The most famous race in all of horse racing takes place at Aintree in April, as a field of 40 top chasers do battle in the Grand National.
Millions of fans from around the world will watch the Grand National every year, and only the strongest stayer in the field will land connection the huge first prize!
Grand National Key Facts
Date
Saturday April 13, 2024
Track
Aintree
Distance
4m 2f
Class
Group 3
Race Type
Handicap
Prize money
£1 million
Age
7YO+
Grand National Odds
We'll published the odds for the Grand National during the early stages of the New Year.
Grand National Tips
Our guide to the Grand National will be published when the final field has been revealed.
2023 Grand National Weights and Runners
Noble Yeats became the first novice in around half a century to win the Grand National in 2022. Emmet Mullins' star has continued his progression this season, winning the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree, and he'll return to the Grand National having run in the 2023 renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Corach Rambler jumped ahead of Noble Yeats at the head of the betting, after successfully defending his Ultima crown at the Cheltenham Festival. Gaillard Du Mesnil also shot up the Grand National market following his own victory at Cheltenham in the National Hunt Chase.
Any Second Now ran brilliantly to push Noble Yeats to the line 12 months ago and Ted Walsh has entered up his 11-year-old for a third year in a row. Longhouse Poet will be hoping to build on last season's sixth-place finish at Aintree.
Britain accounted for just 31 of the 85 entries for the 2023 Grand National. Dan Skelton's Becher Chase winner, Ashtown Lad is the highest-placed home runner in the betting, followed closely by stablemate Le Milos.
Gordon Elliott has handed entries to Grade One winner Conflated, Fury Road, Galvin and Delta Work, as well as last year's ninth Escaria Ten. Willie Mullins could be represented by Gaillard Du Mesnil, Thyestes winner Carefully Selected and Grade One-winning novice, Capodanno.
Other likely Grand National runners include Peter Fahey's The Big Dog, David Pipe's Remastered and Welsh National runner-up, The Big Breakaway. Diol Ker, Happygolucky, My Incredible, Pencilfulloflead, The Shunter and Royale Pagaille also feature in the betting.
Grand National History
The Grand National is steeped in history and there has been plenty happening since the first running in 1839.
The most valuable jumps race in Europe is a big draw card for bettors and much like the Melbourne Cup in Australia, it's watched by people who wouldn't usually watch horse racing.
Founded by William Lynn in 1829, the Grand National has since been at the forefront of British racing and Aintree has been the setting for many movies and books.
One of the most famous editions was in 1928 when Tipperary Tim was the only horse to finish the race, despite there being 42 starters.
The going was very heavy and Tipperary Tim handled it well but needed some luck in the final straight as there were two horses ahead of him.
Both horses in front failed to complete the final jump with one falling and another the saddle slipping.
The 1967 edition can only be described as mayhem with 100/1 chance Foinavon winning. The rank outsider was trailing the field by some 100 yards, but there was a big wreck up front which took out a large majority of the field.
17 jockeys remounted after the fall, but Foinavon had stolen the race and fences 7 and 23 are now named after the infamous winner.
Red Rum is the most successful Grand National winner in history, winning three times in the 1970's. The controversial jumper was the dominant jumper of its generation and will live in racing folklore for years to come.
One of the more bizarre happenings came in 1991 when the race was taken out by Seagram. The race was sponsored by Seagram, a Canadian Whiskey company.
Protests have marred the Grand National for many years by anti-racing lobbyists, but the biggest threat came in 1997 when bomb threats were received from the IRA.
The race was run two days later with 20,000 racegoers getting free admission after the race was cancelled on the Saturday.
The purse was increased to £1 million in 2014.
Grand National Betting
The Grand National isn't a race for bettors that like to take short odds.
There's rarely a short-odds favourite and this is due to the large number of participants and the risk factor involved.
The risk of falling is high in the Grand National so just crossing the line is victory in itself, but this makes it tough for bettors to assess the race.
No runner from 2009-2017 has paid less than 10/1, with the majority of winners paying around 14/1 - 33/1.
Mon Mome won in 2009 at odds of 100/1 and it was the first time a female trainer (Venetia Williams) had won the Grand National.
There are good betting statistics which could help with finding a value runner.
The average age of the winner is 9.9 years and the nine-year-old's have a good record in the race with a 26 percent winning rate.
Avoid backing the grey horses as only three of them have won.
The average odds of the Grand National winner are 20/1, so look for the runners hovering around that price.
Grand National Betting Statistics
The Grand National is one of the biggest betting races in the world and it's good to look at the statistics for the great race.
An incredible £150 million was bet on the 2013 Grand National race itself and compared to the $350 million spent on Melbourne Cup Day, that's a big number.
25 percent of UK adults will bet on the race and 74 percent of them will back their horses each way, which is a strategy we advise.
We were a little surprised at the following statistic, but it shows that you don't need to bet much to win big on the Grand National. Over 30 percent of punters will bet £5 or more, but we thought that number would be much higher.
How do UK punters pick their Grand National runner? Only around 13 percent will pick a horse because of its form and the most popular option is the horses' name.
Colour, number and jockey also factor into punters' decisions.
