2025 Aintree Grand National Betting
There are several horses that can win the 2025 Grand National, with INTENSE RAFFLES currently heading the market for the big race. Thomas Gibney trains a horse who could be favourably handicapped, with the runner last seen performing well at Fairyhouse. Over three miles and two furlongs, it was a second placed performance in the Bobbyjo Chase.
There’s another seven-year-old with similarly bold claims and Iroko is carrying similar weight. At the beginning of March, the charge was second at Kelso over nearly three miles, with his jumping better than previously at Cheltenham. On that occasion, the horse was fourth out of eleven horses and there could be more to come.
Stumptown was an impressive winner of the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, with the horse having now landed four consecutive victories for trainer Gavin Cromwell. There was plenty to like about the 5/2 favourite’s performance, with this coming by seven lengths and this was after a previous Cross Country success at Prestbury Park in December.
I Am Maximus was the 2024 winner of the Grand National, with the nine-year-old having last been seen finishing eighth out of ten runners at Leopardstown at the Dublin Racing Festival. It was a decent warm-up race and that came after pulling up at the same course during the festive period. However, that victory by seven and a half lengths at Aintree last year could stand him in good stead.
Hewick was victorious last time out, with John Joseph Hanlon training a ten-year-old who was recently successful at Thurles. The 11/8 favourite was able to oblige over two miles and six furlongs in the Jimmy Neville Memorial Hurdle, with Asterion Forlonge beaten into second place, while there was previously a solid outing at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Vanillier might well have ended up winning the Cross Country Chase had the horse not almost taken the wrong turning, with the ten-year-old still ending up with a third-placed finish in the race. The horse looks favourably handicapped and Gavin Cromwell’s charge was previously able to score at Punchestown over three miles and one furlong on heavy ground.
Cromwell also has a strong contender in the form of Perceval Legallois, with the horse able to score at Leopardstown against twenty-four runners. That was over three miles on soft ground, with this coming after a festive success at the same course. There was also a smart effort at Navan back in November and he could be a good each-way contender.
Willie Mullins is likely to have a number of contenders for the big race and Nick Rockett is among them. The eight-year-old was actually able to beat Intense Raffles last time out, with the 5/6 favourite obliging over three miles and two furlongs on soft ground. Much comes down to how the horse is going to cope with the extra weight.
Another horse from the Mullins stable is Grangeclare West, with the nine-year-old another of the top-weighted horses. It was a disappointing showing at Navan last time out, with the charge finishing dead last although that came after a bright display in the Irish Gold Cup Chase where the 66/1 poke was able to finish second behind Galopin Des Champs by five lengths.
Hyland hasn’t been out of the first two in his previous four outings, with Nicky Henderson training a horse who was second at Kempton Park last time out. However, the charge was fifteen lengths behind the eventual winner, with the horse also runner-up at the same course on Boxing Day. That came after wins at Cheltenham in October and November.
Meetingofthewaters doesn’t have fantastic form coming into this Aintree spectacular but could still pose a threat as one of the lowest weights, with the eight-year-old finishing eighth last time out. There was an eighth-placed finish in a handicap chase at Leopardstown, with this coming after finish well down the order in handicap hurdle race at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Minella Cocooner is another Mullins-trained charge in the race, with the horse finishing fourth out of six runners in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse. This was over three miles and two furlongs, with the horse needing to reproduce the sort of form that saw the charge land a success in April in 2024.
Grand National FAQ
The 2025 Grand National takes place at 4pm on Saturday 5 April, with thirty-four runners set to go to post for the world’s most famous steeplechase. The runners and riders will compete over thirty obstacles, with Intense Raffles, Iroko and Stumptown among the favourites to win.
The majority of Grand National bets are now placed online and there are lots of bookmakers who provide a betting service. You can sign up for an account and claim a free bet before heading to the horse racing section. You will find the Grand National odds here and you can stake money on each selection.
We always recommend looking through the list of runners and riders before deciding which way to bet on the Grand National. In terms of the best selection, you should check out the form guide and see how each horse has been performing this season. It’s also worth looking at the respective weights.How to pick the winner of the Grand National?It’s worth narrowing down the field and ruling out a number of runners in order to create a shortlist. You want to find a horse that has run well over this distance before and also boasts strong recent form. It’s also good to pay attention to the weight for each horse to understand which runner has been best handicapped.
As always, the Grand National is a wide open betting race, although there are some horses now trading at single figure odds. Among the favourites are Intense Raffles, Iroko and Stumptown, with many customers wanting to wager on these runners, with reigning champion I Am Maximus also likely to be popular.
There are different ways to bet on the Grand National, with some customers going for a win-only selection. As the name suggests, it’s a question of staking a certain amount of money on a horse to land a victory. A viable alternative is an each-way bet where you can get a return if the horse places.
Many customers like to bet each-way on the Grand National and all the horse racing betting sites provide this option. This is a case of splitting your stake between the runner to win and the same horse to place. It means you can land a return if the horse is able to finish second, third, fourth, fifth or even sixth.How can I watch the Grand National?The good news is that all the horse racing sites featured at Racing-Odds.com provide customers with the chance to watch free live streaming of the Grand National. You can log into your account and wager on the race before accessing the live stream where you can watch the race from start to finish.
Recent favourites have a strong record in the Grand National. I Am Maximus was the 7/1 joint-favourite in 2024 before landing a victory, while Corach Rambler was the market leader in 2023 before landing the spoils. However, sometimes the outsider does win such as Noble Yeats in 2022.