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There are quite a few Saturdays during the great British sporting calendar that could claim to be the biggest, but nothing really comes close to the Grand National for a one-off sporting spectacle. This really is the greatest horse race on the planet.
Every year on a Saturday in early April, 40 horses and riders line up for the great race. Over the quarter of an hour or so that follows, pretty much anything can happen. And it’s basically become a national pastime to have a flutter on sites such as Bet Bind.
The horses run two circuits of the Aintree course jumping 28 of the most famous fences in the world as they go including Becher’s Brook, the Canal Turn, Valentine’s Brook and the Chair (which is one of two fences they only jump once).
The Grand National is four and a half miles in all – with a long run in. Over the years there have been some amazing feats against all odds and great legends – from Devon Loch’s famous flop on the run-in just yards from the winning line back in 1956 to the legendary Red Rum – the greatest hero of them all.
Red Rum won the race (which, remember, is a handicap) three times – in 1973, 74 then again three years later – finishing as runner-up in the two intervening years of 1975 and 76. His heroics can surely never be repeated.
He truly was a one-off exceptional horse perfectly suited to this great race so it’s appropriate that he’s now buried next to Aintree’s winning post the scene of his amazing achievements.
His trainer Donald “Ginger” McCain also became the stuff of Grand National legend in his own right.
As well as training Red Rum, he also trained Amberleigh House to victory in 2004. Ginger died in September 2011, but lived to see his son Donald Junior win the race as trainer of Ballabriggs earlier the same year.
Trying to decide which horse can possibly become the next Red Rum is a national British obsession with around £150m being gambled on the race each year. In fact, more bets are placed on the Grand National by the great British public each year than any other sporting event. An ever-increasing portion of the pot is now bet with the betting exchanges like Betfair.
In fact, Betfair is the world’s largest betting exchange and it’s fair to say that the UK has what is probably the world’s most mature gambling market as the authorities are less controlling than in most other developed nations.
Betfair and traditional bookmakers, however, are encouraged to pump as much money as they can back into racing – and they sponsor various big chases of their own though the new sponsor of the Grand National is Crabbies – supplier of alcoholic Ginger Beer.
This year’s race will be on Saturday April 5th. If you’re in the UK – just wait to see what happens when the race starts and the country tunes in.