Grand National makes it one of horse racing’s less predictable races, and the difficulty in picking the winner out of the packed field of competitors is one of the reasons why it is so widely enjoyed. It’s a tradition among many fans of the race, or those who simply watch it out of tradition, to place a small bet on the horse they simply like the name of most, and that gives you an idea of how difficult it is to call the winner.

Usually, there are a group of five or six horses that are considered the frontrunners each year, but all it takes is one mis-timed jump at Becher’s Brook for everything to come crashing down. We have seen plenty of Grand National winners come from nowhere to stage a dramatic victory, be it 66/1 shot Auroras Encore in 2013, or 100/1 chance Mon Mome in 2009. There is something thrilling about seeing a less fancied horse do so well, and that unpredictability is one of the reasons why the Grand National remains so popular.

A newfound appreciation

If the coronavirus has taught us anything, it’s to cherish our sporting events, as the world is a much bleaker place without them. When the virus first took hold in spring 2020, sporting fixtures began dropping like flies, and the Grand National was one of the first events to be culled. That left a gaping hole in the British calendar, and not even a virtual running of the race could make up for the agony on missing out on such a staple of the sporting year.

Whilst we saw the Grand National return to life last year, the fact that it was raced in front of empty stands at Aintree means that it did not feature the same fervent atmosphere that would usually grace the occasion.

It’s for that reason that the Grand National could take on a new lease of life once again. This year’s race will be a celebratory occasion, as fans pack into Aintree in their thousands once again to witness the action unfold. This historic race has thrilled us for decades, and it’s not likely to lose its lustre anytime soon.