Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three days. Aintree also holds meetings in May, October (Sunday), November and December (both Saturdays).

The Aintree Racecourse had suffered three major disruptions in post-war history, starting with the 1993 Grand National due to a series of false starts and no winner was announced, followed by the 1997 Grand National, postponed to Monday because of an IRA bomb threat and the 2023 Grand National was delayed due to Animal Rights protesters.

Horse racing was popular in Liverpool from at least Tudor times, In the 18th century Nicholas Blundell organised races on the sands at Crosby.

In 1829, William Lynn, the owner of the Waterloo Hotel in Ranelagh Street, Liverpool, approached the Second Earl of Sefton, William Philip Molyneux, whose nickname was 'Lord Dashalong', about leasing land to organise flat racing.

Lord Sefton liked racing, so he agreed. He laid the foundation stone on 7 February 1829, and placed a container of sovereigns inside the footings. Lynn built a grandstand in time for the first meeting at Aintree racecourse on 7 July 1829, designed by John Foster Jr. The opening race was the Croxteth Stakes over 1 mile 2 furlongs, and was won by Mufti. In 1835 Lynn organised hurdle racing, which was a great success, especially when a well-known, rider, Captain Martin Becher, agreed to take part and rode a horse named Vivian to two victories. The story goes that Becher told Lynn about the Great St. Albans Steeplechase, a four-mile point-to-point race across country, which was first run in 1830. This caught Lynn's imagination and he decided that he wanted a similar race at Aintree.

With Becher's help Lynn organised the Liverpool Grand Steeplechase, first run on 29 February 1836. There were ten runners, to be ridden by gentlemen riders only, all carrying twelve stone, with the winner, sold if demanded. for two hundred sovereigns. Captain Becher (after whom Becher's Brook is named) rode The Duke to victory. The winner was owned by Mr Sirdfield, landlord of the George Inn at Great Crosby. Some racing historians regard this 1836 race as the first Grand National, but most favour the 1839 event as the inaugural one. The Duke won again in 1837, Sir William in 1838. There is even some disagreement as to the venue for the 1836 to 1838 races, with the nearby Maghull (which was opened in 1827 by a landowner, John Formby) having its supporters.

By 1839 the aristocracy was taking an interest: Lords Derby, Eglinton, Wilton, Sefton and Lord George Bentinck backed a national racing event at Aintree. The race was named the 'Grand Liverpool Steeplechase' and advertised as being "four miles across country" – though starting and finishing on the established racecourse. There were 29 obstacles, including a stone wall five feet high, and about a mile from the stands a "strong paling, next a rough, high jagged hedge, and lastly a brook about six feet wide." As the runners approached that obstacle, Captain Becher led the field on Conrad, who hit the obstacle hard causing Becher to fall into the brook. As he came out of the brook, Becher is reputed to have said that "water is no damned use without brandy!" Lottery, ridden by Jem Mason, won at 9/1, followed by Seventy-Four and Paulina, both 12/1. The 6/1 favourite, The Nun, failed to finish. There were seventeen runners. That first 'National' attracted a crowd of about 50,000.

In the following years the race became very popular, though William Lynn's health suffered and his interest in racing lessened. Another member of the syndicate, Edward William Topham, who was also a racing handicapper, took over as the leading influence at Aintree. In 1843 he turned the 'National' from a weight-for-age race into a handicap. The race officially became the 'Grand National' in 1847; the following year Topham took on the lease of the course from Lord Sefton.