Grand National 2027: Aintree Odds, Each-Way Places and a Sweepstake Kit

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Grand National 2027: Aintree's Three-Day Festival

The Randox Grand National Festival runs from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 April 2027, dates confirmed by The Jockey Club and the BHA's 2027 fixture list. The National itself is on the Saturday: about four miles and two and a half furlongs, 30 fences and a maximum of 34 runners, for a prize fund that stood at £1m in 2026.

It is the one race of the year that half the country bets on, and the betting reflects that. Bookmakers pay extra each-way places, offer Best Odds Guaranteed to anyone who bets on the morning, and take more first-time customers than on any other day. For the regular punter it is a lottery with form; for the occasional one it is a sweepstake with a price.

Willie Mullins has owned the race lately. He trained I Am Maximus to win in 2024 and again in 2026, as the 9/2 favourite under Paul Townend, and Nick Rockett at 33/1 in between, when his stable filled the first three places. I Am Maximus became the first horse since Red Rum to regain the National, and the win gave Mullins a fourth National, equalling the record shared by Fred Rimell and Ginger McCain. Only 16 of the 34 starters completed the course in 2026, a reminder of what the race asks of horse and rider.

The race has changed shape since 2024. The field was cut from 40 to 34, the start moved from 5.15pm to 4pm, the first fence was brought 60 yards closer to the start, and a standing start replaced the running start. Fence 11 was lowered by two inches and softer foam and rubber toe boards were fitted to the base of the fences.

Our Aintree racecourse guide covers the National course and the Mildmay course used for the other jumps races, and the Grand National betting patterns feature looks at how the market has behaved over ten runnings.

Aintree Festival Schedule: The Big Races Day by Day

Aintree publishes the 2027 race programme closer to the meeting. The table shows the feature races as they fell in 2026, when the meeting ran from 9 to 11 April, which is the best guide to the shape of each day.

In 2026 the first race went off at 1.45pm on Thursday and Friday and at 12.45pm on Saturday, with the National at 4pm. Runners and results for every race appear on our Aintree racecards once the fields are declared.

Aintree Festival Betting Beyond the National: The Grade 1 Races

The National takes the headlines, but Aintree stages eleven Grade 1s across the three days, and for form students they are the better betting races: smaller fields, level weights and horses arriving straight from Cheltenham. The question every April is which Festival form will stand up on a flatter, sharper track three weeks later.

Jango Baie, eight lengths behind Gaelic Warrior in the Gold Cup, won the Bowl by 16 lengths. Brighterdaysahead, second in the Champion Hurdle, went one better in the Aintree Hurdle, and Home By The Lee followed his 33/1 Stayers' Hurdle win by taking the Liverpool Hurdle. The other side of the coin came in the Manifesto, where Lulamba unseated his rider at 1/2, and the Melling, where the Ryanair winner Heart Wood was only third at 6/5.

The Topham, run over the National fences on the Friday, is the best guide to which horses take to the big spruce-topped obstacles. Will The Wise won it in 2026 after finishing second in the Plate at Cheltenham, and Topham form is worth noting for future Nationals.

Grand National 2027 Contenders: Who Heads the Early Betting

The 2027 National has no settled market yet. The race is a handicap, the weights are not published until early in the year of the race, and many of the horses at the head of any early list will be campaigned elsewhere or miss the cut. What the 2026 race does provide is a shortlist of proven Aintree performers.

• I Am Maximus won in 2024 and 2026 for Willie Mullins and J. P. McManus. He will be eleven in 2027, but no horse in the field will have stronger course form.
• Iroko was second at 18/1 in 2026 for Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, two and a half lengths behind the winner.
• Jordans, third at 28/1 for Joseph O'Brien, was a seven-year-old in 2026 and has time on his side.
• Johnnywho ran fourth at 12/1 for Jonjo and A. J. O'Neill after winning the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival at 18/1.
• Nick Rockett, the 2025 winner, was withdrawn before the 2026 race and would return as a former champion.

An ante-post bet on the National is all-in, run or not, and with a 34-runner cap based on handicap ratings a horse can miss the race simply by not being rated high enough. Bookmakers usually switch to non-runner no bet in the final weeks, and that is when the market starts to mean something. Our ante-post betting guide explains how to weigh the early price against the risk, and handicap races explained covers how the weights shape the field.

The widget shows live prices for the day's British racing. The National market itself takes shape once the weights are published and the field is confirmed.

Grand National Each-Way Places, BOG and Rule 4: How to Bet

With up to 34 runners, the National is the race where each-way betting makes most sense, and where the bookmakers' place terms differ most. Under standard terms a handicap of 16 or more runners pays a quarter of the odds for four places. On National day many firms go further and pay extra places, so a horse finishing fifth or sixth can still return a profit on the place part. Our extra places guide explains how the concession works, and the each-way calculator shows the difference at your price.

