Questions

Aintree Grand National Betting: Favourite or Outsider?

admin January 30, 2025

I remember my first ever winning Grand National bet.

Aldaniti in 1981. I’m not sure if it’s legal, but I was eleven-years-old. To think some of the horses were older than me. Obviously, I didn’t place the bet myself. My Dad must have done the honours and my 50p each-way come up trumps.

I think I won £6.

I probably bought a bag of penny sweets: pink shrimps, bananas, flumps, milk bottles, blackjacks and a quarter of dolly mixture. No wonder I felt sick after that win. Living a life of excess. Like you do at eleven.

It was only in later life I appreciated the story behind the success of both horse and jockey. Bob Champion who had recovered from cancer and Aldaniti who had suffered from chronic leg problems. It was a story which touched the heart and was made into a flim, Champions, starring John Hurt. The musical score composed and conducted by Carl Davis. The start of the film is very moving and it often brings me to tears.

To be fair, I’ve hit a barren spell. In recent years, National winners have been few and far between. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It’s virtually impossible to draw!

However, I have one question: Is it best to bet on the Grand National favourite or plump (if that’s the right word, sound like something you do with cushions) for the outsider?

Statistically, the favourite ‘must’ have a better chance of winning. I’m trying to tell myself this as I write these words. But on the other side of the coin, if I was a gambling man, there have been a number of outsiders win.

I’m thinking how much money would I like to win.

Should I bet on a horse priced at 1000000/1?

My horse would have three legs, one eye, half a tail and call to the name, Lucky.

Obviously, that is a joke.

His name would be Clip Clop The Cyclops

Over the years there have been 5 winners at 100/1.

1928 – Tiperary Tim

1929 – Gregalach

1947 – Caughoo

1967 – Foinavon

2009 – Mon Mome

Considering there have been at least 175 runnings, that’s about a 3% win rate. However, when you divide it by 5000 horses, the odds are probably horrenous. I really don’t know how many horses have run in the Grand National at odds of 100/1 or more. I have no idea. In fact, I doubt there are many people on the planet who do.

One or two Anoraks (people who obssess over data).

Anyway, perhaps we have learned something, it doesn’t pay to bet over 100/1.

Just saying.

But what about betting on the favourite? Less winnings, but, supposedly, more chance of winning.

2024: I Am Maximus won at odds of 7/1.

In the last 14 runnings, there have been 4 favourites go in. The good old jolly as they call it.

Let’s have a look at the winners:

2010 – Don’t Push It 10/1

2019 – Tiger Roll 4/1

2023 – Corach Rambler 8/1

2024 – I Am Maximus 7/1

Decisions, decisions.

Is it better to think somewhere in the middle? Halfway house and all that.

The average odds of recent winners is 22/1.

That average includes: 10/1, 14/1, 33/1, 66/1, 25/1, 25/1, 33/1, 14/1, 10/1, 4/1, 11/1, 50/1, 8/1 & 7/1.

The form students will tell you to look at the form. The optimist will tell you to bet the outsider. The pesimist will put their stamp on the favourite.

While your old aunt will pick a horse because of its name.

Which jockey won the Grand National, at the fifteenth attempt, in 2010?

admin December 10, 2024

Sir Anthony McCoy began his riding career in low-key fashion when, as a 17-year-old, claiming 10lb, he finished unplaced on favourite Nordic Touch, trained by Jim Bolger, in a 6-furlong handicap at Phoenix Park on September 1, 1990. At that early embryonic stage, few could have predicted that, the best part of a quarter of century later, on April 25, 2015, a day like no other at Sandown Park, McCoy would bid a tearful farewell to National Hunt racing after one of the most incredible careers in that sport or any other.

However, for all his success elsewhere, McCoy seemed destined, for much of his career, to join the likes of Jonjo O’Neill, John Francome and Peter Scudamore, among others, on the list of multiple champion jockeys never to have won the Grand National. His first foray into the celebrated steeplechase, in 1995, lasted less than a circuit, with his mount, Chatham, trained by Martin Pipe, coming a cropper at the twelfth fence, immediately before the Anchor Bridge Crossing of the Melling Road. Indeed, that initial non-completion was followed by four more, on Deep Bramble, trained by Paul Nicholls, in 1996, and three more Pipe-trained runners, Challenger Du Luc, Eudipe and Dark Stranger, in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, respectively.

