WhichBookie racing analyst Will Smith provides a preview and two each-way selections for the sponsored card at Fontwell Park on Wednesday 20th October
Date published: October 19, 2021
The Grand National is the biggest horse race in the world. It’s the one day where even your granny comes out to have a bet. The whole country will be watching the race at Aintree.
But with so many bookies to choose from, where should you be placing your bets? We’ll show you the best bookmakers for Grand National betting this year. So if you want bookies that offer free bets for the National, bookies that pay extra places on the big race or even free tips for Grand National, then we have them all here.
We’ll also show you how you can watch the Grand National and stream horse racing online.
Only available for accounts opened before 23:59 on 07/04/21. Eligible customers only. £125* max total refund for bets on Win & E/W Fixed Odds & Each Way Extra markets from 08/04/21 to 11:59 on 10/04/21. Bet restrictions & T&Cs apply.
18+. UK/IRE Customers only.1/5 odds 7 Places. 25+ or more must run. Applies to E/W Market only. Applies to the Aintree Grand National Only. Available from 13:00, 08/04/2021. T&C's Apply.
New customer offer. Place 5 x €10 or more bets to receive €20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum €100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. T&Cs / wagering reqs apply.
New customers only. Minimum £10/€10 stake on Grand National. Offer available from 09.04.21 until 10.04.21. Maximum £10/€10 free bet credited to account on 11.04.21. Full terms including free bet and payment method restrictions apply.
18+ T&Cs apply. Cash stakes only. Min £10 stake required for initial £5 free bet. Min odds ½. Max £25 in free bets. Subsequent free bets equal 50% average of each 3 qualifying bets. 13 bets required to receive full £25 free bet. Qualifying bet must be placed within 30 days of opening account. Free bet expires after 7 days. Payment method restrictions apply
Opt In, bet £5 (odds 2.00+) & get a £5 sports Free Bets (odds 2.00+) + £5 Slots Bonus, selected games, 20x wagering to withdraw max £250. Offer valid from 10:00BST 08.04.21 to 12:00BST 12.04.21. Bonuses expire in 7 days. Click here for T&Cs. 18+
18+, new customers only, min fixed odds bet £10, min odds 1/2 (1.5), free bets credited as 2 x £10 free fixed odds single bets, free bets credited on consecutive days. Full T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Many racing bookmakers withdraw their offers on Grand National day because they know that most people will be betting anyway. If you are looking to bet on the Grand National, it’s a good idea to register new accounts in the week prior to the festival starting. This way, you’ll be able to claim the welcome offers and receive free bets that can give you additional chances of picking a winner and making a profit.
We know that many of you who are betting on the Grand National are not regular punters. Therefore you may not be familiar with online bookies, or how their offers work. We’re here to help!
The first thing you need to know is that you’ve made the right choice already by looking online. If you try to place your Grand National bet at a high street bookmaker, or worse still a trackside bookmaker, it’s likely that you won’t be able to claim nearly as many betting offers.
When you choose an online bookmaker, you get a choice of the special offers listed above. You also get better odds. Plus, you don’t have the hassle of queuing up to place your bet, and the pressure of explaining to the cashier exactly what you want.
Betting online is fast, easy and stress-free. You can pick your horse in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
Below, we’ve listed a few of the most common types of betting offers that you’re likely to find available for the Grand National.
Because it’s hard to pick the winner, many people like to bet each way on the National. That means you still get paid if your horse doesn’t win, but it “places”. Most bookmakers will pay 4 places. Therefore, if your horse comes 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th you would get paid. However, some of the best bookies will pay 5 places or sometimes even 6 places. Therefore, if you bet at these bookies, you would also get paid if your horse came 5th or 6th. Obviously, this is great news because it gives you a much better chance of winning. If you’re betting each way, check which bookies are paying extra places for the Grand National.
Several bookmakers will be offering extra places on the 2021 Grand National. If you are placing an each way bet on the race, it’s a good idea to bet with a bookmaker offering the most amount of places.
| Bookmaker | Place Terms | Visit |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Places 1/5 Odds | Visit |
| 5 Places 1/4 Odds | Visit |
| 5 Places 1/4 Odds | Visit |
 | 5 Places 1/4 Odds | Visit |
 | 5 Places 1/4 Odds | Visit |
| 5 Places 1/4 Odds | Visit |
 | 5 Places 1/4 Odds | Visit |
Many online bookies offer free bets when you open an account with them. However, many bookmakers withdraw their welcome offers in the days leading up to the Grand National.
If you are looking to claim a free bet welcome offer for the Grand National, it’s a good idea to do it a week or further in advance of the race to ensure that they’re available.
Not all bookmakers offer new customers free bets as part of their welcome offer and some offer enhanced odds instead. Enhanced odds are available on specific events & markets and new customers are often able to get huge odds on Grand National runners.
