Aintree Tips

Aintree is a National Hunt Track located in Merseyside, on the border of Liverpool. It has three different courses within the track, with the Hurdles, Mildmay and National courses all providing very different tests for horses.

The National Course is the longest, with it being 2 miles and 2 furlongs in length and like all the courses at Aintree – is left-handed. There are sixteen fences on a single circuit of the National Course. These fences have been reduced in size over the last number of years but are recognised as some of the toughest fences to jump in the whole country. 

The Mildmay Course is the course for the regulation chases held at Aintree throughout the year. It is a much tighter track and can suit slightly more agile horses, as it is only 1 mile and 2 furlongs long with eight fences per circuit. However, there are two long straights and it can be a good course for a galloping horse who can get into a good jumping rhythm. It is a flat course but due to a long run-in, and a long home straight – can sometimes be tough to stay. 

The Hurdles Course is the oldest of the three courses at Aintree and is traditionally a very fair track for hurdle races. This course is around 1 mile and 3 furlongs per circuit and includes six hurdles. Similarly to the Mildmay Course, there are two long straights with sharp bends. 

Important Meetings

• The Grand National meeting in April is what Aintree is most synonymous with as the three day meeting has quickly developed into being one of the biggest meetings both quality and quantity wise of the whole National Hunt season calendar. Both Will Smith and Andrew Blair White will be providing WhichBookie readers with Grand National betting tips in the lead up to the race and you can also view all of the latest offers such as Non-Runner No Bet, Extra Places and Money Back Specials on our Grand National Bookies page.
• They also stage big meetings prior to Christmas, with the Sunday card hosting the Old Roan Chase in October a highlight for fans. Also on the first Saturday of December, they host both the Becher Chase, which is run over the Grand National Course over 3m2f, while the Grand Sefton, which is run over 2m5f – is run in the November meeting also. 

Aintree Feature Races

There are many huge races ran at Aintree every season but a flavour of the best couple can be found in the following list:

• Grand National (4m3f Handicap Chase) – Suited by horses with previous form over the National Fences. 
• Betway Bowl – (3m1f Grade 1 Chase) – Paul Nicholls has had a super record in this race, strong traveller. 
• Aintree Hurdle – (2m4f Grade 1 Hurdle) – Has been won by Champion Hurdle horses. More recently can suit a horse that has not had a hard race / ran at all at Cheltenham. 
• Becher Chase (3m2f Handicap Chase) – Experienced horses over the fences, horses that are able to run prominently 
• Topham Chase – (2m5f Handicap Chase) – Have to jump well, again suits horses that get into a rhythm in a handy position
• Grand Sefton Chase – (2m5f Handicap Chase) – Have to jump well, again suits horses that get into a rhythm in a handy position
• Old Roan Chase – (2m4f Handicap Chase) – Suits second season chasers, horses with a prep run usually run well
• Liverpool Hurdle (3m Grade 1 Hurdle) – Suits a strong traveling type, one that has skipped / light race at Cheltenham

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Betting Advice For Aintree

To summarise betting at Aintree – a couple of definite factors have to be taken into mind, especially on given meetings. 

• On both regulation courses, you need a horse that can travel and jump efficiently – fences and hurdles can come up quite quickly and you need to be able to still be on the bridle turning for home. 
• Over the National Fences, experience can count for a lot. Otherwise, you need a horse that is a good jumper as errors are exaggerated over these fences. Unexposed Irish Handicappers have been a good way into solving the National in recent years. 
• Paul Nicholls tends to send a few big guns to Aintree in April that have skipped Cheltenham, these are horses to keep on side at all times. 
• Willie Mullins doesn’t send many to this track over the year, but what he does bring has to be afforded the greatest amount of respect.