Coordinates: 53°28′45″N 2°56′14″W / 53.4793°N 2.9373°W / 53.4793; -2.9373

Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north of Liverpool city centre, in North West England.

It is best known as the site of Aintree Racecourse, which since the 19th century has staged the Grand National horserace. During the 1950s and '60s, there was also a three-mile-long motor racing circuit on the site, which used the same grandstands as the horserace. A shorter form of the racing circuit is still used for various events, although car racing ceased in 1982.

Historically part of Lancashire, the name Aintree, thought to be of Saxon origin, means "one tree" or "tree standing alone." In 1999, the parish council decided to revert to its original name of Aintree Village; this request was granted by Sefton Council. Local legend held that a tree on Bull Bridge Lane, one of the oldest parts of the village, was "the Ain tree".^{[citation needed]} The tree had to be cut down in 2004 because it had become diseased and started to lean into the road.