2001 Grand National

2001 Grand National

Grand National
Location	Aintree
Date	7 April 2001
Winning horse	Red Marauder
Starting price	33/1
Jockey	Richard Guest
Trainer	Norman Mason
Owner	Norman Mason
Conditions	Heavy
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External videos
Replay of the 2001 Grand National in full Racing TV, YouTube

The 2001 Grand National (officially known as the Martell Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 154th official running of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 7 April 2001. It went ahead as planned, despite the cancellation of the 2001 Cheltenham Festival, caused by the foot-and-mouth disease crisis.

The steeplechase was won by a distance by 33/1 shot Red Marauder, ridden by jockey Richard Guest, in a time of over 11 minutes. The winner was also trained by his jockey and owned by Norman Mason, in whose name the training licence was held, with Guest as his assistant, though Guest did all the training^[1] at his base in Crook, County Durham^[2] and ran in the trainer's colours of red with a blue hoop, three blue hoops on the sleeves and a red and blue hooped cap.

The field was limited to a maximum of 40 competitors, of which only two completed the course without mishap (two others were re-mounted to complete) and the race was run in heavy going. It was notable for an unusually high number of falls, including eight at the first Canal Turn, and it came in for criticism in some quarters, believing that the conditions were too wet and muddy. However, supporters of the race were quick to point out that the slow pace and bottomless ground benefitted the race as there were no injuries sustained to any horse or rider.