Basic Guide to betting on the Grand National
It’s now just a little over a week until the 2021 Randox Grand National Festival gets underway, the annual event taking place at Aintree Racecourse between 8th and 10th April 2021. The Grand National takes place on the final day of the meeting and while the stands will be empty due to the continued Covid-19 restrictions, we’re still expecting a thrilling spectacle in this, the first ‘live’ Grand National for two years.
The Grand National is one of the UK’s biggest gambling events with in excess of £300 million wagered during the 2019 renewal of the race, however regardless of whether you’re a seasoned Grand National attendee or just someone who is looking to place their first ever bet, it’s vitally important that you know what it takes to ‘bet smart’. That’s where we come in with our guide on how to bet on the 2021 Randox Grand National.
In keeping with tradition, the 172-year-old race will once again take place in early April (in this case, April 10th) and the race itself will commence at the usual time of 5:15pm. In previous years, events on the track have caused the race to be delayed by a matter of minutes and during this time online bookies have reported thousands of last-minute bets pouring in. With this in mind, it is important that you should keep your betting strategy active until the last possible moment.
Check out the latest Grand National runners, riders and best odds here
Many seasoned gamblers frown upon backing favourites and you will often hear them refer to this as a ‘fool’s errand’, however horses are favourites for a very good reason. Indeed runners with the lowest odds do have a tendency to win and this was the case with Hedgehunter who went on to win the Grand National in 2005. In this year’s renewal, Cloth Cap is huge favourite owing to him being ‘well in’ on the weights, however other hot tickets include Any Second Now, Minella Times and Burrows Saint.
If you consider yourself to be something of a rookie when it comes to betting, then it might be wise to bear in mind that the bookmakers’ favourites aren’t always the best choice. The favourable odds mean that any returns will be relatively low while runners which have in the past been at the top of their game will perform marginally worse with each passing race.
A smart way to bet is to look out for jockeys who have a wealth of experience but who haven’t as yet made a big name for themselves, these are the sort of riders who tend to pull surprise wins out of the hat. Not only that but it is also worth looking at jumping stats of horses as opposed to focusing solely on the speed. Good jumpers perform well at the Grand National as a rule so this is worth keeping in mind.
Most importantly, while winning is all good and well, it is vitally important that you only bet what you can afford to lose. Most of all, just have fun!!!
