How many fences are jumped in the Grand National?

The short answer is 30. After a raft of safety changes in recent years, the Grand National is, nowadays, run over an advertised distance of 4 miles and 2½ furlongs, or 4 miles, 2 furlongs and 74 yards to be precise. The race distance comprises two circuits of the flat, left-handed Grand National Course, on which there are a total of 16 idiosyncratic fences, 14 of which are jumped twice.

The Chair and the Water Jump, the penultimate and ultimate fences on the first circuit, are the only obstacles that are negotiated just once. Indeed, they could hardly present two more different tests for horse rider.

The Chair, so-called because it is situated at the point where the distance judge once sat, stands 5’2″ high and features a 6′ wide ditch on the take-off side, making it both the tallest and broadest fence on the Grand National course. The Chair also has the dubious distinction of being the site of the only human fatality during the world famous steeplechase; on March 12, 1962, Joseph Wynne, parted company with his mount, O’Connell, and was crushed by rival, Playmate, when lying unconscious on the ground, suffering fatal chest injuries.

By contrast, the Water Jump stands just 2″9′ high, but, as the name suggests, is followed by a 8′ 10″ wide expanse of water. As such, it represents a “long jump” rather than a “high jump” but, the “surprise” element aside, rarely causes many problems. On the second circuit, the Grand National runners bear right, bypassing The Chair and the Water Jump, and set off up the elongated run-in, past the famous ‘Elbow’, to the winning post.