Editing Grand National (section)

===Second World War and the 1950s===
Although the Grand National was run as normal in 1940 and most other major horse races around the world were able to be held throughout [[World War II|the war]], the [[commandeering]] of Aintree Racecourse for defence use in 1941 meant no Grand National could be held from 1941 to 1945.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandnationalrecords.co.uk/grand-national-chronicle.htm|title=Grand National Chronicle|website=Grandnationalrecords.co.uk|access-date=17 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110201933/http://www.grandnationalrecords.co.uk/grand-national-chronicle.htm|archive-date=10 November 2017}}</ref> It recommenced in 1946, when it was run on a Friday, and from 1947 was moved to a Saturday, at the urging of the [[Home Secretary]] [[James Chuter Ede]],<ref>Diary of James Chuter Ede (unpublished, held in the British Library), entry for 5 April 1952.</ref> who thought this would make it more accessible to working people.  It has normally been run on a Saturday ever since.

During the 1950s the Grand National was dominated by [[Vincent O'Brien]], who trained different winners of the race for three consecutive years between 1953 and 1955. Early Mist secured O'Brien's first victory in [[1953 Grand National|1953]]; Royal Tan won in [[1954 Grand National|1954]], and Quare Times completed the Irish trainer's hat-trick in [[1955 Grand National|1955]].<ref>[http://www.grand-national.me.uk/vincentobrien.php Vincent O'Brien ~ Grand National Winning Trainer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203130226/http://www.grand-national.me.uk/vincentobrien.php |date=3 December 2010 }}. Grand-national.me.uk (9 April 1917). Retrieved on 11 March 2011.</ref>

{{Quote box
 |quote  = '''Oh, that's racing!'''
 |source = [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|The Queen Mother]] on [[Devon Loch]]'s collapse moments from certain victory
 |width  = 25%
 |quoted = 1
 |align  = right
}}

The running of the [[1956 Grand National]] witnessed one of the chase's most bizarre incidents. [[Devon Loch]], owned by [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]], had cleared the final fence in the leading position, five lengths clear of [[E.S.B. (horse)|E.S.B.]] {{convert|40|yd|spell=In}} from what seemed like certain victory, Devon Loch suddenly, and inexplicably, half-jumped into the air and collapsed in a belly-flop on the turf. Despite efforts by jockey [[Dick Francis]], Devon Loch was unable to complete the race, leaving E.S.B. to cross the finishing line first. Responding to the commiserations of E.S.B.’s owner, the Queen Mother famously commented: "Oh, that's racing!"<ref name="grandnational.org.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.grandnational.org.uk/history.php|title=Grand National History since 1839|website=Grandnational.org.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104072019/http://www.grandnational.org.uk/history.php|archive-date=4 January 2017|access-date=10 July 2010}}</ref>

Had Devon Loch completed the race he might have set a new record for the fastest finishing time, which E.S.B. missed by only four-fifths of a second. Many explanations have been offered for Devon Loch's behaviour on the run-in, but the incident remains inexplicable.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/1956/mar/24/grandnational2005.grandnational | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=Devon Loch joins the great failures | date=1 April 2005 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104072258/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/1956/mar/24/grandnational2005.grandnational | archive-date=4 January 2017 }}</ref> The incident became part of the folklore of the event, and by extension British sporting culture. In modern language, the phrase "to do a Devon Loch" is often used to describe a last-minute failure to achieve an expected victory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/search.php?q=devon+loch|title=Search Results for 'devon loch' - UsingEnglish.com|website=UsingEnglish.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302205336/http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/search.php?q=devon+loch|archive-date=2 March 2012|access-date=12 July 2010}}</ref>