Midlands Grand National


History

The first race was run on 3 May 1969. The race was initially run over 4m2f and was increased to 4m4f in 1977. During this period it would have been, assuming accurate measurements, by 24 yards or approximately the length of a cricket pitch, the longest race in the NH calendar. In 1991 the distance was dropped to 4m, before being upped to 4m2f in 1993. The distance of the race was then reduced to 4m1½f in 2004 before being returned to 4m2f in 2018. It is now the second-longest race in the British calendar, after the Grand National at Aintree.
The 1977 winner Watafella finished third in the race but was promoted to first place after the first and second, No Scotch and Evander were disqualified after it was realised they failed to meet the conditions of the race, along with three other runners.
The race was not covered on television in its early years but was shown by Channel 4 during the 1980s and until 1998. The BBC took over coverage between 1998 and 2005 before the race returned to Channel 4, who continued to show it until their coverage of British racing ended in 2016. It is now broadcast on ITV Racing.

Records


Most successful horse:
  • no horse has won the race more than once
Leading jockey :
Leading trainer :

Winners