Grand National Horse Race

Updated: 15.08.2025

The popularity of jumps racing may have waned in recent years - certainly in comparison to flat racing - but the Grand National remains as beguiling as ever. Held in Liverpool, England, for nearly 200 years, the iconic steeplechase manages to capture the imagination of both types of racing fans, the true aficionados and those who tune in just for the occasion of this annual race. It's a competition like no other, combining the old-fashioned appeal of its oddly shaped obstacles (hedges, water, etc.) with a thrill that's hard to beat.

The Grand National has been running since 1839 (some say 1836) and has continued largely unabated ever since, with most of the races held at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool. This is part of what makes it so special, as it takes place in the middle of a residential area, unlike many of England's other top races. Of course, there is still a lot of pomp and prestige associated with the race, so much so that it is a major cultural event in the country.

Due to the length of the race (more than four miles) and the jumps and fences the horses must negotiate during the race, the Grand National is a much more unpredictable event than a traditional Flat race. This makes it an excellent betting opportunity, with the potential to turn a relatively small bet into a significant return. This is why many people, either at the event or using online sites, make it their only horse racing bet of the year.

How the Grand National Works

The Grand National is known as the "National Hunt" type of racing. Commonly referred to as steeplechases or jumps, these races require the horse and rider to navigate over and around obstacles. The Grand National is one of the few horse races that an American audience might recognize; it is even featured in an episode of The Simpsons. The race is held annually in April at Aintree racecourse outside Liverpool.

In terms of distance, the current length of the Grand National is four miles and 514 yards. Riders and their mounts must complete two full laps of the course. There are 16 fences on the course; horses must clear 14 of them twice and the last two only once for a total of 30 clearances.

When the horses reach the last two fences on the second lap, the horses that have made it this far turn away from the fences and head for the finish line. This is called the run-in of the race. This last part of the race has produced many of the most memorable winning moments in Grand National history. If you've never been to a Grand National, be sure to watch the action unfold in the video below.

Another important feature of the Grand National is that it is run as a handicap. This means that race officials give more weight to the top horses in the business. The hope is that the horses running in the National will all have an equal chance of winning.

The Grand National is held in early April at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, which has been the site of most editions of the race since its inception. It is run by horses aged seven and over who have achieved a certain level of performance in hunt races, as determined by British racing officials, or who have finished in the top three in certain qualifying races. The Grand National currently has a purse of one million pounds, while betting on the race often approaches 100 million pounds.

Betting on the Grand National

The Grand National is fun to watch, but it is even more fun to bet on the outcome of the event. The number of horses competing is huge, far exceeding that of any normal flat race, and even the most favored horses offer odds that promise a decent payday in the unlikely event that they actually win. In fact, the top two or three "favorites" in this race actually win only about 10% of the time.

As a result, few competitions attract as much betting as the Grand National. Find out how you can get in on the action.

How Do You Find a Betting Site for the Grand National?

You can find a lot of horse racing betting sites eager to take your action on the Grand National. However, only a few of them stand out from the rest - only a few have earned the right to claim that they are the best. Those few, of course, are the sites that make up our list.

Of course, you may have unique preferences for the types of sites you frequent. Sometimes it comes down to what kind of bonuses you prefer, or how lenient the sites are when it comes to deposit and withdrawal policies. Your best bet is to do as much research as possible and visit the sites in person, if possible, to get a feel for whether or not they're right for you.

What Kind of Bets Can Be Made on the Grand National?

Undoubtedly, the most popular type of bet in this or any other horse race is the straight bet. Such bets select not one, but two possible outcomes for a horse - either to win or to finish in the top three, which constitutes the horse placing. An each-way bet is a bet on the horse to win and a bet on the horse to place.

When it comes to the simplest forms of betting, we have what are called straight bets. However, within the straight bets there are two other forms of bets that are not so simple. These are known as parlay bets and accumulator bets. Accumulator bets are used in many betting markets. In this case, we are referring to something called parlay betting, which is a form of accumulator betting. In parlay betting, you not only have to hit every single part of the bet to win, but you also have to predict the events in a certain order.

If you can hit an accumulator, the potential financial rewards can be huge. The same could be said for win or place bets, although their potential payouts are smaller. Because the fields for the Grand National are so large, the odds on just about any horse you might pick to win are set to be quite tempting.

What Strategy Should I Use on the Grand National?

Hunt race strategies are very different from flat race strategies. Remember that the only way to win the Grand National is to finish. Although this may sound obvious, the truth is that many horses drop out of the race every year.

