Compare Grand National odds 2019 from the top bookies using the betting table below. We also have the latest Grand National preview and tips to help you with your bet on the big race at Aintree. Plus you can claim free bets, which are detailed on the JustBookies’ home page.
Grand National Betting Odds 2019
5.15pm Today, Saturday April 6 2019; TV Schedule: live on ITV; Distance: 4m2½f; Fences: 30; Safety Limit: 40 runners; Racecourse: Aintree, Liverpool. Click best odds in bold to visit bookie; Each-Way Place Terms: Bet365: 1/4 odds 1,2,3,4,5; Others: 1/4 odds 1,2,3,4.
Aintree Preview: Guide To 2019 Grand National Odds & Contenders
This preview will run through the main contenders in 2019 Grand National odds order, as well as highlighting some likely outsiders in the Aintree race (5.15pm Saturday April 6, 2019; TV Schedule: live on ITV), writes Ross.
Of course the fact it is a handicap, with the entire field in the weights, does mean it is a very open contest and all the outsiders do have a chance. It is not like the races of 30 years and more ago, when the longshots were out of the weights (carrying more weight than the handicapper had allotted them). Because of the easing of the course and the changes made to the fences, lessening the risk of injury, the race attracts much higher quality steeplechasers.
In recent years it is a much better class of outsider that is running and the conditions of the race mean every horse in the Grand National starting line-up does have a big chance. Gone are the days when you could put a red line through half the field. There is no such thing a no hoper in this race nowadays. If anyone tells you otherwise then they do not understand the handicap system in horse racing and how the make-up of this famous Aintree race has completely transformed in recent decades.
To bear that point out, in the last dozen years there have been winners at 100/1 (Mon Mome in 2009), 66/1 (Auroras Encore in 2013), three 33/1 shots, two 25/1 shots and four fancied horses in the Grand National betting that were priced between 7/1 and 14/1. JustBookies certainly would not put you off a favourite but dismiss the outsiders at you peril.
So we come to our guide to those we think most likely to be trouble the judge in this 2018 renewal of the race:
Tiger Roll is bidding to create history and be the first horse to win back-to-back Grand Nationals since Red Rum in the 1970s. Given that statistic, it is a tough ask but Tiger Roll is looking likely to go off as one of the shortest-priced favourites ever in the bookies’ Grand National betting.
If you are looking to be critical of the horse, bad value-odds apart, it really is not possible. He won Cheltenham’s 3m6f Cross Country Chase by a couple of lengths before his Grand National triumph. He has had the same preparation this time but won the race by an effortless 22 lengths this time. He won at Aintree of a mark of 150 last year and is 9lb higher this time, but Tiger Roll really does look to have improved by more than that margin.
We won’t be advising anyone to bet on his at prohibitive odds of just 4/1 or shorter in a 40-runner handicap, but the horse himself goes into the race with the perfect record. It is so hard to find a weakness in him.
As well as last year with Tiger Roll, Elliott won this race in 2007 with the Paul Nicholls’ chuck-out Silver Birch at 33/1. He has a real chance of doing it for a third time.
Anibale Flyer is around fourth favourite to win the race, and it is no surprise he has his supporters. He was a fabulous runner-up in the Cheltenham Gold Cup to Al Boom Photo on March 15. He was running on strongly over that mile shorter contest and even off topweight, he looks well weighted as the handicapper would raise his rating if he knew then what he knows now. Top weights have a poor record in the race, but Anibale Flyer was a creditable fourth last year in this race. He handles the fences and this nine-year-old looks to have improved in the last 12 months.
After all, last year he went into the race having been third to Native River in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, so his performance this time must rate as better. It is little wonder there has been some sustained ante-post money for this son of Assessor.
Rathvinden is the mount of Ruby Walsh for top Irish trainer Willie Mullins. That’s a fearsome duo and Rathvinden has been prepared specifically for this race. His four-mile win at Cheltenham last year shows he will stay the trip no problem, while his sole run this term was a good win in a Grade 3 at Fairyhouse. He looks well handicapped and it is no surprise to see him towards the head of the Grand National betting. The one concern is that his jumping has not always been perfect.
