The Grand National is one of the most prestigious horse races in the world and tempts even people new to gambling to have a bet.
Each year 40 horses line up to complete the course at Aintree, which is probably one of the toughest races to finish.
And that is where a lot of the appeal lies, as over such a gruelling course the chances of the favourite winning are actually pretty slim. In fact over the National’s long history only 11 favourites have actually won!
The National is all about long shots which is why sticking a few quid on a horse can be so much fun.
However, there are a few tricks that can be deployed when choosing a horse. For example it is common knowledge that any runner carrying over 11 stone rarely wins the National now days.
It is also important to bear in mind that only 40 horses can run in the race, so when placing a bet the day before the event any horse below about number 55 in the list has very little chance of taking part.
And of course even the most fancied horse could drop out right up to the day of the race due to injury, illness or even loss of form but if your choice is below 40 then there is added risk that they may not run.
There are also another couple of factors to take into account such as the handicap and age of the horse and the going of the course.
The handicap is the weight allotted to the horse. Each horse running is allotted a weight and they are then told to carry more or less weight to even the field but statistics do seem to suggest the fact that horses with higher weights struggle in the National.
But does the age of the horse matter? Well four seven-year-old horses do run in the national but no horse of that age has won the event since 1940, while nine-year-olds have been the most successful.
And finally what is meant by the going? Well that refers to the condition of the turf, how wet or dry it is. This is measured on a scale which varies from ‘heavy’ to ‘hard’. Usually the going for the Grand National is either good, good to soft, or good to firm. Some horses have a notable preference for a certain type of conditions, but the majority of horses handle most types of ground.
