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Valentine's Brook

Grand NationalHorse racing stubs

Valentine's Brook is a fence on Aintree Racecourse's National Course and thus is jumped during the Grand National steeplechase which is held annually at the racecourse, located near Liverpool, England. Originally named as the Second Brook, it was renamed after a horse named Valentine was reputed to have jumped the fence hind legs first in 1840. The horse eventually finished third. It is jumped twice during the race, as the 9th and 25th fences. The fence is similar to, but less daunting than, Becher's Brook, being 5 feet high and followed by a ditch of 5 feet 6 inches. It accounts for around 2% of fallers in the Grand National race. The fence has, however, caused several fatalities in races run over the course, and calls have been made for its removal.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Valentine's Brook (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Valentine's Brook
Topham Drive,

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N 53.4768 ° E -2.9302 °
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Aintree Racecourse

Topham Drive
L9 5AL , Aintree Village
England, United Kingdom
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Grand National
Grand National

The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over an official distance of about 4 miles and 2½ furlongs (4 miles 514 yards (6.907 km)), with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps. It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2017. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year.The course over which the race is run features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks. Many of these fences, particularly Becher's Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn, have become famous in their own right and, combined with the distance of the event, create what has been called "the ultimate test of horse and rider".The Grand National has been broadcast live on free-to-air terrestrial television in the United Kingdom since 1960. From then until 2012 it was broadcast by the BBC. Channel 4 broadcast the event between 2013 and 2016: UK broadcasting rights were transferred to ITV from 2017. An estimated 500 to 600 million people watch the Grand National in over 140 countries. The race has also been broadcast on radio since 1927; BBC Radio held exclusive rights until 2013. Talksport acquired radio commentary rights in 2014: Both the BBC and Talksport currently broadcast the race in full. The most recent running of the race, in 2022, was won by Noble Yeats. Since 2017, the race and accompanying festival have been sponsored by Randox.