When horse power attracted 150,000 to Aintree

He said designer David Neat was given a very specific brief by Mrs Topham.

“She wanted the course to mirror the horse race circuit so he got a scale map and wrapped piano wire around pins to chart his circuit but he had a bit of wire left over and put some more pins and created the unusual loop,” he said.

On 29 May 1954, the first race at the track’s opening meeting was won by Duncan Hamilton’s Jaguar C-type in a race that included Jimmy Stewart – father of future Formula 1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

Just over a year after staging its first race, Aintree hosted the 1955 British Grand Prix.

It was won by Sir Stirling Moss and watched by 150,000 spectators – the largest attendance at a Grand Prix on a single day.

Moss made history again in 1957 as the first British driver to win a Grand Prix in a British car. The Vanwall carried him to victory, but some thanks must go to his teammate Tony Brooks, who handed over his car when Moss’s own hit trouble.

Moss competed in 18 races in 11 classes of car at Liverpool, winning eight races before his career was ended in a crash at Goodwood.

“He should be mentioned in the same breath as Red Rum in terms of being Aintree’s greatest champion,” said Mr Bailie.

Five British Grand Prix races were held in the course’s golden decade from 1954 to 1964 with the course’s grandstands proving to be superb vantage points.