For example, the odds for ‘Cloth Cap’ to win may be 4/1 with most bookies but if one bookmaker was to be offering enhanced odds to new customers, you may be offered odds of around 20/1. 888Sport and William Hill are two bookies that often run enhanced odds offers for new customers.
Price boosts are similar to enhanced odds in that you are offered bigger odds than normal. However, the odds are generally boosted by a smaller amount compared to enhanced odds but they are available to both new and existing customers.
Keep an eye out for price boosts on various horses for the Grand National with bookmakers such as Paddy Power, Betfred and William Hill.
Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG), is the most popular racing offer and several bookmakers will be offering it for the 2021 Grand National.
When Best Odds Guaranteed is available, if the starting price of your horse is greater than the price you took when placing your bet, you’ll be paid out at the bigger odds if your horse wins.
If you visit the Grand National page of any bookie’s website in the weeks or months leading up to the race, you’ll notice over 100 horses listed. This is because the final 40 runners are not announced until a couple of days before the race. Because of this, you are often able to get much bigger odds when placing ante-post bets on the Grand National compare to bets placed closer to the race time as it’s possible that your horse won’t run.
If you are placing an ante-post bet on the Grand National, we recommend that you place your bet with a bookmaker offering Non-Runner No-Bet (NRNB). When NRNB is available, you will receive your stake back if your horse doesn’t end up running.
You can usually find NRNB offers available from some of the top bookies a couple of weeks before the race.
Below, you’ll find a list of bookmakers that are offering Non-Runner No Bet for the Grand National in 2021.
| Bookmaker | Offer | Visit |
|---|---|---|
| NRNB | Visit |
| NRNB | Visit |
| NRNB | Visit |
| NRNB | Visit |
 | NRNB | Visit |
 | NRNB | Visit |
| NRNB | Visit |
The Grand National is a physically demanding race for the runners with a total of 30 fences to jump around the 4+ mile distance. It’s a certainty that horses will fall and so the Faller Insurance betting offer is perfect for this race.
With Faller Insurance, you will receive your stake back, usually as a free bet, if your horse falls or unseats its rider.
The Randox Health Grand National Festival takes place from Thursday 8th to Saturday 10th April 2021 with the featured race being the Grand National at 5.15pm on the final day.
The Grand National is one of the most iconic racing events in the world and is watched by an estimated 600 million people worldwide. 40 horses take place in the race which has prize money of £1 million – The biggest prize fund in any European horse race.
The race is popular with both horse racing enthusiasts and the general public with millions opting to have a flutter on one of the 40 contenders.
The 2021 Grand National takes place on Saturday 10th April.
The Grand National has a scheduled start time of 5.15pm (UK).
The Grand National is hosted at Aintree Racecourse which is just outside Liverpool. The race has been hosted there since it started in 1839.
The 2021 Grand National will be televised live on ITV. In previous years, the race has been shown on both BBC and Channel 4.
Live streams of the Grand National will be available online. Check out our horse racing live streaming page for links or head straight to Bet365 to watch the race (T&Cs apply).
The selection of the top entries into the 2021 Grand National can be found below. A maximum of 40 horses will race on the day.
| Horse | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth Cap | 9 | TBC | Jonjo O’Neill |
| Any Second Now | 9 | TBC | Ted Walsh |
| Burrows Saint | 8 | TBC | W. P. Mullins |
| Minella Times | 8 | TBC | Henry de Bromhead |
| Kimberlite Candy | 9 | TBC | Tom Lacey |
| Secret Reprieve | 7 | TBC | Evan Williams |
| Magic of Light | 10 | TBC | Mrs J. Harrington |
| Potters Corner | 11 | TBC | Christian Williams |
| The Storyteller | 10 | TBC | Mrs Denise Foster |
| Discorama | 8 | TBC | P Nolan |
| Bristol De Mai | 10 | TBC | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| Acapella Bourgeois | 11 | TBC | W. P. Mullins |
| Farclas | 7 | TBC | Mrs Denise Foster |
| Lake View Lad | 11 | TBC | N. W. Alexander |
| Le Breuil | 9 | TBC | Ben Pauling |
| Lord Du Mesnil | 8 | TBC | Richard Hobson |
| Anibale Fly | 11 | TBC | A. J. Martin |
| Yala Enki | 11 | TBC | Paul Nicholls |
| Chris's Dream | 9 | TBC | H De Bromhead |
| The Long Mile | 7 | TBC | J. P. Dempsey |
It is reported that half the UK adult population will have a flutter on the Grand National and so there is no shortage of bookmakers willing to take bets. You’ll be able to place your Grand National bets both online or in a betting shop with the favourable option for most being online. This is because you can usually get better odds at online bookies and also take advantage of the increased number of Grand National betting offers which will be available in the run-up and on the day of the race. As well as Grand National free bets, some other common betting offers which we expect to be available for the Grand National are Extra Places, Refunds on losing bets, Refunds if your horse unseats their rider, Best Odds Guaranteed and more. If you are planning on taking advantage of some of these offers, we advise you to register with bookmakers in advance as many of these offers are not available on the day of the race.
