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?
In the UK, viewers can watch all the action live on ITV.
Registered users can also stream the Grand National via the ITV Hub.
Who is competing in the Grand National?
Although the field is yet to be finalised, the longlist has been published. The official 40-runner lineup will be finalised in the weeks leading up to the race.
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 are the favourites?
Corach Rambler 8/1
Noble Yeats 10/1
Gaillard du Mesnil 12/1
Any Second Now 16/1
Longhouse Poet 16/1
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)
Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos.
