by The Aintree Festival kicks off today ahead of the 176th running of the Randox Grand National next Saturday.
The final 34 horses have been announced, including last year’s winner Corach Rambler. Check out our comprehensive guide to the runners and riders for full details.
As you prepare for the Grand National, don’t miss our top tips. You can also read more about the horse being ridden by its owner, the horse being ridden by a trainer’s wife, columnist Charlie Brooks on racing’s cocaine problem and trainer Kitty’s Light on how the horse focused on him after diagnosis her daughter’s leukemia.
When is the Aintree Grand National?
The Grand National is the culmination of the three-day Aintree Grand National Festival, which this year runs from today, April 11, to Saturday, April 13.
The main event, the Grand National itself, is on Saturday evening.
What time does the 2024 Grand National start?
The runners will be sent on their way at 4pm on Saturday, April 13.
The start time has been brought forward from 5.15pm, following the controversial 2023 edition of the race, to improve the likelihood of good ground. The Jockey Club said the new start time was part of a “continued emphasis on equine welfare”.
Where is the 2024 Grand National being held?
The race takes place at Aintree Racecourse, on the outskirts of Liverpool. Since the first edition in 1839, the race has not been officially held anywhere else.
Are Grand National tickets available?
Tickets for each day of the festival are on sale on the Jockey Club website. For the day of the Grand National prices start at £45 for adults in the Embankment. Many other enclosures have already sold out. The most expensive hospitality package on sale is £1,225. Parking is £35 extra, or £60 if you want to park within easy walking distance of the course.
How many horses run in the Grand National?
For 2024, the total number of horses in the Grand National has been reduced from 40 to 34, to improve the safety of the race. The highest number of runners was 66, in 1929. There were also as few as 10 horses in the race, back in 1883.
When are the horses announced?
The final 34 horses were confirmed today. As from last year, if a horse is withdrawn after these 48 hour confirmations, that horse will not be replaced.
The initial entries for the race had to be made by 6 February, and then the weights (see below) were published by the BHA two weeks later, on 20 February. The declarations took place five days on Monday, and at that point the candidates were laid down. to 51. Today he was whittled down further to the final 34.
Only a certain number of horses meet the criteria for being allowed to enter the Grand National. Among the qualifications they must:
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have an official rating (OR) of 130 or more (in 2023, horses only need to have a rating of 125)
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be 7 years of age or older,
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who completed three or more races,
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They have completed one acute model in the current season,
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who finished between 1st and 4th in a race over 2 miles 7½ lengths or longer.
What is the race distance?
Traditionally, the Grand National has been described as a 4½ mile race. The official distance, however, is four miles, two furlongs and 74 yards (4m 2f 74y). This distance is measured two yards inside the innermost rail.
The Grand National is the longest running jumps race in the UK.
How long is the Grand National?
About nine minutes. The course record is 8min 47.8sec, held by Mr Frisk in 1990. The jockey on the day is Marcus Armytage and Telegraph Sport’s racing correspondent.
How many fences are there in the Grand National?
There are 16 individual fences in the race, 14 of which are jumped twice. That makes a total of 30 jumps.
The fences are made from Sitka spruce or Norway spruce, transported to Aintree from the Lake District in a fleet of lorries. It takes about three weeks to build all the fences.
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Fence 1&17 – 4ft 6in high, 2ft 9in wide
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Fence 2&18 – 4ft 17in high, 3ft 6in wide
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Fence 3&19 – Open ditch
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Fence 4&20 – 5 feet high, 10 feet 6 inches wide (including a 7 foot ditch on the take-off side)
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Fence 5&21 – 5ft high, 3ft 6in wide
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Fence 6&22Becher’s Brook – 4ft 10in high, 7ft 6in wide
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Fence 7&23Foinavon – 4ft 6in high, 3ft wide
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Fence 8&24Canal Turn – 5ft high, 7ft wide
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Fence 9&25Valentine’s Brook – 5ft high, 7ft wide
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Fence 10&26 – 5 feet high, 3 feet wide
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Fence 11&27 – 4ft 10in high, 9ft wide (including a 6ft ditch on the landing side)
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Fence 12&28 – 5ft high, 8ft 6in wide (including 5ft 6in on the landing side)
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Fence 13&29 – 4ft 7in high, 3ft wide
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Fence 14&30 – 4ft 6in high, 3ft wide
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Fence 15Chair – 5ft 2in high, 9ft wide (including 6ft ditch on take-off side)
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Fence 16Water Jump – 2ft 6in high
The most famous fence of the Grand National
Aintree fences are not as dangerous as they once were. However, they are still the most notorious obstacles in the business.
