Scottish Grand National
| Grade 3 race | |
| Location |
Ayr Racecourse Ayrshire, Scotland |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1867 |
| Race type | Chase |
| Sponsor | Coral |
| Website | Ayr |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 4m ½f (6,538 metres) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Five-years-old and up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse |
£210,000 (2016) 1st: £119,595 |
The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ayr, Scotland, over a distance of approximately 4 miles and 110 yards (6,538 metres) and 27 fences. It is a handicap race, and takes place each year in April. It is Scotland's equivalent of the Grand National, and is held during Ayr's two-day Scottish Grand National Festival meeting.
The race, then known as the "West of Scotland Grand National", was first run at a course near Houston, Renfrewshire in 1858. It consisted of 32 jumps, mainly stone walls.
In 1867, after objections by the leader of the Free Kirk in Houston, the race moved to Bogside Racecourse, near Irvine. The inaugural winner at Bogside, The Elk, was owned by the Duke of Hamilton. During the early part of its history the race's distance was about three miles. It was later extended to 3⅞ miles, and became known by its present title in 1880, when it was won by Peacock.
Bogside Racecourse closed in 1965, and the Scottish Grand National was transferred to Ayr the following year. At this point the race was increased to its present length. Several winners of the Scottish Grand National have also won its English counterpart at Aintree. The first to complete the double was Music Hall, the winner of the 1922 Grand National. The feat has been achieved more recently by Little Polveir and Earth Summit, but the only horse to win both races in the same year was Red Rum in 1974.
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