The 1964 Grand National was the 118th renewal of the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

that took place at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three da ...

near

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England, on 21 March 1964. Thirty-three horses ran and the race was won narrowly by American-owned 12-year-old Team Spirit, at odds of 18/1. He was ridden by jockey Willie Robinson and trained by

Fulke Walwyn Fulke Thomas Tyndall Walwyn CVO (8 November 1910 – 18 February 1991) was a British jockey and a celebrated racehorse trainer, who was particularly successful in National Hunt racing. Life Walwyn was born in Wrexham. His twin sister, Helen J ...

. The journalist and broadcaster

Nancy Spain Nancy Brooker Spain (13 September 1917 – 21 March 1964) was a prominent English broadcaster and journalist. She was a columnist for the ''Daily Express'', ''She'' magazine, and the ''News of the World'' in the 1950s and 1960s. She also appear ...

and her partner, the magazine editor

Joan Werner Laurie Joan Ann Werner Laurie (17 November 1920 – 21 March 1964) was an English book and magazine editor. Early and private life Laurie was born in Marylebone, London, the daughter of Thomas Werner Laurie, a London publisher with a reputation for ...

, were among five people killed when their

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a Maximum Takeoff Weight, maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are use ...

crashed near the racecourse on the day of the race, which they were travelling to attend.Rose Collis, ‘Spain, Nancy Brooker (1917–1964)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 26 March 2013
/ref>

Finishing order

Non-finishers

The Grand National : the history of the Aintree spectacular, by Stewart Peters & Bernard Parkin,

Media coverage

Grand National

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...

on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

again provided the television coverage. For the third year running the commentary team remained unchanged with

Peter O'Sullevan Sir Peter O'Sullevan (3 March 1918 – 29 July 2015) was an Irish-British horse racing commentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the ''Daily Express'', and ''Today''. He was the BBC's leading horse racing commen ...

leading them off and finishing the race, Bob Haynes calling them over the first four fences before Peter Montague-Evans took them over the signature fences out in the country, Becher's Brook, Canal Turn and Valentine's Brook before handing back to O'Sullevan in the grandstand once they reached the Anchor Bridge crossing.

References

{{Grand National 1964 1964

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...