Conflated will have the most weight after the last series of scratches. Photo: Getty Images/Seb Daly
The Aintree Festival and the 176th Randox Grand National are almost upon us.
A total of 51 horses are still in contention for the main event, including last year's winner Korach Rambler. For more information, see our comprehensive guide for runners and racers. The next round of scratches will occur at the 48-hour announcement stage on Thursday.
As you prepare for the Grand National, don't miss our top tips. You can also read more about the horse the trainer's wife rides and columnist Charlie Brooks on the cocaine problem in racing.
When is the Aintree Grand National Festival?
The Grand National is the main event of the three-day Aintree Grand National Festival, which this year runs from Thursday 11 April to Saturday 13 April.
The main event, the Grand National itself, takes place on Saturday afternoon.
What time does the 2024 Grand National start?
Runners will set off at 4pm on Saturday 13 April.
The start time has been moved from 5.15pm following the controversial 2023 race to increase the likelihood of good ground. The Jockey Club said the new start times are part of an “ongoing focus on the welfare of horses”.
Where will the 2024 Grand National be held?
The race takes place at Aintree Racecourse, on the outskirts of Liverpool. Since it was first held in 1839, the race has never been officially held anywhere else.
Are Grand National tickets available?
Tickets for each day of the festival are sold on the Jockey Club website. On National Day, seafront prices for adults start from £45. Many other cases are already sold out. The most expensive hospitality package on sale costs £1,225. Parking costs an additional £35 or £60 if you want to park within walking distance of the field.
How many horses compete in the Grand National?
In 2024, the total number of horses in the Grand National was reduced from 40 to 34 to improve racing safety. The highest number of runners was 66 in 1929. In 1883, there were also only 10 horses in the race.
When will the horses be announced?
The last 34 horses will be confirmed on Thursday – 48 hours before the race. As of last year, if a horse is withdrawn after these 48-hour applications, that horse will not be replaced.
Initial entries for the race were due by 6 February, with the BHA then publishing the weights (see below) two weeks later on 20 February. The five-day announcements were made on Monday, after which the field was whittled down. up to 51.
Only a certain number of horses meet the criteria for entry into the Grand National. Among the qualifications they must:
- Have an Official Rating (OR) of 130 or more (in 2023 horses must only be rated 125)
- Be 7 years of age. or older,
- completed three or more steeplechase events,
- have completed one steeplechase this season, finishing between 1st and 4th place in a steeplechase over 2 miles 7½ furlongs or further.
What is the distance of the race?
Traditionally, the Grand National is described as a 4½ mile race. However, the official distance is four miles two furlongs and 74 yards (4m 2ft 74). This distance is measured in two yards inside the innermost rail.
The Grand National is the largest long jump race held in the UK.
How long does the Grand National last?
About nine minutes. The distance record – 8 minutes 47.8 seconds – was set by Mr. Frisk in 1990. The jockey of the day, Marcus Armytage, is now a racing correspondent for Telegraph Sport.
How many fences are there in the Grand National?
There are 16 separate fences in the race, 14 of which are jumped twice. There are 30 jumps in total.
The fences are made from Sitka spruce or Norway spruce, which is trucked to Aintree from the Lake District. It takes about three weeks to erect all the fences.
Grand National Track Fences
- Fence 1 and 17 – 4' 6″ high, 2' 9″ wide
- Fence 2 and 18 – 4' 17″ high, 3 feet 6 inches wide
- Fence 3 and 19– Open Ditch
- Fence 4 and 20– 5 feet high, 10' 6″ wide (includes 7' ditch on takeoff side)
- Fence 5 and 21 – 5' high, 3' 6″ wide
- Fence 6 and 22, Becher's Brook – height 4 ft 10 in, width 7 ft 6 in.
- Fence 7 and 23, Foinavon – height 4 ft 6 in, width 3 ft.
- Fence 7 and 23, Foinavon – height 4 ft 6 in, width 3 ft.
- Fence 8 and 24Channel turn – height 5 feet, width 7 feet.
- Fence 9 and 25, Valentines Brook – 5 feet high, 7 feet wide
- Fence 10 and 26 – 5 feet high, 3 feet wide
- Fence 11 and 27 – 4 feet 10 inches high, 9 feet wide (including 6 foot ditch on site side)
- Fence 12 and 28
- Fence 12 and 28
- Strong> – 5 feet high, 8 feet 6 inches wide (including 5' 6″ on planting side)
- Fence 13 and 29– 4' 7″ high, 3' wide
- Fence 14 and 30 – Height 4'6″, Width 3'
- Fence 15, Chair – Height 5' 2″, Width 9' (includes 6' ditch on side takeoff)
- Fence 16, Dive – 2ft Height 6inches
Grand National's most famous fences
Aintree fences are not as dangerous as they used to be. However, they still remain the most serious obstacles in business.
Chair (Fence 15): The Chair is the tallest fence on the track, currently standing at five feet two inches.
Bechera stream (fence 6 and 22):The sixth and 22nd fences in the race may not be the biggest, but the difficulty comes from the fact that the landing side is 10 inches long. lower than the take-off side. Named after Captain Martin Becher, a jockey who fell at this stage during the first race in 1839 and hid in a creek to avoid injury.
