Grand National Festival 2025 Tips - April 3-5

A Beginner's Guide to Betting on the Grand National

Jon Vine

Editor

Last updated: Sat 29 Mar 2025 11:51

Jon Vine 29 Mar 2025

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Explains different bet types: single, each-way, forecast, and tricast
Grand National course is unique, past winners haven't needed prior course experience
Best bets often placed just before the race; consider gut instincts for fun betting

The Grand National at Aintree. (Getty)

Contents

Types Of Bet
Grand National Form
Age Is Just A Number
Watch Your Weight
Bet On The Day
Trust Your Gut

Here's our beginner's guide to betting on the Grand National, which takes place at Aintree on Saturday 5th April.

The 2025 Grand National is only a week away and the excitement is beginning to ramp up. Millions of people around the world will be glued to their television screens at 4:00pm on April 5th, as 34 of the sport's finest chasers battle for a place in the history books.

Placing a bet on the Grand National can be quite daunting, especially if you're not a seasoned punter. Here are six helpful hints and tips for anyone looking to place a bet on the 2025 Grand National.

Grand National Betting - A Beginners Guide

Types Of Bet

The most common horse racing bet is called a single bet, where you're backing a single horse to win and you'll get paid out at the odds taken. You can also place an each-way bet, which requires two stakes, but means you'll get some money back if your horse finishes within the paid places - usually, bookmakers will pay out on the first five, six or even seven places in the Grand National, depending on what bookmaker you bet with.

If you're feeling brave, you could place a forecast bet. A forecast is where you try and predict which horses will finish first and second. A reverse forecast is where you pick two horses to finish first and second in any order. This bet requires two stakes, like an each-way bet.

A tricast is identical to a forecast, but you're trying to predict the first three horses to cross the line. A combination tricast is similar to a reverse forecast. With a combination tricast, you'll have to place six stakes, as there are six possible orders in which the three horses you've selected could finish.

tiger roll aintree — The great Tiger Roll winning his second Grand National. (Getty)

Grand National Form

The Grand National course isn't the same as your everyday steeplechasing track. There are a variety of weird and wonderful fences, the course takes many twists and turns, and the elbow on the way to the finishing line has often caught out tired horses.

Some horses simply do not enjoy the Grand National course. You'd think, then, it would be sensible to side with horses who have experience around the National track - but this is no longer the case.

Over the years, the Grand National fences have been made safer, meaning they're much easier to jump. In the last 15 years, only three Grand National winners had previously run on the Grand National course and one of those was Tiger Roll, who claimed back-to-back victories. Experience around this unique track is not essential.

Age Is Just A Number

Horses as young as seven and as old as 13 will be running in this year's Grand National. A popular betting tactic with punters is to back the younger "less exposed" horses in handicaps, as older horses have run more times and established their level of ability.

Six of the last nine Grand Nationals were won by seven and eight-year-old horses. Yet, in the 14 years before that, we saw five ten-year-olds, four 11-year-olds and even a 12-year-old win the world's most famous handicap. Horses aged ten or older have finished in the paid places in nine of the last ten renewals, so don't be put off if the horse you fancy is one of the oldest in the race.

Watch Your Weight

As the fences have become less testing, the classier horses - those towards the top end of the Grand National weights - have enjoyed more success. I Am Maximus carried 11-06 to victory last year and he'll attempt to defend his crown under a top-weight of 11-12.

The last horse to carry top weight to victory in the Grand National was the legendary Red Rum, who won his second National under 12-00 in 1974. Since then, only seven horses have won the Grand National carrying 11-05 or more and almost 80% of the winners in that time carried 11-00 or less. Carrying lots of weight to victory can be done, but it's very difficult.

i am maximus aintree — I Am Maximus is the highest-rated horse in the 2025 Grand National. (Getty)

Bet On The Day

The two best times to place a horse racing bet are often as soon as the market opens, or in the minutes before the race takes place.

The final 34-horse field for the Grand National will be confirmed on Thursday. Some of you may be tempted to place your bets then, and that might pay off if you think the horse you're backing will shorten considerably in the market.

My advice would be to wait until the morning of the Grand National to place your bets. If you wait until the day of the race, you'll know exactly what the weather and the going description will be, you'll know which trainers have their horses in good form and you can read articles from tipsters who publish on the morning of the action.

Also, bookmakers like bet365 run an excellent promotion called Best Odds Guaranteed. If you place your Grand National bets after 8:00am on the day of the race, bet365 will pay you out at the bigger odds if the starting price – the odds of the horse when the race gets underway – is greater than the odds you initially took.

You will also get a boosted number of paid places on the day of the race, along with some other excellent promotions.

Trust Your Gut

At the end of the day, all betting relies on an element of luck. All you can do is pick your horse, and the rest is out of your control.

If a horse's name or number sticks out to you, go with it. If your favourite jockey is riding in the race, side with them. You'll be annoyed if that horse goes and wins and you haven't backed it because someone on the internet said another horse was "a certainty".

Betting is supposed to be fun, and the only time some people place a horse racing bet is on Grand National day. Trust your gut, follow your instincts, and you might be surprised by the result!