Jumps feature
Grand National Tips: Aintree and the Irish Grand National
Two marathon handicap chases, run within a fortnight of each other in spring, both heavy with Irish-trained runners. What each race asks of a horse, and how to price up the each-way terms before you back one.
By Conor FurlongChecked 18+
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Grand National tips start with the race, not the horse: two handicap chases over well beyond three miles, one at Aintree in April and one at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday. We do not name selections on this page; the declared runners, prices and results come through the feed below once the fields are known, and the rest of the page explains how to weigh them up.
Both races are handicaps, so the weights are meant to bring the field together. That is why big prices go in, and why the each-way part of the bet usually matters more than the win part. 18+ only, and set a figure before the market opens rather than after.
Grand National tips: what the two races ask
The English race, which most Irish punters simply call the Grand National, is run at Aintree on the Saturday of a three-day meeting in April. It is about 4m 2.5f over two laps and 30 jumps, over 16 different fences. It is a Premier Handicap. Since the welfare changes of recent years the maximum field is 34 rather than 40, the first fence sits nearer the start, the runners set off from a standing start, and the off time has moved earlier, to about 4pm. The 2026 running was on 11 April; the 2027 race is listed for Saturday 10 April.
The Irish Grand National is a separate race with its own character. It has been run at Fairyhouse since 1870 and belongs to Easter Monday. The distance is about 3m 5f; the 2026 card listed it as a Grade 3 handicap over 24 fences, run on 6 April. The Easter meeting around it is a festival in its own right, with a Grade 1 chase over 2m 4f, the Fairyhouse Gold Cup, on the Sunday card.
| Race | Course | When | Distance | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand National | Aintree, Merseyside | Saturday of the April meeting | about 4m 2.5f, 30 jumps | Premier Handicap chase, max 34 runners |
| Irish Grand National | Fairyhouse, Ratoath, Co. Meath | Easter Monday | about 3m 5f, 24 fences (2026 card) | Handicap chase, Grade 3 (2026) |
Fairyhouse racecourse: the ground the Irish race is won on
Fairyhouse is a right-handed circuit of about 1m 6.5f with a straight of roughly 2.5f and a slight rise to the line. It stages Flat and jumps racing. Over three and a half miles that uphill finish is reached with empty tanks, so stamina shown on similar right-handed tracks reads better than a fast time over two and a half. The course races at other points of the season too, and every Fairyhouse card and result is carried on our racecards and results pages on the day.
Reading the Aintree race
A marathon handicap with up to 34 runners throws up questions that a ten-runner Grade 1 never asks. Four of them earn a line each:
- Stamina proven, not assumed. Few runners will have raced this far before. Form over 3m 4f and further, finishing strongly, is the nearest evidence.
- Jumping. Thirty obstacles is a lot of chances to make a mistake. Look for falls, unseats and pulled-up runs in the form figures, and ask why.
- The weight. In a handicap the top weights give lumps away. A horse well in on its official rating is a different proposition from one that has gone up since its last win.
- Ground. Soft ground turns the race into a slog; good ground brings more of the field into it. Going reports change through the week, so check on the morning.
None of that produces a certainty. It narrows a field of 34 to a shortlist, and a shortlist is where the each-way sums begin.
Each-way terms and extra places in a big-field handicap
Standard terms for a handicap of 16 or more runners are usually a quarter of the odds for the first four places. Both Nationals fit that description when the field fills, and the Aintree race is one where bookmakers commonly offer extra places as a promotion. Terms are set by each firm, so read the bet slip; our each-way guide sets out the full table.
A worked example with five places paid at 1/4 odds: EUR 5 each-way at 20/1 costs EUR 10. If the horse wins, the win part returns EUR 105 (100 profit plus the 5 stake) and the place part, settled at 5/1, returns EUR 30. Total back: EUR 135. If it finishes fifth, only the place part pays: EUR 30 back from the 10 staked. Under standard four-place terms that fifth place would be a loser, which is the whole value of the extra place.
