The unveiling of the weights for the 2026 Grand National started with a montage of clips from 50 years ago, when the world’s most famous steeplechase was at its lowest ebb, the crowd had dipped below 10,000 and the track was odds-on to be sold off for housing. It was, as Ruby Walsh pointed out on the voiceover, a reminder of how the National has been revived and transformed.
A glance back no further than the 2011 Grand National, however, also offers clear evidence of how much the great race has changed, even in the space of 15 years. The field, of course, is now down to a maximum of 34, rather than the 40 runners that we all grew up with, but it is the depth of quality in the names, ratings and weights that were published on Tuesday that stands out.
