Virtual Grand National 2023

Virtual Grand National 2023

2022 Winner: Snow Leopardess

The Virtual Grand National generally has a strong track record of finding the actual winner of the real Aintree marathon each year and the 2022 edition got some success in the placings.

The excellent simulation predicted Tiger Roll’s win in the 2018 renewal of the Grand National and while Gordon Elliott’s stable star didn’t attempt a third win in the famous steeplechase due to having been retired after the Cross Country last month (having also won in 2019), 40 runners looked to take the title from Minella Times (who was also in the frame once again with Rachael Blackmore) on Saturday afternoon.

In the end, Snow Leopardess won the 2022 Virtual Grand National and while this wasn’t reflected in the actual race itself (50/1 outsider Noble Yeats taking the crown), the computer got 2nd and 3rd places spot on with Any Second Now and Delta Work respectively.

This was another success for the computer simulation which is proving extremely popular with punters thanks to it’s pretty accurate predictions.

2022 Result

1:  Snow Leopardess

2:  Any Second Now

3:  Delta Work

4:  Minella Times

5:  Mighty Thunder

6:  Mount Ida

Here’s all you need to know about the 2022 Virtual Grand National

When is the 2022 Virtual Grand National?  

The 2022 Virtual Grand National will get underway at 9.15pm on Friday 8th April 2022, one day before the real thing on Saturday afternoon. The replay will be shown on Saturday 9th April at 1pm.

How can I watch the race?

Full coverage of the 2022 Virtual Grand National will be provided by ITV4 on Friday evening and on ITV1 for the replay on Saturday afternoon.

What is the Virtual Race of Champions?

The Virtual Race of Champions pits many National Hunt legends against each other and even the likes of Desert Orchid, Dawn Run and Kauto Star will all be going head-to-head with many other stars from past seasons, many of these entries never having tested themselves over the big Aintree fences.

Does the Virtual Grand National predict the real race?

Surprisingly yes it does, the 2021 Virtual Grand National predicting three of the top five finishers in the race. In 2018 it predicted that Tiger Roll would be first past the post and he did so in very similar circumstances just a few hours later.

Can I place a bet on the outcome of the Virtual Grand National?

The bookmakers have yet to confirm whether they will be offering betting markets on the 2022 Virtual Grand National but they had little choice but to do so in 2020 when the real race was cancelled. Millions were raised for the NHS in the process.

2021 Result

1: Cloth Cap

2: Kimberlite Candy

3: Any Second Now

4: Burrows Saint

5: Minella Times

6: Lord Du Mesnil

7: Milan Native

2021 Grand National favourite Cloth Cap added his name to the roll call of honours in the Virtual Grand National on Friday evening and he gave his backers a big boost ahead of the ‘real thing’ at 5:15pm on Saturday afternoon. The Virtual Grand National has proven to be eerily accurate over the years with mathematical algorithms and computer simulations attempting to correctly predict the outcome of the live race.

Last night, the virtual edition of the race simulated 11/2 favourite Cloth Cap getting himself into the lead on the turn for home and proving himself far too good for 16/1 shot Kimberlite Candy who finished fast. Fancied Any Second Now finished in third position while Burrows Saint and Minella Times completed the first five past the post. As such all five in the market made the frame.

In the Race of Champions, Aldaniti finished first past the virtual post while Ballabriggs, Don’t Push It, Seagram and Mr Frisk completed the first five in numerical order.

While the 2020 Grand National didn’t take place due to the imposed Covid restrictions, the replacement ‘Virtual Grand National’ proved to be hugely popular with millions tuning in to see who would triumph in the computer-generated contest. Indeed such was its popularity, ITV will be televising another VGN on Friday 9th April 2021, just one day before the real thing.

This year we have a ‘real’ Grand National to look forward to and while the terraces and stands at the famous Aintree course will be empty and silent, the main event promises to be a real thriller once again. Nevertheless racing fans will have TWO Grand Nationals to look forward to this time around and the virtual event, which will once again include the ‘Race of Champions’, has been developed by Inspired Entertainment and will be showing on ITV4 at 8pm, Friday 9th April and again at 1pm ahead of the Grand National itself on Saturday, 10th April.

The 2020 Virtual Grand National was hugely popular with the viewing public

The virtual contest takes place over the famous Aintree fences and the amazing CGI is powered by AI technology. The Algorithms will determine whether computers can outsmart the experts and the bookies will be naming the potential finishers and ultimate winner.

In 2020, the virtual event included the 40 runners and riders who would have likely been contesting the Aintree spectacular had it actually taken place and it was watched by an estimated TV audience of around 4.8 million.

The winner of the 2020 Virtual Grand National was Potters Corner, trained by Christian Williams.

With the showpiece event actually going ahead this year, it will certainly be interesting to see just how accurate the computer-generated race proves to be in comparison to the real event and to be fair, its track record has been pretty good thus far. Indeed in 2017, Cause Of Causes triumphed in the virtual race and came a close second in the ‘real’ Grand National a few hours later, while the following year Tiger Roll won both the ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ races in near-identical circumstances. Not only that but the computer algorithms chose three of the eventual top-five finishers.

The public reaction to the 2020 Virtual Grand National was overwhelming as was the attention on social media.

Nick Luck will be presenting the 2021 edition of the Virtual Grand National with commentary provided by Stewart Machin. The analysis will be given by Richard Pitman who has plenty of experience having ridden no less than 427 winners throughout an illustrious career.

Race to the line in the 2020 Virtual Grand National

2020 Result:

1st. Potters Corner

2nd. Walk In The Mill

3rd. Any Second Now

4th. Tiger Roll

5th. Burrows Saint

Virtual Grand National 2020 Video

Following the announcement earlier this month that all race meetings were to be postponed for the foreseeable future, the chances of the 2020 Randox Health Grand National actually going ahead were thrown into serious doubt. Nevertheless with the Grand National meeting now completely cancelled, organisers are set to use the latest technology as they look to save the day.

ITV will be screening a Virtual Grand National at 5pm on Saturday 4th April 2020, this virtual race featuring the 40 runners who would most likely have taken part in the famous steeplechase had it been run this weekend. The outcome of the virtual race is to be determined using ‘special algorithms’.

The virtual race has taken place alongside the ‘real’ event in the past, the first time being in 2017 when the algorithms proved pretty successful in determining the outcome. The first Virtual Grand National was won by Cause Of Causes who actually finished in second position in the real race later in the day.

In 2018, the Virtual Grand National correctly predicted that Tiger Roll would romp home to victory while last year it successfully predicted three of the first five race finishers.

Clearly 2020 is going to be completely different given that we have nothing to compare the virtual race with, however the past results of the algorithms are testament to its undoubted accuracy and the virtual offering will go some way to compensating for the lack of real Aintree action this coming weekend.

The bookies are yet to offer odds on the 2020 Virtual Grand National although we expect to see betting markets pop up in the coming days. ITV will also be showing another race titled ‘Race of Champions’ which will be pitting some of the great names against each other, including the likes of Tiger Roll and Red Rum, again using special algorithms.