2013 Grand National
| Grand National | |
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| Location | Aintree Racecourse |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 April 2013 |
| Winning horse | Auroras Encore |
| SP | 66/1 |
| Jockey | Ryan Mania |
| Trainer | Sue Smith |
| Owner | Douglas Pryde, Jim Beaumont & David van der Hoeven |
| Conditions | Good to soft |
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 Full replay of the 2013 Grand National Racing UK, YouTube |
 The BBC's gallery of images from the 2013 Grand National
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The 2013 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 166th annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase, which concluded a three-day meeting (one of only four held at Aintree throughout the year), took place on 6 April 2013. The maximum permitted field of 40 runners competed for a share of the £975,000 prize fund, which made the National the most valuable jump race in Europe.
The race was won by 66/1 shot Auroras Encore, who was ridden by jockey Ryan Mania for trainer Sue Smith. The 11/2 favourite Seabass, ridden by Katie Walsh, finished in 13th place. During the race only two horses fell and six unseated their riders; 17 completed the course and all 40 that ran returned safely to the stables.
The race was broadcast on Channel 4 for the first time as it took over the broadcasting rights for a four-year period to 2016. The BBC had broadcast the race every year since it was first televised in 1960 and first aired on radio in 1927. The BBC retain the UK radio coverage rights.
In addition to modifications made for the previous year's race, Aintree announced that a number of further changes had been made for the 2013 National.
Twelve of the 16 fences on the course were rebuilt with the timber frames within them replaced by a softer material known as "plastic birch". The fences are still covered with at least 14 inches of spruce and will remain the same height. The starting line was also moved 90 yards closer to the first fence, further away from the spectators' stands and thereby reducing slightly the overall distance.
Aintree and the Professional Jockeys' Association jointly issued a note urging participating jockeys to avoid a false start by paying more attention to the starter's orders, and to better control their speed during the race.
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