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?
- Corach Rambler (T: Lucinda Russell; J: TBC) 13/2
- Delta Work (T: Gordon Elliott; J: TBC) 8/1
- Noble Yeats (T: Emmet Mullins; J: TBC) 8/1
- Gaillard Du Mesnil (T: Willie Mullins; J: TBC) 12/1
- Le Milos (T: Dan Skelton; J: TBC) 12/1
- Any Second Now (T: Ted Walsh; J: TBC) 14/1
- Longhouse Poet (T: Martin Brassil; J: TBC) 14/1
- Mr Incredible (T: Willie Mullins; J: TBC) 14/1
- Ain’t That A Shame (T: Henry De Bromhead; J: TBC) 16/1
- Capodanno (T: Willie Mullins; J: TBC) 16/1
- Galvin (T: Gordon Elliott; J: TBC) 20/1
- Our Power (T: Sam Thomas; J: TBC) 20/1
- The Big Dog (T: Peter Fahey; J: TBC) 20/1
- Vanillier (T: Gavin Cromwell; J: TBC) 20/1
- Carefully Selected (T: Willie Mullins; J: TBC) 25/1
- Lifetime Ambition (T: Mrs John Harrington; J: TBC) 25/1
- The Big Breakaway (T: Joe Tizzard; J: TBC) 25/1
- Back On The Lash (T: Martin Keighley; J: TBC) 33/1
- Coko Beach (T: Gordon Elliott; J: TBC) 33/1
- Mister Coffey (T: Nicky Henderson; J: TBC) 33/1
- Roi Mage (T: Patrick Griffin; J: TBC) 40/1
- Velvet Elvis (T: Thomas Gibney; J: TBC) 40/1
- Darasso (T: J P O’Brien; J: TBC) 50/1
- Dunboyne (T: Gordon Elliott; J: TBC) 50/1
- Eva’s Oskar (T: Tim Vaughan; J: TBC) 50/1
- Fortescue (T: Henry Daly; J: TBC) 50/1
- Fury Road (T: Gordon Elliott; J: TBC) 50/1
- Gabbys Cross (T: Henry De Bromhead; J: TBC) 50/1
- Hill Sixteen (T: Sandy Thomson; J: TBC) 50/1
- Minella Trump (T: Donald McCain; J: TBC) 50/1
- A Wave Of The Sea (T: Joseph O’Brien; J: TBC) 66/1
- Diol Ker (T: Noel Meade; J: TBC) 66/1
- Enjoy D’allen (T: Ciaran Murphy; J: TBC) 66/1
- Escaria Ten (T: Gordon Elliott; J: TBC) 66/1
- Sam Brown (T: Anthony Honeyball; J: TBC) 66/1
- Cloudy Glen (T: Venetia Williams; J: TBC) 80/1
- Born By The Sea (T: John Gilligan; J: TBC) 100/1
- Cape Gentleman (T: John Joseph Hanlon; J: TBC) 100/1
- Francky Du Berlais (T: Peter Bowen; J: TBC) 100/1
- Recite A Prayer (T: Willie Mullins; J: TBC) 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)