McCoy also failed to complete the course, at least at the first time of asking, on Blowing Wind, also trained by Pipe, in the 2001 Grand National. However, in an eventful renewal, following a refusal early on the second circuit, he remounted (at a time when the practice was still allowed) to eventually finish third, albeit beaten a distance and the same by the only two horses to jump all 30 fences without mishap, Red Marauder and Smarty.

Over the next seven years, McCoy completed the Grand National Course three times, but never finished better than third. That placing came aboard Clan Royal, owned by John Patrick ‘J.P.’ McManus and trained by Jonjo O’Neill, in 2006. Sent off joint-favourite, after finishing second in 2004 and being carried out by a loose horse, when in the lead, in 2005, Clan Royal challenged at the third-last fence, but ultimately had to give best to the Irish-trained pair, Numbersixvalverde and Hedgehunter.

Of course, it was on another horse in the famous gold and green hoops of J.P. McManus, Don’t Push It, also trained by O’Neill, that would finally provide McCoy with a Grand National winner, in 2010. The subject of a late gamble, into 10/1 joint-favourite, the Old Vic gelding took closer order early on the second circuit, led over the final fence and forged clear on the run-in to win by 5 lengths.

Born in County Antrim on May 4, 1974, McCoy became Champion Conditional Jockey in 1994/95, his first season in Britain, and subsequently became Champion Jockey every year until his retirement, at the end of the 2014/15 season. He was still only 27 when, in April 2002, he beat Sir Gordon Richards’ long-standing record of 269 winners in a single season and went on to amass an astonishing 289 in the 2001/02 season as a whole.

The following August, McCoy became the most successful National Hunt jockey in British history, beating the previous record of 1,699 winners, set by Richard Dunwoody. By the end of his career, he had racked up and eye-watering 4,348 winners under National Hunt rules, plus another 10 on the Flat, thereby setting a record that may never be broken. McCoy was awarded a knighthood for his services to horseracing in the 2016 New Year Honours, but nonetheless later singled out breaking Richards’ record as his ‘greatest achievement’, adding, ‘nothing else comes close’.

In which year did most horses complete the Grand National course?

admin December 10, 2024

Ironically, the year in which most horses completed the Grand National course was 1984, when a safety limit of 40 runners, which has remained in place ever since, was imposed for the first time. On March 31, 1984, on good going, the well-backed ten-year-old Hallo Dandy, trained by Gordon W. Richards and ridden by Neale Doughty, led home a total of 23 finishers, thereby setting a record which has yet to be beaten. In so doing, Hallo Dandy, who had finished fourth behind Corbiere, Greasepaint and Yer Man in the 1983 renewal of the Grand National, reversed the previous form with that trio, who finished third, second and seventeenth, respectively.

For the record, the horse who finished twenty-third, and last, of the finishers was the nine-year-old Canford Ginger, a 100/1 shot trained by David Elsworth and ridden by Colin Brown. Of the nine casualties on the first circuit, four horses fell at Becher’s Brook and two more at The Chair but, remarkably, 31 of the 40 starters headed out onto the second circuit. That said, the first open ditch put paid to the chances of Fortune Seeker, Kumbi and Pilot Officer, as it had to those of Golden Trix on the first circuit. Thereafter, though, the only faller was Imperial Black at Becher’s Brook and, while Burnt Oak and Silent Valley were pulled up late on, a record number of finishers was assured.

By contrast, the fewest number of finishers in the Grand National came in 1928, when 42 runners went to post but, on bottomless ground, all bar the eventual winner, the unconsidered 100/1 shot Tipperary Tim, failed to complete the course unscathed. The eventual second, Billy Barton, took a tired fall at the final fence, but was remounted – remounting horses after the start was not banned until November, 2009 – to complete the course, tailed off, but only two finished.