That's why you must first look for horses that have competed in other long-distance hunt races, and that have run those races with sufficient regularity to suggest that they might actually carry over into the Grand National. Any such experience would definitely count in their favor - that is, it would at least give these horses a chance of winning.

Traditions of the Grand National

For a long time, most of the horses that ran in the Grand National were ridden by amateur jockeys. Many of these men and women were hobbyists who were responsible for the equine athletes they owned. This practice has largely dried up, with professional jockeys taking over the ride in the difficult race that is run at Aintree.

Another well-known custom of the race is that certain fences on the Aintree course have become quite famous in their own right. Many have earned this distinction because they have played a very important role in determining the winners (and losers) of past editions of the event. Aficionados will refer to these fences by their names, rather than by the number that identifies them on the course.

Much like any other high profile equestrian event, the Grand National attracts a large crowd who come to enjoy what is essentially a very social occasion. The crowds at Aintree, or any other venue where the Grand National can be watched live, are very much part of the entertainment, as they themselves seem to be an extension of the revelry of the event. The Grand National, of course, also features a fair amount of betting, with the crowd at Aintree very much involved. This crowd, up to this point, seems very much like any other betting crowd at any other horse race.

Grand National History

Some scholars argue that the first Grand National was run in 1839. However, there were almost certainly similar races run earlier (similar types of races-"hunt" races-were run in Great Britain from 1836-1838). The issue seems to revolve around where these races were actually run - most of the earlier editions seem to have been run somewhere other than Liverpool.

Then, during the time that the railroad was being built, there were no other public works projects in Liverpool or in the immediate area, except for the construction of a few hotels. So, for the first half of the 19th century, Liverpool was very much an expanding city, the kind of city where there were very few indoor amusements, but plenty of outdoor ones.

Throughout history there have been several interruptions to the race. During World War I, the Mersey was unable to host the Grand National, leading to an alternative event at Gatwick Racecourse from 1916 to 1918. World War II also resulted in the cancellation of the race, leading to a hiatus in the event from 1941 to 1945.

In 1993, the race had a big mix-up at the start that caused a lot of confusion. The race was called off because many of the riders had already left the course, making it impossible for officials to restart the race as planned. Then in 1997, the race was moved from Saturday to Monday due to security concerns.

Famous Grand National Races and Winners

Previous Editions of the Grand National

1841: Charity becomes the first mare to win the Grand National.

1850-51: Abd-El-Kader becomes the first horse to win the race twice.

1869-70: The Colonel wins consecutive editions of the race with George Stevens, jockey who won a record five times, guiding him across the finish line.

1897, 1899: Manifesto wins these two editions. He would set the record for the most appearances in the race with eight.

1900: Ambush II makes history as the first Irish-trained winner of the race.

1911: Glenside overcomes 20-1 odds and the fact that he was blind in one eye to capture the Grand National.

1923: Sergeant Murphy wins the race, becoming the first horse bred in the United States to deliver a victory.

Nineteen hundred and twenty-eight: Of all the memorable editions of the race, this one stands out. A huge pileup occurs at one of the fences on the course, with only one horse escaping unscathed. That horse, Tipperary Tim, wins at odds of 100 to 1.

1929: Against the largest field in race history, 66 horses, Gregalach comes home a winner.

1938: Battleship, who had won the American version of the Grand National four years earlier, also wins the British version. He was the son of Man o' War, a superstar American flat racer who had won the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, among many other great victories.

With the finish line just steps away, a horse named Devon Loch makes an inexplicable jump and falls, allowing E.S.B. to come from behind and win the race. Devon Loch was owned by The Queen Mother.

In 1967, Foinavon was well behind the leaders - a very good place to be when most of them fell at the next fence. Stepping over the fallen horses, Foinavon went on to win at 100-1.

1973, 1974, 1977: The Grand National's greatest champion, Red Rum, wins the race three times. He finishes second in 1975 and 1976.

1981: Jockey Bob Champion conquers the Grand National as he conquered cancer, a disease that threatened his life and probably would have taken it had it not been for the therapy and sheer will that saw him through the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Just as Aldaniti triumphed over the hurdles in his life to win the Grand National, Champion scored a victory against the odds in life.

1983: Jenny Pitman becomes the first woman trainer to win the race thanks to a victory by Corbiere.

1990: Amateur jockey Marcus Armytage wins the race aboard Mr. Frisk. No amateur has won since.

In 2001, in bad weather, only two horses managed to finish a race without falling or refusing a jump. Of those two, Red Marauder won at the astounding odds of 33-1.

Recent Editions of the Grand National

Grand National