The Survival Guide to the 2018 Grand National
The Grand National festival in 2018 is expected to be attended by upwards of 150,000 people over 3 days from the 12-14th April. On Saturday 14th April, the main event of the festival, the Grand National race itself will be held and it is expected that at least 70,000 people will be in attendance to watch the race.
In Grand National 2018 betting the current favourite is Blaklion and the horse will be confident of winning the race, given his 4th place finish in last year’s race. After switching trainers to Willie Mullins in September 2017, joint second favourite Total Recall will also fancy his chances of winning one of the most prestigious races in horse racing. Cause of Causes and The Last Samuri are ones to watch in this year’s race as both have managed to secure 2nd place finishes in the Grand National over the last few years.
The 40 horses that start the race will be required to jump 30 fences over two circuits of the course, with all 16 fences on the Grand National course being jumped on the first circuit and then just 14 of the 16 jumped in the second circuit. The Chair and The Water Jump are the only two of the fences not to be jumped on the second lap, instead, the horses run around the fences along the elbow towards the finish line.
One of the early favourites for the 2018 Grand National race, Definitly Red, will not be competing at this year’s race as he has been withdrawn from the race by trainer Brian Ellison. Definitly Red’s absence is likely to boost the confidence of the other trainers as at 20/1, they were some strong odds for the horse given it has never competed in a Grand National before. Definitely Red was the only horse Ellison had entered into the 2018 Grand National and with his withdrawal, it means Ellison cannot become a Grand National winning trainer this year. However as the horse is only 9 years old, there is the potential for him to race in the 2019 race if he is fit and in form and go on to win the race.
While the 70,000 people in attendance will not be able to watch Definitly Red compete in the race, they will still have the opportunity to experience the atmosphere at the racecourse on Grand National Day. We have created the following guide to help understand where to go, what to eat and what to wear on the day of the Grand National.
