Grand National 2027: A Beginner's Guide to Betting On It

The Grand National is a steeplechase, a race over jumps, run at Aintree since 1839. What sets it apart from every other jumps race is the scale: 4 miles 2½ furlongs, two laps of a course built specifically for this one race, and 30 fences in total from 16 individual obstacles, 14 of which are jumped twice.

The fences that make it different

• Becher's Brook (fences 6 and 22): a fence with a drop on the landing side that has decided the race since the very first running in 1839.
• Canal Turn (fences 8 and 24): a standard fence followed immediately by a 90-degree left turn. Jockeys who misjudge the angle lose ground fast.
• The Chair (fence 15): the tallest fence on the course, jumped only once, on the first circuit.
• The Water Jump (fence 16): a shallow ditch after a low fence, jumped once, directly in front of the grandstands.

The field and the weights

Up to 34 horses take their place at the start, a field size no other British race comes close to. Every horse carries a handicap weight set by the British Horseracing Authority, better-rated horses carry more, in theory levelling the contest. In practice the weights still matter enormously: the average winning weight across every running on record is 10st 11lb, though what counts as "too heavy to win" has moved in recent years, not stayed fixed, so treat any confident rule about a weight ceiling with some caution.

Why it is so hard to call

Four things stack against a confident prediction: 30 fences give even the best jumper room for a costly mistake, 4½ miles exposes any horse whose stamina has been overstated, a field of 34 means traffic and interference play a real part regardless of ability, and the handicap is specifically designed to give every horse a theoretical chance. That combination is exactly why upsets are not the exception here. They are close to the norm, and it is exactly why a once-a-year punter can pick a horse with a real chance without knowing the form book inside out.

Step 1: open a betting account

You will need an account with a licensed UK bookmaker, regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. You will need an email address, your name, address and date of birth for age verification (18+ only), and a debit card to deposit funds. Most bookmakers run a free bet for new customers around National time; see our Grand National betting offers page for what is currently available, or the best bookmakers for horse racing for a wider comparison.

Step 2: deposit an amount you have already decided

For a once-a-year bet, £5 to £20 is a sensible range for most people. Decide the figure before you look at the odds, deposit it, and treat it as the whole budget for the day. This is entertainment, not an investment, and it should never be money you need for anything else.

Step 3: find the market

On the bookmaker's app or website, the race sits under Horse Racing → Aintree → the Grand National on Thursday 8 April 2027. You will see the full list of declared runners with odds next to each name, updated live as the market moves.

Step 4: choose your bet type

Win only. You back a horse to win outright. Anything other than first place loses the stake.

Each-way (the sensible default for this race). Two bets combined into one: half your stake on the horse to win, half on it to place, usually the first four or five home in the National specifically, sometimes further with an extra-places offer. If your horse wins, both halves pay. If it places without winning, you lose the win half but the place half pays, typically at a fraction (1/4 or 1/5) of the win odds.

Worked example: £10 each-way on a 20/1 shot is £20 staked in total (£10 win, £10 place). A win returns roughly £210 win plus £50 place, around £260 back for £240 profit. A 4th-place finish returns the £50 place part alone, £30 profit on the day. Finishing outside the paid places loses the full £20.

Given how unpredictable a 34-runner field over 4½ miles actually is, each-way is close to always the sensible choice here rather than win-only. More on the mechanics in our each-way betting guide.

Step 5: place it

Select the horse, choose each-way, enter the stake, confirm. You will get a digital slip as confirmation and the bet is live from that point.

You do not need to be an expert to pick a Grand National horse with a real chance rather than one you simply liked the name of. Four things matter most, roughly in order.

1. Weight

Weight is the single factor with the clearest historical link to winning, though the old rule of thumb ("nothing above 11st 4lb wins it") no longer holds as firmly as it once did. The average winning weight across every running on record is 10st 11lb, and the bulk of winners still sit somewhere in the 10st to 11st band. But I Am Maximus won carrying 11st 12lb in 2026, the second-heaviest winning weight of all time, so treat "cross out anything heavily weighted" as a lean rather than a hard rule.

2. Age

Nine years old is the single most common winning age on record, and horses aged eight to ten between them account for more than two-thirds of every winner since 1970. Younger horses are usually there for experience rather than to win; horses much past eleven have won, but they are the exception rather than the pattern.

3. Course experience

Aintree's fences are truly unlike anything else a horse jumps all season, and repeat winners are a real, recurring pattern, not a coincidence: Red Rum won three times, Tiger Roll won back-to-back, and I Am Maximus has now done the same. A horse that has already proven it handles this specific course, even without winning, is a real positive signal.

4. The yard behind it

Willie Mullins has trained the winner in each of the last three runnings. When his yard sends a fancied runner, it is worth paying attention, and the same goes for any trainer with a strong recent National record rather than just a big name generally.

A simple method

If you want one quick way to shortlist from a full field of declared runners:

1. Note the weight and age of every runner.
2. Favour, rather than automatically eliminate, horses in the 10st-11st band and the 8-10 age range, keeping an open mind on anything just outside it.
3. Give real weight to proven course form, even a good run without a win.
4. From what is left, the one at the biggest price is your value pick.

This will not win every year. It gives you a horse with a properly defensible profile at a fair price, and something worth cheering for when the field turns for home.

For our full read of this year's field once it is declared, see the Grand National tips guide.