With the 2023 Cheltenham Festival happening this week, many will be looking to the UK’s most famous horse race, the Grand National.
Last year saw the return of fans to Aintree for the first time since the COVID pandemic, with the races cancelled in 2020 and held behind closed doors in 2021.
But the race came back with a bang as Rachel Blackmore became the first woman to win the National in 2021, while last year leading amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen won riding Noble Yeats, the first seven-year-old horse to win since 1940.
In 2023, the event will take place in mid-April, with the showpiece race headlining three days of racing. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 Grand National Festival:
When is it?
The Grand National will take place at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, starting at 5.15pm BST on Saturday 15 April. It is the penultimate race of the festival, with the last race starting at 6.20pm BST.
The festival itself starts on Thursday 13 April at 1.45pm BST, while Ladies Day takes place on Friday and begins at 1.45pm BST.
How can I watch?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the Grand National Festival live on ITV, with extensive coverage across the three days of racing. Coverage of the Grand National begins at 4.30pm BST on Saturday 15 April, with registered users able to watch online via ITVX.
The channel’s coverage will be as follows:
Thursday 13 April – ITV1, 2pm to 5pm
Friday 14 April – ITV1, 2pm to 5pm
Saturday 15 April – ITV1, 2pm to 6.15pm
How long is the Grand National?
Runners and riders complete two laps of the course and jump 30 fences, at a distance of four-and-a-quarter miles. 14 fences are jumped on both laps, but both the Water Jump and The Chair – the tallest fence at a height of five feet and two inches – are only jumped during the first lap.
Who is competing in the Grand National?
The 40-horse final field has been confirmed, with a full list of runners and odds below.
What are the Grand National odds?
Odds provided by Betfair
- Ain’t That A Shame (T: Henry De Bromhead; J: Rachael Blackmore) 8/1
- Corach Rambler (T: Lucinda Russell; J: Derek Fox) 9/1
- Delta Work (T: Gordon Elliott; J: Keith Donoghue) 9/1
- Noble Yeats (T: Emmet Mullins; J: Sean Bowen) 9/1
- Gaillard Du Mesnil (T: Willie Mullins; J: Paul Townend) 11/1
- Mr Incredible (T: Willie Mullins; J: Brian Hayes) 12/1
- The Big Dog (T: Peter Fahey; J: Aidan Coleman) 14/1
- Le Milos (T: Dan Skelton; J: Harry Skelton) 16/1
- Vanillier (T: Gavin Cromwell; J: Sean Flanagan) 16/1
- Any Second Now (T: Ted Walsh; J: Mark Walsh) 16/1
- Capodanno (T: Willie Mullins; J: Danny Mullins) 16/1
- Longhouse Poet (T: Martin Brassil; J: JJ Slevin) 18/1
- Galvin (T: Gordon Elliott; J: Davy Russell) 18/1
- Our Power (T: Sam Thomas; J: Sam Twiston-Davies) 22/1
- Roi Mage (T: Patrick Griffin; J: Felix de Giles) 25/1
- Back On The Lash (T: Martin Keighley; J: Adam Wedge) 25/1
- Enjoy D’allen (T: Ciaran Murphy; J: Simon Torrens) 28/1
- Lifetime Ambition (T: Mrs John Harrington; J: Sean O’Keeffe) 33/1
- Coko Beach (T: Gordon Elliott; J: Harry Cobden) 33/1
- Minella Trump (T: Donald McCain; J: Theo Gillard) 40/1
- The Big Breakaway (T: Joe Tizzard; J: Brendan Powell) 40/1
- Velvet Elvis (T: Thomas Gibney; J: Darragh O’Keeffe) 40/1
- Born By The Sea (T: John Gilligan; J: Phillip Enright) 50/1
- Dunboyne (T: Gordon Elliott; J: Jack Tudor) 50/1
- Mister Coffey (T: Nicky Henderson; J: Nico de Boinville) 50/1
- Fury Road (T: Gordon Elliott; J: Jonjo O’Neill Jr) 50/1
- Eva’s Oskar (T: Tim Vaughan; J: Alan Johns) 50/1
- Fortescue (T: Henry Daly; J: Hugh Nugent) 50/1
- Carefully Selected (T: Willie Mullins; J: Michael O’Sullivan) 66/1
- Gabbys Cross (T: Henry De Bromhead; J: Peter Carberry) 66/1
- Cloudy Glen (T: Venetia Williams; J: Charlie Deutsch) 66/1
- Recite A Prayer (T: Willie Mullins; J: Jack Foley) 66/1
- Sam Brown (T: Anthony Honeyball; J: Jonathan Burke) 66/1
- Darasso (T: J P O’Brien; J: Luke Dempsey) 80/1
- Diol Ker (T: Noel Meade; J: Kieren Buckley) 80/1
- A Wave Of The Sea (T: Joseph O’Brien; J: Shane Fitzgerald) 80/1
- Cape Gentleman (T: John Joseph Hanlon; J: Jody McGarvey) 80/1
- Hill Sixteen (T: Sandy Thomson; J: Ryan Mania) 100/1
- Escaria Ten (T: Gordon Elliott; J: Adrian Heskin) 100/1
- Francky Du Berlais (T: Peter Bowen; J: Ben Jones) 100/1
Full Grand National Day Schedule (all times BST):
- 1:45pm: Systems Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)
- 2:25pm: Betway Mersey Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
- 3:00pm: Maghull Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
- 3:35pm: Ryanair Stayers’ Hurdle (registered as the Liverpool Hurdle) (Grade 1)
- 4:15pm: Betway Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
- 5:15pm: Randox Grand National Chase (Grade 3)
- 6:20pm: Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open NH Flat Race (Grade 2)
