The Grand National is the one race that gets the whole country betting, and the one race where most of that money is placed on a name or a colour. That is fine for a fiver on the office sweep. If you are betting seriously, the meeting is three days long, has Grade 1 racing on every card, and the National itself is a handicap with a lot of structure once you look at it.
When and where
Aintree Racecourse, on the northern edge of Liverpool. The 2027 meeting runs Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 April. The days are Opening Day (Thursday), Ladies Day (Friday) and Grand National Day (Saturday).
The first race is 13:45 on Thursday and Friday and 12:45 on Saturday. The Grand National goes off at 16:00. It has started at that time since 2024, when it was moved forward from 17:15, partly to keep the ground from drying through the afternoon and partly to shorten the build-up for the horses. Timings are provisional until the course confirms them.
The big races
Randox Grand National (Saturday, 16:00). A handicap chase over 4m 2½f, the longest race in the British calendar. The race was first run in 1839. Runners jump 30 fences over two circuits of the National course: 16 fences, the first 14 jumped twice. The Chair, at 5ft 2in, is the tallest. Becher’s Brook is the sixth and 22nd. Fence heights run from 4ft 6in to 5ft 2in. After the last there is a run-in of 494 yards, which is where tired horses get caught.
Since 2024 the maximum field is 34, down from the 40 that had applied since 1984. Other changes made at the same time: the first fence moved 60 yards closer to the start, a standing start, and the take-off side of fence 11 lowered by two inches. Horses must be seven or older. The minimum handicap rating went up from 125 to 130. Top weight is 11st 12lb. The prize fund is £1 million.
Recent winners: Corach Rambler (2023, 10st 5lb, 8/1 favourite), I Am Maximus (2024, 11st 6lb, 7/1 joint favourite), Nick Rockett (2025, 11st 8lb, 33/1) and I Am Maximus again (2026, 11st 12lb, 9/2 favourite). Willie Mullins trained the last three.
Aintree Hurdle (Thursday, 16:05). Grade 1 over 2m 4f, for four-year-olds and up. Moved to the opening day in 2013. It is the first big test of whether a Champion Hurdle horse can stretch out in trip. Constitution Hill won it in 2023.
Aintree Bowl (Thursday, 14:55). Grade 1 over about 3m 1f, for five-year-olds and up, Grade 1 since 2010. Gold Cup horses often turn up here three weeks later, and the flat Aintree track suits a different type to Cheltenham’s hill. Clan Des Obeaux (2022) and Shishkin (2023) are recent winners.
Melling Chase (Friday, 15:30). Grade 1 over 2m 4f, for five-year-olds and up. The intermediate-trip chase of the meeting. Jonbon won it in 2024 and 2025.
Topham Chase (Friday, 16:05) and Foxhunters’ Chase (Thursday, 15:30). Both run over the National fences at 2m 5f. The Topham is a handicap, the Foxhunters’ is for hunter chasers. They are your best look at how the fences are riding before Saturday.
Trends worth knowing
The honest answer is that the 2024 changes reset the National. A 34-runner field, a standing start and a slower first fence make the old 40-runner trends less useful. The sample since then is three races. Do not pay much attention to anyone quoting a “National profile” built from the 1990s and 2000s.
What you can do is use the site’s tools. Check the handicap mark against the horse’s best chase form over 3m-plus. Check whether it has completed over the National fences before, in the Topham or a previous National. Check the going on the day. Aintree in April can be anywhere from soft to good. Our guide at /guides/handicaps-and-official-ratings covers what the weights mean.
Betting notes
Ante-post or day-of. The National weights are published in February and the field is cut down over the following weeks. Betting before the final declarations means your horse may not make the cut, and standard ante-post terms do not refund that. Non-runner no bet (NRNB) offers do. Most firms go NRNB on the National at some point in the weeks before. Read the terms. See /guides/non-runners-and-your-bet.
Each-way and extra places. With 34 runners, standard terms are usually a quarter the odds for the first four. Firms compete with five, six or more places. More places at a fifth the odds is not always better than four at a quarter, so run the sums. Our guide at /guides/extra-places-explained does them.
Rule 4. Non-runners on the morning cause deductions. With a field this big there are usually some. See /guides/rule-4-deductions.
Getting there and tickets
Aintree has its own railway station, and the course publishes travel and parking advice each year. Tickets, hospitality, group bookings and the race schedule are at https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/aintree/events-tickets/grand-national/. Book Saturday early. If you are going for the racing rather than the occasion, Thursday has two Grade 1s on the card.
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