Grand National Steeplechase

The Grand National Steeplechase is the most prestigious handicap race in national hunt racing. The event is run as the feature race of the 3rd day of the annual Aintree Festival, and is one of the biggest betting events in the United Kingdom, with millions of people around the world placing bets on the race.

The Grand National is one of the longest races in national hunt racing, covering a distance of 4 miles 4 furlongs over the Grand National track at Aintree Racecourse. The race is notoriously tough and dangerous, with entries required to clear 30 spruce covered fences on the way to the finishing post.

The prize money offered for the Grand National is close to £1 million, making it the richest national hunt race in the United Kingdom. While the race has a rich heritage, and is one of the most coveted prizes in the sport, entries tend to be of relatively mediocre quality, and Grade 1 winners rarely participate in the race due to high probability of racehorse injury.

Grand National Betting & Trends

Weight: Weight has a significant impact on this arduous race. Only two winners in the last decade have carried 11 stone or more, while the majority of winners in the same period have been weighted between 10st 5 lbs and 10st 12 lbs.

Age: Experience counts in the Grand National, and most winners fall in the 9- to 12-year-old age range. Only 2 racehorses outside this age range have won the Grand National in the past 20 years.

Odds: The Grand National is something of a lottery with winners pricing anywhere from 7/1 to 100/1. It is notable that all four favourites that won the race in the past two decades started the race priced at 7/1. The majority of race winners are priced 20/1 or lower.

Jockey: Ruby Walsh has won the Grand National twice since 2000.

Trainer: Nigel Twiston Davies has fielded two Grand National winners since 1998.

Grand National Tip: With a large field, horses of variable quality and the impact of the notorious Aintree fences at play, predicting the winner of this race is like betting on the lottery. A spread of each-way bets on entries priced under 20/1 is one tactic that can pay dividends, but a lay bet on the favourite seems the best option in a race where so much can, and does, go wrong.

Grand National Winners

The Grand National has blooded a number of the greatest champions in the history of national hunt racing. Legendary winners include Golden Miller, the only horse to win both the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and three times winner, Red Rum, who won the race despite suffering from an incurable bone disease in his foot.

Aintree - Aintree
John Smith's Grand National Chase (Grade 3 Handicap) (Class 1) - 16:15
Click red odds to strike a bet
Seabass 8 13/2 15/2 15/2 8 11/2 7 15/2
On His Own 10 8 9 9 10 8 10 9
Cappa Bleu 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 12
Chicago Grey 12 11 12 11 12 11 12 12
Teaforthree 12 10 12 11 12 10 12 12
Colbert Station 12 12 11 12 12 12 14 12
Imperial Commander 14 11 16 14 14 11 16 16
Balthazar King 16 16 16 14 16 16 20 16
Rare Bob 20 16 22 16 20 16 20 18
Sunnyhillboy 20 25 20 20 20 20 20 20
Roberto Goldback 22 25 25 20 22 25 20 22
Join Together 20 25 20 25 20 25 20 20
Ballabriggs 20 20 20 28 20 20 16 20
Always Waining 25 33 28 28 25 33 33 33
Soll 33 33 40 28 33 33 33 33
Big Fella Thanks 40 33 33 33 40 33 40 33
Harry The Viking 33 40 25 33 33 40 40 33
Quiscover Fontaine 40 40 33 33 40 40 50 33
Quel Esprit 40 40 40 33 40 40 50 40
Across The Bay 33 40 33 33 33 40 40 40
Treacle 33 40 33 33 33 40 33 33
Saint Are 40 66 50 40 40 66 66 40
Lost Glory 50 50 66 50 50 50 50 50
Forpadydeplasterer 50 66 66 50 50 66 66 66
Weird Al 50 66 66 50 50 66 66 66
Joncol 50 50 50 50 50 50 66 50
What A Friend 50 33 50 50 50 33 66 66
Becauseicouldntsee 66 66 50 50 66 66 80 66
Auroras Encore 66 66 66 50 66 66 80 66
Oscar Time 50 66 66 66 50 66 50 66
The Rainbow Hunter 66 66 80 66 66 50 80 80
Swing Bill 80 80 100 66 80 80 80 66
Viking Blond 80 66 100 66 80 66 80 80
Major Malarkey 80 50 100 80 80 50 100 80
Ninetieth Minute 66 80 100 80 66 80 66 66
Mr Moonshine 80 66 80 80 80 66 66 80
Tatenen 66 100 66 100 66 100 66 100
Any Currency 100 100 100 80 100 100 66 100
Tarquinius 100 100 100 80 100 100 80 100
Mumbles Head 100 100 100 80 100 100 66 100
Pentiffic - NR - - - - - -
Mortimers Cross - NR - - - - - -