Justifiably described by commentator Sir Peter O’Sullevan as ‘the most sensational occurrence during the long history of the world’s most famous steeplechase’, the ‘race that wasn’t’ was run, albeit not officially, at Aintree on April 3, 1993. After a second false start, starter Keith Brown raised, but did not unfurl, his red recall flag, such that it could not be seen by recall man Ken Evans, stationed further down the course, and the majority of the field set off towards the first fence, oblivious to the recall.

Before the false starts, caused by a faulty catch on the starting gate, the start of the Grand National had already been delayed by the presence of animal rights protesters on the course near the first fence. Consequently, many of the thirty jockeys who sent off steadfastly resisted attempts by officials, and by the crowd, to stop the race; some of them pulled up at the end of the first circuit, but others went out into the country for a second time and seven completed the course.

‘Victory’ went to Esha Ness, trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by John White, who beat Cahervillahow, Romany King and The Committee in what would have been the second fastest time in Grand National history. However, even as he was calling the runners home, O’Sullevan referred to ‘the race that surely never was’. He was right because, following a lengthy enquiry, the stewards had little choice but to declare the race void and it was never re-run.

The 80s gambling and sportings scene seems like another world now, light years away from online entertainment like https://www.bestusaonlinecasinos.com. Having won the Craven Stakes and the 2,000 Guineas with a minimum of fuss, despite stamina doubts over a mile-and-a-half, Dancing Brave was sent off well-backed 2/1 favourite for the Derby at Epsom in 1986. In the early stages, off a steady gallop, Dancing Brave was settled towards the rear of the 16-runner field by jockey Greville Starkey.

Approaching halfway, on the downhill run into Tattenham Corner, he was angled towards the outside and ridden along but, turning into the straight, Dancing Brave still only had two horses behind him. As the pace finally quickened, approaching the three-furlong marker, Dancing Brave started to make progress on the extreme outside. He continued to pick off rivals all the way up the straight, but inside the final furlong it soon became that the ‘bird’ – in the shape of second favourite, Shahrastani, who had struck for home under Walter Swinburn a furlong-and-a-half from home and wasn’t stopping – had flown.

Despite making up ground hand-over-fist in the closing stages, Dancing Brave had been set an insurmountable task and was still half a length behind at the line.Starkey had made the mistake – as later borne out by sectional timing – of lying too far out of his ground in a steadily-run race. He was widely pilloried for the defeat, which dogged him until the end of his career, so much so that, eventually, he refused to talk about the episode. Such a gesture seems rather tame in the context of today’s world. Nowadays we’d be too distracted with casinos online or angry tweets!

Still hailed as ‘First Lady of Aintree’, Jenny Pitman will always be remembered as the first woman to train the winner of the Grand National. She did so in 1983 with the eight-year-old Corbiere, owned by Bryan Burrough and ridden by Ben de Haan, who repelled the fast-finishing Greasepaint to win by three-quarters of a length. Of course more recently in 2021 another woman, Rachael Blackmore, confounded the latest Racing Odds by becoming the first female jockey ever to win the Grand National.

A bright chestnut with a big white blaze, Corbiere, or ‘Corky’ as he was known at home, was apparently name after La Corbière Lighthouse on the island of Jersey. Although still in his first season over fences, Corbiere had demonstrated his Aintree credentials when winning the Coral Welsh National, over 3 miles 6 furlongs on soft going, at Chepstow the previous December. Consequently, despite shouldering st 4lb, he was sent off 13/1 fifth favourite, behind Grittar, Bonum Omen, Spartan Missile and Peaty Sandy, for his first attempt at the Grand National.

Once underway, Corbiere raced prominently throughout, jumping impeccably, and took the lead at the twenty-third fence, or ‘Foinavon’, as it is now known. He led again at the third-last fence and turning for home was one four horses still in serious contention. He jumped the final fence with a three-length lead over his nearest pursuer, Greasepaint, but in the end was all out to hold his rallying rival. Winning jockey Ben de Haan later said, ‘I knew there was another horse closing on the run-in, but I wasn’t worried; Corky picked up in the last couple of strides.’

Sadly, the racing career of Shergar will forever be overshadowed by events on the night of February 8, 1983, when the horse was kidnapped, at gunpoint, from the Ballymany Stud in Co. Kildare, Ireland and never seen again. Nevertheless, whatever his ultimate fate, it should not be forgotten that his winning margin of ten lengths – which could have been larger, had jockey Walter Swinburn eased down inside the final furlong – in the 1981 Derby remains a record for the Epsom Classic.

Indeed, so far clear was he that John Matthias, jockey of the remote second, Glint Of Gold, thought he had won the race.

Having won the Sandown Classic Trial, over a mile-and-a-quarter, and the Chester Vase, over a mile-and-a-half, by ten lengths and twelve lengths, respectively, Shergar arrived at Epsom with, far and away, the best form of any horse in the Derby field. Unsurprising, he was sent off odds-on favourite, at 10/11, and what followed was later described by Timeform as ‘arguably the most one-sided Derby of modern times’. Rounding Tattenham Corner, the sweeping, downhill turn into the straight at Epsom, fully half-a-mile from the winning post, it became clear that Shergar would win, and win easily. He took a two-length lead with three furlongs to run and went further and further clear, leading commentator to exclaim, ‘The Derby is a procession!’ and ‘You need a telescope to see the rest!’

Watch Shergar’s 1981 Derby Win