Grand National 2022: Interesting facts about the annual horse race, the Queen and her horses

Ahead of the Grand National on Saturday, April 9, British Racecourses shared unknown facts about the annual horse race.

The event will be taking place at Aintree Racecourse at 5.15pm and is sponsored by The Randox Health.

The prize for the Grand National is £1,000,000 and is watched by 600 million people in more than 140 countries with more than 70,000 people who attend the race on the day.

There are 40 horses and their jockeys that participate in the race.

Interesting facts about the Grand National and the Queen

1 - Queen Elizabeth II has never won the Grand National race.

2 - The Queen is said to have had her first riding lesson at the age of three, so her love of horses began at a very young age.

3 - In 1952 King George VI died and the Queen inherited the throne and also her father’s breeding and racing horses.

4 - Every year the Queen’s favourite event is said to be Royal Ascot.

5 - The Queen’s horses have competed in many races over the years, and on 71 occasions have won the event.

6 - The royal family has played a huge role in owning, training and riding horses at the Grand National racing event.

7 - With more than 1,000 horse racing victories, the royal family has never won a Grand National.

8 - The closest chance of winning the Grand National was when Devon Loch had a five-length lead over his nearest challenger and inexplicably fell on the final straight, just 40 yards from a certain victory.

Facts about the Queen and her horses

1 - Queen Elizabeth II has been riding since she was four years old, when her father King George VI gave her a Shetland pony named Peggy.

2 - The Queen Mother was an avid National Hunt Racing fan, Princess Anne and her daughter Zara Phillips both became top event riders and both Prince William and Harry both play polo.

3 - All the horses that you see in the royal parades are kept at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, ‘one of the finest working stables in existence’. The Queen names each horse.

4 - The Royal Mews is where they keep all the carriages, coaches and cars used by the Queen.

5 - The Queen is famous for always riding without a helmet.

6 - The Queen owns many racehorses, having initially inherited the breeding and racing stock from her father King George VI.

7 - As of 2013, horses owned by the Queen have won more than 1,600 races. She has had winners in all of the British Classics except the Grand National.

8 - The Queen has actually made £7.6 million from her race winnings.

9 - Monty Roberts, also known as The Horse Whisperer, has trained the Queen’s horses since 1989. He has been honoured by the Queen and is a honorary member of the Royal Victorian Order. They have shared a close friendship since he began training her horses. She even named a Corgi after him.

10 - The Queen breeds Thoroughbreds, fell ponies, Shetland ponies and Highland ponies.