first run on Saturday in 1947. In 1949 Messrs. Tophams bought the racecourse outright from Lord Sefton after leasing the course for 100 years. To celebrate this purchase, the Topham Trophy, a handicap steeplechase over 2 miles 6 furlongs of the Grand National course was introduced as the main race on the first day of the National meeting. In December 1953 the Mildmay steeplechase course was opened with smaller versions of the Grand National fences. This two-day fixture was the first all National Hunt meeting ever staged at Aintree. In July 1964 Mrs Topham announced that she intended selling the racecourse to a property developer, Capital & Counties, to build housing. This started the era of the "last Grand National" which lasted for about twenty years. There was talk of the Grand National being transferred to Doncaster. 1973 saw the last Grand National meeting run by the Topham family as Aintree was bought by a local property developer, Bill Davies. A low ebb was reached in 1975 when the attendance at the Grand National was the lowest anyone could remember, largely because Bill Davies tripled admission prices. The National meeting was revived in 1976 under Ladbrokes' management and a new clerk of the course, John Hughes (although Bill Davies still owned the course). The first day of the Spring Meeting saw the final flat race run at Aintree, the Knowsley Stakes over 1 mile 5 furlongs; the final two days, including Grand National day were all National Hunt events. In 1977 all three days of the 'National' meeting were National Hunt for the first time, and have continued to be so. The uncertainty about the future of the course was finally removed in December 1983 when the Jockey Club bought the course from Bill Davies. Most of Aintree's old stands were demolished in 1985, leaving just the County Stand. A temporary stand, the Aintree Stand, was erected. The County Stand was renovated and extended in 1988. Three years later the temporary stands were replaced by a permanent one, opened by and named after the Queen Mother. In 1995 Red Rum, the only horse to win the Grand National three times, died in October and was buried near the winning post. A statue to the horse had been unveiled at the course on Grand National day in 1988. In 1997 part of the County Stand was demolished to prepare for a