The Grand National’s Winning Horses
Published:
Whether you’re an expert or a complete novice, when it comes to horse racing betting, the Grand National is an event we can all get behind.
Taking place just once a year around the unique and challenging Aintree racecourse, it would be easy to think the Grand National is a lottery and backing the winner is a game of chance. However thanks to some detailed research by the Coral team we can reveal a few trends that may just help you improve your odds of finding the National winner.
It goes without saying that a big part of the Grand National’s appeal is the fact that any horse can win. Indeed, over the course of history we have seen Grand National runners priced as big as 100/1 winning the great race. Therefore, you may just want to consider the following stats before placing a bet.
Since the Grand National’s inception in 1839, horses with odds of 25/1 have won the most races. This includes a horse called Wanderer, ridden by John Hanlon, way back in 1855, and more recently, 2015’s famous winner, Many Clouds, ridden by two-time winner, Leighton Aspell.
However, based on an average of all the previous Grand National winners, it’s horses with odds of 11/1 that statistically stand the best chance of winning – making Blaklion (10/1), Total Recall (10/1) and Tiger Roll (12/1) tempting options for any would-be punter ahead of this month’s race at their current prices. Keep an eye however on the market as prices will fluctuate in the build up to the race.
Another thing to consider is the weight that the Grand National horses are carrying. The Grand National is a “Handicap” which means that the better a horse is considered to be, the more weight he or she has to carry to try and level the playing field.
Based on the average weight carried by all of the 179 previous Grand National Winners, horses carrying 10 stone 7lbs have historically had the best chance of winning.
In terms of the ‘luckiest’ jockey names, the name ‘Tommy’ appears to rule the roost, claiming a total of 11 wins – that’s just over 6% of the total number of jockeys that have won a Grand National since 1839!
Included in this elite line-up of “Tommys” is the 1975 winner, Tommy Carberry, and the three-time Grand National Champion, Tommy Beasley, who claimed victories in 1880, 1881 and 1889.
Coming in a close second is the name “John” with ten wins, while “George” claims third with a total of nine victories.
So there you have it! Based on nothing more than hard data, we’ve managed to calculate some of the most common traits to look out for when placing a bet on this year’s Grand National.
Picked a winner? Be sure to tweet us at @Coral to let us know who you’ve backed!
