Liverpool Hurdle

The Liverpool Hurdle is a Grade 1 hurdle race run over 3 miles and 149 yards on the Mildmay Course at Aintree in early April. The race is open to horses aged four years and upwards and is currently scheduled for the third and final day of the Grand National Festival.

Inaugurated, as the Long Distance Hurdle, in 1974, the race was originally run over 2 miles, 7 furlongs and 118 yards at Ascot before being transferred to Aintree in 2004. At that stage, it was renamed and the distance extended to its current yardage. The Long Distance Hurdle was promoted to Grade 2 status in 1991 and the Liverpool Hurdle was promoted again, to Grade 1 status, in 2010.

The Liverpool Hurdle often features horses that contested the Stayers' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The prolific Big Buck's, trained by Paul Nicholls, completed the Stayers' Hurdle – Liverpool Hurdle double four years running, in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, while Thistlecrack, trained by Colin Tizzard, also won both races in 2016. Long after his retirement, in 2006, Martin Pipe remains the most successful trainer in the history of the Liverpool Hurdle, having saddled Pragada (1992), Sweet Glow (1994), Galant Moss (1999), Maid Equal (2001) and Deano's Beeno (2003) for a total of

The result of the Stayers' Hurdle will, no doubt, influence the ante-post betting market for the Liverpool Hurdle. Looking ahead to 3.35pm on Saturday, April 9, 2023, last year's runner-up Flooring Porter – who has won the Stayers' Hurdle for the last two seasons – is an obvious starting point, while the likes of State Man and Blazing Khan, to name but two, are promising, young horses whose best days are ahead of them.