The 2011 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 164th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase began at 4:15 pm BST on 9 April 2011, the final day of the three-day annual meeting. The maximum permitted field of forty runners competed for prize money totalling a record £950,000, making it the highest valued National Hunt race in the United Kingdom.