Minella Rocco is Jonjo O’Neill and owner JP McManus’s challenger. That combination won in 2010 with Don’t Push It. The positive is that this horse was runner-up in the 2017 Gold Cup to Sizing John. On that performance he could win this race standing on his head. The negatives are that he has stood on his head a couple of times. In fact, in his last 10 outings he has failed to complete, one way or other, five times. That’s an abysmal statistic for his big-race chances.
Minella Rocco had a wind operation to aid his breathing at the end of last season and his form has been poor in three runs this time. So there are plenty of question marks over this runner. At his best he is a classy nine-year-old, but he hasn’t been at his best for a while.
Sue Smith won this in 2013 with Aurora’s Encore and she has a real shout with Vintage Clouds. This horse looks to have been prepared for this race from a long way out. The nine-year-old was third in the Scottish National to Joe Farrell in 2018. That suggests he stays this trip, especially as he had a wind operation before his last run, which will have helped him. That latest outing was when runner-up at the Cheltenham Festival last month to Beware The Bear in the 3m1f Ultima Handicap Chase. He was staying on nicely at the end to be beaten less than two lengths and he will strip fitter now. Sue and Harvey Smith have to be respected when they work out an agenda for a horse and this day has been the plan for a long time. Danny Cook does the steering and knows the horse well.
The horse in third, just behind Vintage Clouds at Cheltenham, was Lake View Lad. This nine-year-old is on an upward curve and, importantly, does jump well. He, similar to Vintage Clouds, was staying on well at the death last time. However he has raced beyond 3m2f so his ability to actually get this distance has to be taken on trust. Lake View Lad would not be a surprise winner, especially as the handicapper rates him a little better than the mark he will race from.
Joe Farrell was bought for peanuts by Rebecca Curtis at the dispersal sale when John Ferguson stopped training. It has proved a shrewd purchase for the South Wales trainer, who retained a share of the ownership. Joe Farrell picked up a big pot when winning the 2018 Scottish Grand National (Vintage Clouds third), so there is no problem with stamina. He has had two promising runs to get him fit for this race and his competent trainer reports he will be spot on. He jumps fine but has never tackled these unique fences before. Curtis got the horse cheap because he had a leg injury. Could that be a weakness? It didn’t stop him in the Scottish version, so Joe Farrell can’t be ruled out.
One For Arthur tries to regain his crown, having won this race in 2017. Things have not gone so well since. After a season off for injury, he has unseated his rider in his only two runs this term. Those jumping errors are a major cause for concern as he had been a solid jumper. It may be folly to put that issue purely down to bad luck, because a physical problem might be preventing him from jumping as well as he once did. His trainer Lucinda Russell, and her partner Peter Scudamore, are optimistic that he can win again. They are adamant that One For Arthur is now suddenly giving all the right signs at home. He is off a 6lb higher mark than when he won the Grand National two years ago. However horses with course form have a great record in the race. He can not be dismissed, but there is no doubt that he comes into this race in worse form than he did two years ago.
Vieux Lion Rouge was towards the top of the Grand National odds at 12/1 when he was 6th, beaten 27 lengths, in this race in 2017 to cosy winner One For Arthur. Vieux Lion Rouge had won Haydock’s Grand National trial in February 2017 quite comfortably on good to soft ground. His Grand National record is ok: He was 9th last year behind Tiger Roll and 6th in 2017 and 7th in 2016. We know the nine-year-old gelding handles the course, but does he fully stay the trip? It looks like he wouldn’t get this 4m2f in a horsebox. His latest outing at Haydock in February resulted in a pull up and maybe his best days are now behind him.