A second sum for the Irish race on standard terms: EUR 10 each-way at 12/1, a quarter the odds, four places. A win returns EUR 130 on the win part and EUR 40 on the place part (3/1 on EUR 10, plus the stake), EUR 170 in all from EUR 20. A place returns EUR 40. Run your own figures through the bet calculator before committing.
Prices, the day and results from Aintree and Fairyhouse
Grand National odds move for weeks. Ante-post prices are bigger, but if your horse does not make the final field the stake is normally lost, unless the bookmaker has put the race on non-runner no bet terms. That concession is the firm's own and the conditions are in its terms. On the day itself, a fixed price with a bookmaker that offers best-odds terms on racing protects you if the starting price drifts out; our best odds page explains how those offers differ.
Meetings are posted here each morning from the official fixture list.
The feed above carries declared runners, prices and results for both Nationals when they are on, and Fairyhouse and Aintree results from the rest of the season. We do not keep a roll of past winners on this page, and we do not print runners or prices ahead of the declarations.
Where the Grand National tipsters fit in
Every big race brings out a crowd of Grand National tipsters, from newspaper napsters to paid services. A tip is one person's reading of the same form you can read yourself. Be wary of anyone selling inside information or promising a sure thing: in a 34-runner handicap chase nobody has either. The value of a tipster is the reasoning behind the pick, which you can check against the racecard.
The Welsh Grand National is a separate race again, run in Wales. It shares the name and a marathon trip, nothing more.
Bookmakers for the Nationals
For an Irish punter the bookmaker should hold a betting licence from the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, the regulator that has licensed online bookmakers since 1 July 2026. The card below lists only firms on its register, ranked on our form figures; place terms and promotions vary between them.
| No. | Runner | Form | Licence | Verdict | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  bet365Hillside (Europe) ENC | 1-1-2-2-3 | GRAI licence (betting) | NAP | Visit |
| 2 |  Paddy PowerPPB Counterparty Services Limited | 1-1-2-2-3 | GRAI licence (betting) | NAP | Visit |
| 3 |  BetfairPPB Counterparty Services Limited | 1-1-4-4-4 | GRAI licence (betting) | NAP | Visit |
| 4 |  BoyleSportsBoylesports (Gibraltar) Limited | 1-2-1-2-3 | GRAI licence (betting) | Each-way | Visit |
| 5 |  William HillWH Ireland Limited | 1-1-3-2-3 | GRAI licence (betting) | Each-way | Visit |
| 6 |  LadbrokesLC International Limited | 1-1-3-2-4 | GRAI licence (betting) | Each-way | Visit |
| 7 |  CoralElectraWorks Limited | 1-2-4-4-4 | GRAI licence (betting) | Each-way | Visit |
| 8 |  BetVictorBV Gaming Limited | 1-2-5-4-5 | GRAI licence (betting) | Each-way | Visit |
| 9 |  Bar One RacingBar-One Racing Limited | 1-3-5-5-5 | GRAI licence (betting) | Each-way | Visit |
Form reads licence, markets, payments, safer-play tools, terms; 1 is best. How we rate. 18+ only.
A National is one race, once a year, and it is no reason to stake more than usual. If the fun has gone out of it, our safer gambling page lists the tools and Irish support services.
Readers' questions
- When is the Irish Grand National run?
- On Easter Monday at Fairyhouse, Co. Meath. The 2026 race was on 6 April. The exact date moves with Easter each year.
- Is the Irish Grand National the same race as the Aintree Grand National?
- No. The Irish race is at Fairyhouse over about 3m 5f on Easter Monday; the Grand National is at Aintree over about 4m 2.5f on a Saturday in April. Both are handicap chases.
- How many places do bookmakers pay on the Grand National?
- Standard terms for a handicap of 16 or more runners are usually four places at a quarter of the odds. Many firms offer extra places on the race; the terms on your bet slip are the ones that count.
- How many runners are in the Grand National now?
- The maximum field is 34, cut from 40 as part of the welfare changes that also moved the first fence and brought in a standing start.