Grand National Steeplechase

The Grand National Steeplechase is recognised as the most popular horserace on the planet, and is watched by an estimated worldwide audience of over 600 million people every year.

The Grand National also offers the largest purse in national hunt racing, offering over £1 million in prize money.

Grand National Betting

2010 John Smith\'s Grand National
Antepost Win And Each Way
  Best Odds Bookie
Big Fella Thanks 11.00
Mon Mome 15.00
Black Apalachi 17.00
Vic Venturi 18.00
Tricky Trickster 19.00
Backstage 22.00
Niche Market 26.00
Snowy Morning 26.00
State of Play 26.00
The Package 29.00
Character Building 30.00
Arbor Supreme 34.00
Ballyholland 34.00
Comply Or Die 34.00
Irish Raptor 42.00
My Will 46.00
Don\'t Push It 48.00
Dream Alliance 51.00
Hello Bud 57.00
Maljimar 57.00

The Grand National is one of the biggest betting events of the year, with hundreds of millions of pounds wagered on the race by racing fans around the world. The race is famous for offering excellent value, with any number of prospective winners paying out at top prices.

The Grand National is also famous for being something of a lottery, as effective work by the handicapper can result in a highly open, competitive field. Nevertheless, certain trends have highlighted the fact that both weights and racehorse age have a measurable impact on the performance of entries in the race.

Grand National Steeple Chase Race

Grand National Winners

The severity of the Grand National has ensured that its winners, whilst not always rated amongst the finest in national hunt racing, have reserved a place in the sport’s history books.

Multiple winners of the race are unusual, which means that those horses who achieve more than one win are amongst the most celebrated in the world of horseracing. Red Rum, who overcame pedalostitis to win the race three times, is one of the most famous racehorses in national hunt history.

Race Details

The Grand National is a Grade 3 handicap steeplechase run over a distance of 4 miles and 4 furlongs on Aintree racecourse’s Grand National course. The race is open to 6 year old and above racehorses.

The long distance covered by the runners in the Grand National is just one factor that contributes to its toughness. The other is the severity of the fences, with runners required to clear 30 fences to complete the race.

Handicaps play a pronounced role in how the Grand National plays out, and trainers will often withdraw heavily weighted entries from the race rather than expose them to dangers of jumping the dangerous Aintree fences under top weight.

The quality of racehorses entered into the Grand National is variable, and in recent years few top rated racehorses have been entered into the race due to both the weight penalties and the risks associated with competing.


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