What are some facts I didn’t know about Red Rum?

admin December 10, 2024

Most horse racing fans remember Red Rum. A name synonymous with the most famous steeplechase in the world: The Grand National. In fact, its history dates back to 1839. The race is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool. This handicap steeplechase covers a distance of 4 miles 2 ½ furlongs. Two laps are run, 30 jumps, many with famous stories behind them including the infamous Chair.

The winning horse pockets over £500,000 in prize money.

Red Rum, trained by Ginger McCain, is the only horse to win this prestigious race three times in 1973, 1974 & 1976.

Being such a famous thoroughbred horse there a few facts we don’t know about this incredible horse. However, here are 5 things you may not know about Red Rum to add to his illustrious story.

1) He Never Fell Once

It’s a feat very few horses can proclaim. Red Rum, running on both the Flat and National Hunt, never fell in a 100-race career.

2) Debut Dead Heat – Over 5f

It seems remarkable that a horse which won over a distance of 4 mile 2 ½ furlong could win on the Flat over the minimum trip. That’s what Red Rum did on his debut, at Aintree, when they had both codes of racing, in a dead heat. Later, Aintree was dedicated to National Hunt racing. Red Rum continued his story with spectacular results, writing his name in the history books.

3) The Ultimate Double Act

You may be thinking I’m talking about Red Rum and his trainer Ginger McCain or jockeys Brian Fletcher or Tommy Stack. His owner Noel Le Mare deserves a mention too. However, we are talking about those early years on the Flat when Red Rum was twice ridden by Lester Piggott. In something that is akin to the Law of Attraction, his stable lad was comedian Lee Mack.

4) The Most Famous Horse in the World

There have been lots of famous horses but there is little doubt Red Rum is one of the best known and become a household name. While preparing for his sixth Grand National, he was retired following a canter at the course the day before, after suffering a hairline fracture while training for the big race. That evening, his retirement was the lead story on BBC 1 and made front-page news the following day. Red Rum became a celebrity in his own right opening supermarkets, selling merchandise, leading the Grand National Parade for many years. He appeared as a guest on BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He even switched on the Blackpool illuminations and had a roller coaster named after him.

5) He Transcended Life

Red Rum transcended life. His racing feats made him a name synonymous with the Grand National. He ran in the National on five occasions, with three wins and two runner-up positions. A life size sculpture of him can be seen at Aintree Racecourse. A true legend of horse racing, his story lives on in all who love the sport of kings.

In fact, Red Rum was buried at the winning post at Aintree Racecourse. He died at the age of 30.

How are steeplechase fences constructed?

admin December 10, 2024

The term ‘steeplechase’ was first recorded in the late eighteenth century and was derived from the fact that participants kept a course, over open countryside and natural obstacles, by sighting a church steeple as a finishing point. Nowadays, the term refers to a horse race run on a turf course furnished with fabricated obstacles – albeit that they are constructed, in part, with natural materials – which horses must negotiate.

Steeplechase fences are the higher, more rigid and less forgiving type of obstacle that horses encounter in National Hunt racing. With the exception of the optional water jump, which need only be a minimum of 3′ high – but is, as the name suggests, followed by an expanse of water at least 9′ wide – steeplechase fences must officially be at least 4’6″ high, measured from the take-off side. By way of comparison, the tallest fence on the Grand National course, The Chair, measures 5’2″ high.

Steeplechase fences are essentially of two types, known as plain fences and open ditches, although the construction of the upright portion of the fence is the same in both cases. Each fence is built on a base measuring between 6′ and 6’6″ deep, from the front of the take-off board – the white-painted board at the foot of the fence, intended to increase its visibility – and consists of a rigid frame, made of steel or wood.

Fence construction must be consistent throughout any one course, but the frame may be filled entirely with birch, natural or plastic, or birch and spruce or other material approved by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). Either way, the density of the compacted material determines how forgiving the fence is if a horse makes a jumping error. As the name suggests, an open ditch is simply a plain fence with a ditch on the take-off side, thereby creating an obstacle with a significantly wider spread.