For three days every April, a corner of north Liverpool becomes the centre of the racing world. The Grand National is run at Aintree, on the edge of the city in the borough of Sefton, and the Jockey Club said the 2026 race would be broadcast in more than 130 countries. For the rest of the year, Aintree is a settled residential area with quick links into Liverpool, and that is what makes it interesting to tenants and landlords.
Nearly two centuries of racing
Racing at Aintree began in 1829, when the Topham family leased the land from Lord Sefton, an arrangement that ran until the family bought the course outright in 1949. In February 1839 a horse called Lottery won the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, the race that became the Grand National. In 1843 Edward William Topham turned it into a handicap, which it remains today.
Some of the fences are as famous as the winners. Becher's Brook takes its name from Captain Martin Becher, who ended up in the brook after being unseated in that first official race in 1839. The Canal Turn asks horses to turn sharply left on landing, beside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The Chair, at 5ft 2in, is the tallest fence on the course and is jumped only once.
The best known name of all is Red Rum, the only horse to win the race three times, in 1973, 1974 and 1977. A statue of him by Philip Blacker stands in the Red Rum Garden at the course. Aintree is now one of the racecourses run by Jockey Club Racecourses, part of The Jockey Club.
The race today
The Grand National is run over 4 miles and 2 and a half furlongs, the longest jump race in Britain. There are 16 fences, and 14 of them are jumped twice, making 30 jumps in all. From 2024 the Jockey Club cut the maximum field from 40 to 34, moved the first fence 60 yards closer to the start, introduced a standing start and brought the race forward in the afternoon, all as part of its work on horse welfare.
The 178th running, on 11 April 2026, was won by I Am Maximus, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, who had also won the race in 2024. The 2027 festival runs from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 April, with Opening Day, Ladies Day and Grand National Day. Racing continues through the autumn and winter too, including Becher Chase Day in December.
Getting there
Aintree station, on the Merseyrail Ormskirk line, serves the course from Liverpool Central and Moorfields, and the Jockey Club advises that trains run every seven and a half minutes before and after racing on festival days. By road, the course sits on the A59 about a mile from the M57 and M58. Car parking on race days has to be booked in advance.
Living around the course
Aintree village and its neighbours, including Old Roan, Netherton and, further north up the same railway line, Maghull, are largely residential suburbs. Aintree University Hospital is close by in Fazakerley. To the west, Crosby has a long sandy beach where Antony Gormley's Another Place, 100 cast iron figures spread over about three kilometres of shoreline, has stood since 2005.
For renters, the appeal is a quieter suburban setting with the city centre a short train ride away. For landlords, it is a part of the Liverpool area where demand does not depend on one week in April.
Thinking of letting during race week?
Grand National week brings a surge of visitors to Liverpool, and some owners consider a short let. A home with tenants in it is theirs to live in, so this is only an option for an empty property. Even then, check your mortgage, lease and insurance first, as many restrict short lets. For most owners, a steady year round let is the more reliable route.
Where we fit
We let and manage homes across Liverpool, and in neighbouring Sefton by arrangement. You can keep the tenancy and let us run it through our property management service, or take guaranteed rent and receive an agreed sum each month. To find out what your home could achieve, use our rent calculator and a property manager will come back to you with a figure.
Sources: The Jockey Club, The history of Aintree Racecourse; The Jockey Club, Grand National fences; The Jockey Club, Grand National facts and figures; The Jockey Club, Changes to the Randox Grand National (October 2023); The Jockey Club, Red Rum's trophies returned to Aintree (March 2023); The Jockey Club, Randox Grand National to be broadcast in more than 130 countries (April 2026); The Jockey Club, The Grand National 2027; The Jockey Club, Grand National travel; NHS, Aintree University Hospital; Sefton Council, Another Place by Antony Gormley.