A first-timer's guide

1. Pick a licensed bookmaker. Our horse racing betting sites guide ranks UK firms on racing terms, not just headline offers.
2. Register and verify early. Identity checks can take time, and you do not want to be doing them at 3.55pm.
3. Claim the welcome offer, entering the Promo Code at sign-up if one is needed, and check the minimum odds and whether racing bets qualify.
4. Study the card. Our guide to reading a racecard explains the weights, ratings and form figures, which matter more in a 34-runner handicap than anywhere else, and the going guide covers how the ground affects a marathon trip.
5. Choose win or each way. Each way is two bets, so a £5 each-way bet costs £10: half on the horse to win, half on it to place.
6. Bet on the morning of the race to get Best Odds Guaranteed: from 8am at bet365 and 9am at BetVictor and Grosvenor Sport. If your horse's starting price is bigger than the price you took, you are paid at the bigger odds.

Rule 4 and non-runners

When a horse is withdrawn after you have bet, the bookmaker applies a Rule 4 deduction to winnings on the remaining runners, scaled to the price of the withdrawn horse. In a 34-runner race it is worth understanding; bet365 waives the first 5p of any Rule 4 deduction. Ante-post bets on a horse that does not run are lost unless you took a non-runner no bet price.

Multiples on the Aintree card are best priced on our bet calculator. Keep the stake to what you would spend on a day out, and for free, confidential help go to GambleAware.org.

Grand National Sweepstake: How to Run One

A sweepstake is the simplest way to share the National with people who never otherwise bet, and it costs nothing but the stake. Done properly, it takes ten minutes.

1. Wait for the final field. The runners are confirmed at the final declarations, shortly before the race. Draw before then and someone may end up holding a horse that does not run.
2. Write every runner on a slip of paper. With a full field that is 34 slips; if you have fewer players, give each person two horses or leave the rest in the hat.
3. Agree the stake and the prizes before the draw. A common split is most of the pot to the winner, smaller shares for second and third, and a consolation for the last horse to finish.
4. Draw blind and record who has which horse, with its odds, so everyone knows what they are cheering.
5. Settle on the result, and decide in advance what happens if there is a void race or a disqualification.

The last-finisher prize is worth including. In 2026 only 16 of the 34 starters completed the course, so a prize for the last horse home keeps more people interested to the end. For anyone who wants to back their own sweepstake horse with a bookmaker, today's runners and prices are on our racing data page on the day.

Grand National Winners and Aintree Trends

• Willie Mullins trained the 2024, 2025 and 2026 winners; in 2025 his horses filled the first three places, led home by Nick Rockett.
• Irish-trained horses won eight of the ten runnings from 2016 to 2026. The other two went to Lucinda Russell, with One For Arthur and Corach Rambler, both ridden by Derek Fox.
• Six of those ten winners started at 10/1 or bigger, from Tiger Roll's 10/1 to Noble Yeats's 50/1.
• Dual winners are rare but recent: Tiger Roll won in 2018 and 2019, and I Am Maximus in 2024 and 2026.

Grand National Tips: What the Recent Runnings Tell Us

No selections until the field is set, but the recent history narrows the search.

Start with the Mullins team

Three wins in a row and a clean sweep of the places in 2025 make the Mullins string the obvious starting point. That does not mean backing them blind: with several runners from the yard, the market often fails to separate them, and the stable's second or third string can be the value.

Big prices still win

The 2024 changes were meant to make the race safer, not more predictable, and the results bear that out. I Am Maximus won at 7/1 and 9/2, but Nick Rockett won at 33/1 in between, and Noble Yeats (50/1) and Rule The World (33/1) are in the last ten winners too. Six of the ten went off at 10/1 or bigger, so an each-way bet on a double-figure price, with extra places where you can get them, is the natural National bet.

Irish form, Scottish exceptions

Eight Irish-trained winners in ten runnings is a heavy weight of evidence. The exceptions both came from Lucinda Russell and Derek Fox, who know exactly what the race needs. A British-trained runner needs a clear reason to be backed against the Irish raiders.

Proven Aintree form

Tiger Roll and I Am Maximus both came back to win again, and in 2026 the placed horses Iroko (18/1) and Jordans (28/1) showed they handle the course. A horse who has already completed the National carries less risk than one meeting them for the first time.

How to Watch the Grand National

ITV Racing shows the Grand National live, with STV in Scotland; 2026 was ITV's ninth National, and its four-year deal with the BHA, from 2027 to 2030, keeps the race on terrestrial television.

Most bookmakers stream the race in their apps for customers with a funded account, often with a qualifying bet on top. Grosvenor Sport shows every British and Irish race free to customers with a positive balance or a bet in the previous 24 hours.

Grand National Free Bets: Picking Your Bookmakers

On National day, the concessions decide the value: how many places are paid, when Best Odds Guaranteed starts and what happens when your horse is beaten by an outsider. The four firms above were chosen for those terms; full welcome terms sit alongside each offer.

• bet365: BOG from 8am with no published cap, the first 5p of any Rule 4 waived, and Each Way Extra on selected races.
• BetVictor: BOG on every UK and Irish race from 9am with no opt-in, and extra places added for the biggest festivals, including six places on the National.
• Grosvenor Sport: BOG from 9am on singles and multiples, daily extra-place races and free streams for funded accounts.
• Spreadex: its 2nd to a Rag refund suits the National, where 33/1 winners are no rarity. We could not confirm BOG at Spreadex, so take your price on the day.

Aintree comes three weeks after the jumps season's other great week; our Cheltenham betting offers page covers the Festival, where much of the National form is shaped. Over Christmas, the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow is the first staying-handicap test of the season for many National types.

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