The Grand National Festival at Aintree is more than just a race meeting—it’s a cornerstone of British sporting tradition. As the 2025 edition approaches next month, excitement builds for what many consider the pinnacle of the National Hunt season.
While the Grand National itself is the ultimate test of endurance and fortune, the Festival’s supporting races offer championship-level contests across multiple divisions. Each day offers Grade 1 contests that would serve as centrepieces at lesser meetings, creating a crescendo of excellence that builds relentlessly toward Saturday’s historic showpiece.
The National will always be a focal point of the narrative, with punters flocking from all corners of the county to assess the Aintree Grand National odds and try and pick their winner, but horse racing enthusiasts and local Liverpudlians, the opening days are a curtain raiser provided with an abundance of their own entertainment.
In this article, we examine the Festival’s most significant contests—each with its own storied history, each contributing uniquely to the Aintree narrative, and each representing a pinnacle of achievement in its particular division of National Hunt racing.
Opening Day
The Aintree Bowl Steeple Chase (Grade 1) has matured since its 1974 inception into steeplechasing’s definitive post-Cheltenham championship, where Gold Cup heroes and vanquished alike seek validation over its testing three miles and a furlong.
Last year’s renewal saw Bravemansgame revitalise his reputation for Paul Nicholls, joining an illustrious honour roll featuring luminaries such as Desert Orchid, See More Business and Silviniaco Conti. Aintree’s flatter topography frequently produces significantly different outcomes from Cheltenham, creating a fascinating counterpoint to March’s championship and rewarding a different athletic profile.
Elsewhere, the Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle occupies a pivotal position in the hurdling calendar as the season’s definitive test at the intermediate distance of two miles and four furlongs.
The imperious Constitution Hill extended his unblemished record in 2024 under Nico de Boinville, inscribing his name alongside legendary four-time victor Morley Street in a race that creates the perfect crucible where speed meets stamina. Since its establishment in 1976, this fascinating tactical puzzle has frequently revealed champions of exceptional versatility who can deploy both acceleration and reserves of stamina at precisely the crucial moment.
Ladies Day
The Melling Chase has established itself since 1991 as the championship race for intermediate distance chasers on day two of the Festival, creating the perfect battleground where specialists from both the two-mile and three-mile divisions, and is always unpredictable in the racing betting. However, the feature of the day is Sefton Novices’ Hurdle. The race provides the season’s final championship opportunity for staying novice hurdlers before they shed their novice status, with 2024 witnessing Paul Nicholls’ Stay Away Fay announce himself as a stayer of significant promise over its demanding three-mile examination.
Established in 1988, this contest has proven a remarkably reliable signpost for identifying future stars of the staying division, with many graduates progressing to Stayers’ Hurdle and even Gold Cup glory in subsequent seasons as their careers transition from hurdles to fences.
Grand National Day
While the Liverpool Hurdle has seen some brilliant champions in its time, including Flooring Porter last year, the cream of the crop culminates with the Grand National — the epic that defines this Festival and the sport.
The 2024 renewal saw I Am Maximus triumph under Paul Townend, delivering a cherished win for Willie Mullins. Now carrying 11st 12lbs—eight lbbs more than last year—he faces a formidable challenge in his bid for back-to-back victories. Only Red Rum (1973–74) and Tiger Roll (2018–19) have achieved this feat in the modern era.
