1843 Grand National
Overview
 
The 1843 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase was the fifth official annual running of a handicap Steeple-chase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase handicap horse race which took place at Aintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England.It was served by Aintree Racecourse railway station until the station closed in the 1960s....

 near Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 on Wednesday March 1st 1843 and attracted a field of sixteen runners.

Although recorded by the press at the time as the eighth running of the Grand Liverpool, which was renamed the Grand National in 1847, the first three runnings were poorly organised affairs and are today regarded as unofficial.

This year the race was run as a handicap
Handicapping
Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which the advantage is calculated...

, with horses weighted according to their ability.
Quotations

"We could try phasers at twenty paces..."

to Splink: "Okay, even alternate versions of you are weird!"

"And they have the nerve to say I'm the weird one."

to the author-breaking the fourth wall: "We need a deus ex machina|deus ex machina, and you're deus!"

"We have a saying about our women, 'can't live with 'em, can't sacrifice them to giant, primitive alien beast gods!'"

"Why do I have the feeling this is deteriorating into the climax of Blazing Saddles?" - Ralph Zinobop (Melonpool crossover)

 
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