St. Valentine's Creek (fence 9 and 25):named for the horse that supposedly jumped back in 1840. Most likely, the horse turned in the air to create the optical illusion that its hind legs landed first.
Foinavon (fence 7 and 23):One of the smaller fences is named after the 100/1 shooter who escaped a disastrous crowd here in 1967 and won. .
Channel Turn (Fences 8 and 24): As the name suggests, horses must turn sharply to the left after clearing a five-foot fence. Another Aintree myth is that used horses that refused to turn ended up in the Liverpool and Leeds Canal.
Grand National Prize Fund
The total prize fund for the Grand National is £1 million. In 2023, prize money was awarded to the first ten horses to pass as follows:
How does the handicapping system work?
The idea behind the handicapping process is that less popular horses can compete against better hunters. To achieve this goal, the highest rated horses are asked to carry additional weight. The exact weight is determined by a handicapper appointed by the British Horseracing Authority.
The minimum weight a horse (including jockey) is allowed to carry is 10 pounds weighing 2 pounds. The highest-weight horse in the race will carry the 11th weight of 12 pounds, and all other handicap weights are calculated from this weight based on each horse's rating. Last year's winner, Corach Rambler, carried just 10 pounds, weighing 5 pounds.
In 2015, Many Clouds won with a 9-ounce weight of 11, the heaviest weight a winner has carried in recent history. The last horse to win with maximum weight was Red Ram in 1973, when the maximum handicap was set at 12th.
What are the changes to the Grand National this year?
Significant changes have been made to the Grand National for 2024. The changes were made after animal rights protesters ambushed the 2023 event, causing a 15-minute delay. However, the Jockey Club insists that the changes were not a direct response to these protests.
The most significant changes are as follows:
- The field has been reduced from 40 horses to a maximum of 34. Evidence shows a correlation between field size and the risk of horses falling.
- The first fence has been moved forward to the starting line by 60 yards to reduce the speed at which horses reach it.
- The start will now be carried out from a place on the tape, and not from the traditional start from a place. The change is also intended to reduce the speed at which horses reach the first hurdle.
- Each horse must have an official rating of at least 130 (rather than 125) and will be checked for jumping errors before being allowed. to log in.
- The height of fence 11 has been reduced by two inches and the drop on the ground side will be reduced.
- The handler will no longer lead horses into the distance before the race, but instead let them gallop in front of the grandstands.
- Start time moved from 17:15 to 16:00
British challengers will have to pull from a hat to make the Grand National
British challengers Chambard and Kitty's Light, as well as Eklat De Rire can be drawn from a hat for the last two remaining places.
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Fury Road, a runner-up finisher in the race 12 months ago, was the only horse guaranteed to go into the five-day announcement phase, so if Thursday's top 32 stand their ground, a random vote will decide which two of the tied three are. will take the last two places in the maximum list of 34 participants. There will be no reserves this year.
It may not come to that, however, as owner Ronnie Bartlett has said he would not have entered either Stattler or Galvin if the ground on the National Circuit was even heavy. Currently it is soft with heavy spots at the end of the channel bend. It also started raining in Liverpool yesterday lunchtime and heavy rain is forecast today before it dries up.
Henry de Bromhead, who trains Eklat De Rira, has confirmed that Rachael Blackmore will compete in the 2021 Minella Indo Gold Cup. winner from three of his runners. An 11-year-old boy aims to join one of racing's most elite clubs: Gold Cup and National Championship-winning horses. Golden Miller and L'Escargot are the only participants.
“He’s really good,” De Bromhead, who shared the win with Blackmore three years ago, told Minella Times. “We had planned to run him cross-country at Cheltenham, but his absence might have spared him some tedious work. We took him to the Curragh last week to jump the Aintree fence and he jumped brilliantly.”
Brendan Powell will ride Eldorado Allen for Joe Tizzard, trying to emulate his father, also Brendan, who won race in 1988 on Rhyme 'N' Reason. Gordon Elliott said Sean Bowen would ride one of nine possible runners, with Jack Kennedy choosing from them. His team of jockeys is also expected to include Keith Donohoe, Sam Ewing, Jordan Gainford and Danny Gilligan.
Monbeg's genius review eliminates controversy.
A potentially controversial outcome to the 176th Randox Grand National was averted after Monbeg Genius, a gundog owned by Michelle Monet and Doug Barrowman, was among 17 horses scratched on March 26.
Having been one of the favorites when the weights were announced, Monbeg Genius's form of late – well beaten at Kelson, tightened up at Cheltenham – suggested his chances were getting slimmer anyway. However, the prospect remained that show jumping's most famous race would be won by a horse owned by a couple involved in the Medpro PPE dispute, which is under investigation.
Medpro PPE became the subject of media attention. review and investigation by the National Crime Agency after it won a £200 million government contract to supply medical equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government is trying to recover £122 million because some of the equipment was faulty. Although Baroness Monet, a fellow Conservative, has resigned from the House of Lords, she and her husband deny any wrongdoing.
As the £800 heavyweight Hewick also predictably defected instead This at the Bowl at Aintree will see weights rise by 3lbs across the board and the new maximum weight will be Conflated.
Don't miss out on these best betting offers – check out our list right before the Grand National
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