Our Grand National Preview’s Betting Tips Conclusion & Odds Guide Verdict
- Red-hot favourite Tiger Roll is an amazing horse and must go well again but we can’t advise anyone taking a miserly 4/1 in a race where luck in running plays such a big part. We need bigger Grand National odds than that and one that should certainly get involved at the business end of the race is VINTAGE CLOUDS. He is 16/1 currently, but check the latest betting in the odds comparison table above. He will love the ground and appreciate the 4m2f trip. Vintage Clouds can give Sue Smith a second win in this historic horse race. Back him each-way.
Boost Your 2019 Grand National Odds With Enhanced Place Terms
One of the best offers available for your Grand National betting is when one or two bookies offer ‘enhanced place terms.’ This is when they pay out your each-way bet on more places than usual.
For instance the usual terms for the place part of your each-way bet are 1/4 odds 1,2,3,4. But this year one or two bookies may be offering extended places down to 6th place. That means if you horse comes 6th and you had a bet each-way then you still win the place part of your wager.
The reason a bookmaker offers this bonus is to get you to sign with them rather than with their rival. It is actually a really good deal for the punter and it is our favourite Grand National special offer.
If you are a little confused by what we have written then read the next section for a detailed explanation of each-way Grand National betting.
Grand National Each-Way Betting Explained
An each-way bet is two bets: one bet to win and one bet to place. Imagine you have £10 each-way on a 20/1 horse. then you have actually placed a tenner to win and a tenner to place.
If the horse won the Grand National then the win part of the bet would pay you £200 profit and you would get your £10 stake back = £210 returned.
Assuming the place terms are the normal 1/4th odds 1,2,3,4 then your place bet would pay out at 5/1 (1/4th of 20/1).
So if your horse came anywhere in the first four you would get £60 returned to you for that part of the bet (ie: £10 at 5/1 and then your £10 place bet stake returned as well).
So the total amount returned to you on that 20/1 winner for your £10ew bet would be £270. That is £210 for the win bet and £60 for the place.
Now you can see the value of betting each-way with a firm that offers better place terms than normal.
If they offer ‘1/4 odds 1,2,3,4,5,6’ then that means if your fancy comes 6th then you will still get paid for the place portion of your wager. With other bookies not offering those terms you would lose.
We believe enhanced place terms are a better deal when you are betting on the big race than chasing after sign-up bonuses, though at some firms you can get both.
Take a look at the Grand National betting odds table above. At the top of it we list all available special place terms for each-way bets. There tend to be more of them the closer you get to the actual race day.
About The Grand National
The Grand National horse race is run annually on a Saturday in early April at Aintree racecourse, Liverpool. It is the ultimate test of the thoroughbred. The near four and a half mile course includes 30 daunting steeplechase fences.
This year the race is on Saturday April 6, 2019 and it a great opportunity to see the world’s best jump jockeys ride over the famous Aintree fences. It is a tough race to win, the 19-times record-breaking champion jockey Tony McCoy only won the race once and for a long time it looked as if the biggest sporting event might elude him. But 2010 was his year when he guided Don’t Push It home for owner JP McManus and trainer Jonjo O’Neill. McCoy is retired now but who’s year will it be in 2019?
You can discover the patterns that emerge at Aintree using our unique trends section, where we analyse the stats and recurring tendencies of past Grand Nationals in order to find future winners. Catch up with the latest Aintree news and discover the big-race free bets and special offers from the online bookies.
In addition we review past races, which are always interesting to revisit and the analysis itself also provides pointers as to what it takes to land the great race. JustBookies also has a guide to the main players in this year’s Aintree showpiece event above.
Grand National TV Schedule 2019: How To Watch Aintree Showpiece
This year the Grand National is being televised live on ITV. If you are in the UK, then there is no need for pay-per-view or any fancy subscriptions to satellite channels. The race itself starts at 5.15pm on Saturday April 6, 2019, but the TV coverage itself starts several hours before that with the supporting races and behind-the-scenes interviews and pre-recordings to hopefully give you an insight into the most likely winners.