The Chairman (Fence 15): The Chair is the tallest fence on the course, now standing at five feet two inches.
Becher’s Brook (Fence 6&22): It may not be the biggest sixth and 22nd fence in the race, but its difficulty comes from the fact that the landing side is 10 inches lower than the takeoff side. Named after Captain Martin Becher, a jockey who fell at this stage in the first running of the race in 1839 and hid in the Brook to avoid injury.
Brook Valentine (Fence 9&25): It was named after a horse that allegedly jumped back in 1840. More likely, the horse spun around in mid-air to create the optical illusion of landing hind feet first.
Foinavon (Fence 7&23): One of the smaller fences is named after the 100/1 shot who avoided a disastrous pile-up here in 1967 and went on to win.
Canal Turn (Fence 8&24): As the name suggests, horses must make a sharp left turn after jumping this five-foot hurdle. Another Aintree myth is that horses that were used and refused to turn ended up in the Liverpool and Leeds canal.
National prize money
The total prize fund for the Grand National is £1 million. In 2023, prize money was awarded to the first ten horses posted, as follows.
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£516,000
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£211,100
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£105,500
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£52,700
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£26,500
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£13,200
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£6,800
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£3,600
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£2,000
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£1,000
How does the narrowing system work?
The idea behind the narrowing process is that less keen horses can compete with the best hunters. To achieve this, the best horses are asked to carry extra weight. Exactly how much weight will be determined by hand, appointed by the British Horseracing Authority.
The least a horse is allowed to carry (rider included) is 10ths of 2 pounds. The highest weighted horse in the race will carry 11st 12 pounds, and all other handicap weights will be worked out from that weight based on each horse’s rating. Last year’s winner, Corach Rambler, carried just 10lb 5.
In 2015 Many Clouds won 11st 9oz, the heaviest weight carried by a recent winner. The last horse to win the top weight was Red Rum in 1973, when he finished 12th.
What are the changes to this year’s Grand National?
Significant changes have been made to the Grand National for 2024. The changes were made after animal rights protesters ambushed the 2023 event, delaying it by 15 minutes. The Jockey Club insists, however, that the changes did not come in direct response to those objections.
The most significant changes are as follows:
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The field was reduced from 40 horses to a maximum of 34. Evidence shows a correlation between field size and the risk of horses falling.
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The first fence has been brought forward, towards the starting line, 60 yards to reduce the speed at which the horses reach it.
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The start will now be a fixed start at the tape, rather than the traditional rolling start. This change is also designed to reduce the speed at which horses reach the first hurdle.
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All horses must have an official rating of at least 130 (except 125) and will be checked for jumping errors before being allowed to enter.
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The height of fence 11 has been reduced by two inches and the drop on the landing side will be reduced.
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Horses will no longer be led onto the course by a handler before the race, instead they will be released to canter in front of the grandstands.
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The start time has been moved from 5.15pm to 4pm.
Mullins puts his eye into Its On The Line
Emmet Mullins turned up for Saturday’s Grand National, where he steers Noble Yeats, when he beat Randox Foxhunters with Its On The Line who went one better than he did in the Cheltenham equivalent last month.
Mullins, whose planning is already meticulous and often outside the box after winning the 2022 Irish Championship with Noble Yeats, said all was positive for the horses’ third run at the National, perhaps apart from the land.
Noble Yeats is now set to carry the weight of 11st 12lbs after Conflated was the only horse to come out of the race at the 48 hour stage. At the other end of the barrier Kitty’s Light will carry number 34, the last slot available in the first National where the field size is limited to under 40.
“He’s put on the weight for a reason and he came here last year after a tough race in the Gold Cup,” Noble Yeats’ Mullins said. “This time it was in the Stayers Hurdle so what we lose with the ground, I hope we make up for.”
Its On The Line, wearing the green and gold colors of JP McManus, looked to work Derek O’Connor hard but he picked them off one by one to come home four and a half lengths from Bennys King, another horse put on a day. Next of kin to Dan Skelton.
“He’s not a natural leader by any stretch, and he likes to spin things out, get into a rhythm, and figure it out,” Mullins said of the winner. “It has a good name, I think. I probably wasn’t planning this race after Cheltenham. We gave him a speculative entry and when he came up to heavy ground he was always going to bring stamina into the fun. That was the biggest influence on his running.”
In total 10 of the 22 runners completed the course with their new adjustment. The two fellers came down at Cathaoirleach and one of the riders who came down there, Ben Sutton, was taken to hospital for precautionary x-rays on a back injury. David Maxwell, who will ride Ain’t That A Shame tomorrow, was no worse for wear than Cat Tiger.
Don’t miss out on the finals betting offers – check our list right here before the Grand National