We’ll be listing the best Grand National betting offers here at WhichBookie from a range of online bookmakers. You’ll be able to find the latest Bet365 Grand National betting offers as well as top offers from other bookies such as William Hill, Betfair, Betfred and 888Sport.
With 40 horses running in the race, picking a winner in the Grand National can seem like pot luck. However, the Grand National is over 180 years old and so there is a lot of historical data which we can use to determine trends.
Below are some betting trends which may help you pick a winning in the 2021 Grand National.
Here at WhichBookie, we’ll be providing free Grand National tips to all of our readers. Our tips come from expert horse racing analyst Will Smith who has been featured on William Hill Racing and Racing TV. Will will be providing Grand National Ante-Post tips as well as tips when the final 40 runners are announced.
Over the three days of racing at Aintree Racecourse, there are 21 races scheduled to take place. You can find details of each race, including the start times below.
Liverpool’s Day
Thursday 8th April 2021
| START TIMES | RACE | DISTANCE | PRIZE MONEY | TV CHANNEL | LIVE STREAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.45pm | The Manifesto Novices’ Steeple Chase | 2m 4f | £100,000 | Watch Here | |
| 2.20pm | The Doom Bar Anniversary 4YO Juvenile Hurdle | 2m 1f | £100,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 2.50pm | The Betway Bowl Steeple Chase | 3m 1f | £200,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 3.25pm | The Betway Aintree Hurdle | 2m 4f | £250,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 4.05PM | The Randox Health Foxhunters’ Steeple Chase | 2m 5f | £45,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 4.40pm | The Close Brothers Red Rum Handicap Steeple Chase | 2m | £90,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 5.15pm | The Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat | 2m 1f | £45,000 | Watch Here | |
Ladies Day
Friday 9th April 2021
| START TIME | RACE | DISTANCE | PRIZE MONEY | TV CHANNEL | LIVE STREAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.45pm | The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle | 2m 4f | £75,000 | Watch Here | |
| 2.20pm | The Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle | 2m ½f | £100,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 2.50pm | The Betway Mildmay Novices’ Steeple Chase | 3m 1f | £100,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 3.25pm | The Marsh Steeple Chase | 2m 4f | £250,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 4.05pm | The Randox Health Topham Steeple Chase | 2m 5f | £140,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 4.40pm | The Doom Bar Sefton Novices’ Hurdle | 3m ½f | £100,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 5.15pm | The Pinsent Masons Handicap Hurdle | 2m 1f | £50,000 | Watch Here | |
Grand National Day
Saturday 10th April 2021
| START TIME | RACE | DISTANCE | PRIZE MONEY | TV CHANNEL | LIVE STREAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.45pm | The Bridle Road Handicap Hurdle | 3m ½f | £75,000 | Watch Here | |
| 2.25pm | The Betway Mersey Novices’ Hurdle | 2m 4f | £100,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 3.00pm | The Doom Bar Maghull Novices’ Steeple Chase | 2m | £100,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 3.40pm | The Ryanair Stayers’ Hurdle | 3m ½f | £180,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 4.15pm | The Betway Handicap Steeple Chase | 3m 1f | £75,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 5.15pm | The Randox Health Grand National | 4m 2½f | £1,000,000 | ITV | Watch Here |
| 6.20pm | The Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open National Hunt Flat | 2m ½f | £45,000 | Watch Here | |
Below is a list of Grand National previous winners for the last 10 years.
| Year | Horse | Age | Wgt | Trainer | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | *Festival Cancelled* | |||||
| 2019 | Tiger Roll | 9 | 11-5 | Gordon Elliott | Davy Russell | 4/1 |
| 2018 | Tiger Roll | 8 | 10-13 | Gordon Elliott | Davy Russell | 14/1 |
| 2017 | One For Arthur | 8 | 10-11 | Lucinda Russell | Derek Fox | 14/1 |
| 2016 | Rule The World | 9 | 10-07 | Mouse Morris | David Mullins | 33/1 |
| 2015 | Many Clouds | 8 | 11-09 | Oliver Sherwood | Leighton Aspell | 25/1 |
| 2014 | Pineau De Re | 11 | 10-06 | Dr Richard Newland | Leighton Aspell | 25/1 |
| 2013 | Auroras Encore | 11 | 10-03 | Mrs S Smith | Ryan Mania | 66/1 |
| 2012 | Neptune Collonges | 11 | 11-06 | P Nicholls | D Jacob | 33/1 |
| 2011 | Ballabriggs | 10 | 11-00 | D McCain | J Maguire | 14/1 |
WhichBookie racing analyst Will Smith provides a preview and two each-way selections for the sponsored card at Fontwell Park on Wednesday 20th October
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