Newmarket was the venue for the first horse racing meetings in Britain and is now one of the most well known race courses in England.

Aintree is another favourite, where the fences are made up of spruce from the Lake District. As well as horse racing, Aintree has also hosted a European and five British Grand Prix but is now used only for horse racing.

The Grand National is held at Aintree every year and is the biggest event in the horse racing calendar. The first five Grand Nationals included a stone wall jump but was later changed for a water jump.

Red Rum is the famous name in horse racing history after becoming the most successful horse winning the Grand National three times in 1973, 1974 and 1977.

The first Grand National race was in 1839, but it started in inauspicious circumstances, starting two hours late after confusion over weighing procedures. The aptly named, and 5-1 favourite, Lottery won the race.

The 1929 Grand National featured the most starters in the race when 66 horses lined up with the smallest field in 1883 when just 10 faced the starter.

The BBC and Channel four are the most popular channels for watching the horse racing, with the majority of spectators placing bets, they are watching for more than just pleasure.