Scottish Grand National

The Scottish Grand National is a national hunt steeplechase held at Ayr in April annually and is the feature on their two-day festival.

It is open to five-year-olds and above and is a thorough test of stamina as it is run over four miles and 110 yards, the third longest race on the national hunt calendar in the UK.

The runners have to jump 27 fences around the Scottish left-handed track in the contest, which is Scotland's equivalent of the Grand National.

The inaugural running of the Scottish Grand National took place in 1867 when it was held at Bogside racecourse in Irvine. The Elk was the first ever winner and was owned by the Duke of Hamilton.

In the early stages of the race, it was run over the trip of three miles. It wasn't until 1966 that the distance was increased when the race moved to Ayr, following the closure of Bogside.

Music Hall in 1922 was the first to complete the Scottish Grand National and the English equivalent but Little Polveir and Earth Summit have both done the same more recently. Red Rum, however, is the only horse to score in both races in the same year, back in 1974. After scoring for the second year running at Aintree, he travelled up to Scotland later that month to land the double for trainer Ginger McCain.

2013 Grand National winner Auroras Encore was the first horse for a while to attempt the rare double but unfortunately for connections he pulled up at Ayr five fences from home in the race eventually won by Godsmejudge.

Couvrefeu II, Sourthern Hero and Queen's Taste hold the record for the most wins in this race with three each. Since moving to Ayr, though, only Barona and Androma have won the contest twice.

Roddy Armytage's Barona secured the 1975 and 1976 renewals, while the Jimmy FitzGerald trained Androma defended his crown in 1985 after scoring a year earlier.

The purse in 2013 for the Scottish Grand National reached a record high of £180,000. When it was first held in 1867, the winning horse won £100.

The race received television coverage in 1953 for the first time. However, after 1954 it was dropped by the BBC until 1969 when ITV opted to pick up the race. Channel 4 has screened the Ayr showpiece every year since 1986.

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