Aintree Racecourse Tips & Stats Guide

We check out Aintree Racecourse - the home of the Grand National

Updated: February 20, 2025 at 11:33 am GMT+0
Fact Checked by Craig Jones

Aintree Racecourse - the home of the Grand National.

But there is more to this jump racing jewel on Merseyside than being the venue for one of the most famous races in the world.

With Grade 1 action over the three-day Grand National Festival plus top-quality races later in the year, including the Old Roan Chase and the Grand Sefton Chase, Aintree is one of the premier tracks in the UK, ranked second only to Cheltenham amongst jump racing fans.


Aintree Tips for Today

Saturday sees one of the highlights of the betting calendar - the 2024 Grand National.

The big race will shown live on ITV Racing at 4:00pm and will watched by millions around the globe

Our tipping experts, Alan Kelly and Charlie McCann, have the action covered with free Aintree tips, including their Grand National tips and Nap of the Day selections - click on their links below to see who they’re backing!


Check out more from the Freebets horse racing hub, including tips, stats, market movers and today’s racecards!

Alan Kelly’s Horse Racing Tips
Charlie McCann’s Horse Racing Tips
Horse Racing Lucky 15 Tips for Today
Horse Racing Market Movers - Today’s Best Backed Horses
Horse Racing Stats & Trends - Today’s Key Pointers
Longest Travelled Horses Today
UK and Ireland Racecards for Today
Placepot Tips Today
Nap of the Day – Today’s Best Horse Racing NAPs from Our Experts

We’ve also highlighted two betting angles below to remember when having a punt at Aintree.

A jumping challenge

Although much modified in recent years, Aintree still provides a tough jumping challenge, especially in the Grand National, where 30 fences must be negotiated. In addition, the Mildmay Course also presents a stern test over fences, so ensure any horse you’re backing at Aintree has some solid jumping form in the book.

Up with the pace

On both the Mildmay Course and the Grand National course, you need a horse that is a strong traveller and is happy to be up with, or near, to the pace. Rarely do you see a horse win from well-off the pace at Aintree.


Top Aintree Jockeys

Aidan Coleman is the jockey to look out for around Aintree - he’s boasting a 26% strike rate over fences and hurdles for the last three seasons and a 20-point profit to level stakes on all rides at the track.


Top Aintree Trainers

With Aintree only hosting six meetings over the year and with excellent prize money on offer, smaller racing yards target their horses for the Merseyside track in the hope of landing a nice pot.

One such trainer is Nick Alexander, who has a 43% strike rate with his chasers at the track over the last season, with three of his seven runners winning.

While Melanie Rowley’s runners over hurdles are worth watching out for - she currently has around a 40% strike rate.


Aintree Free Bets & Betting Offers

As one of the most popular sporting events in the UK, the Grand National sees no shortage of betting offers from the top online bookmakers to enjoy.

Another popular Grand National promotion is extra places paid on the race. Standard place terms would be four places on the big race, but many bookmakers, including bet365, Virgin Bet, and Betfred, all offer enhanced place terms - sometimes offering up to seven each-way places.


Aintree Racecourse Layout & Info

Aintree has two racecourses - the Mildmay Course and the Grand National Course.

The majority of races at Aintree are held on the Mildmay Course, which is known for being a tight course and a challenging jumping test.

The Grand National Course needs no introduction - a circuit of two miles and two furlongs, with some of the most well-known fences in jump racing, including Becher’s Brook, The Chair, and The Canal Turn.

Five races are run over the Grand National Course yearly - the Grand National, the Topham Chase, and the Foxhunters Chase in April, and the Becher Chase and Grand Sefton Chase in December.


The highlight of Aintree’s year is, of course, their three-day Grand National Festival, which is held annually in April.

With 11 Grade 1 races over the three days, plus the Grand National, it’s one of the most eagerly anticipated meetings on the horse racing calendar.

We’ve listed below the main races held at Aintree every year.

RaceGradeDistanceTypeDate
Manifesto Novices’ ChaseGrade 12 miles 4 furlongsChaseApril
Anniversary Novices’ HurdleGrade 12 miles 1 furlongHurdleApril
Aintree BowlGrade 13 miles 1 furlongChaseApril
Aintree HurdleGrade 12 miles 4 furlongsHurdleApril
Top Novices’ HurdleGrade 12 milesHurdleApril
Mildmay Novices’ ChaseGrade 13 miles 1 furlongChaseApril
Melling ChaseGrade 12 miles 4 furlongsChaseApril
Sefton Novices’ HurdleGrade 13 milesHurdleApril
Aintree BumperGrade 22 miles 1 furlongNH FlatApril
Mersey Novices’ HurdleGrade 13 milesHurdleApril
Maghull Novices’ ChaseGrade 12 miles 4 furlongsChaseApril
Liverpool HurdleGrade 12 milesHurdleApril
Grand NationalPremier Handicap4 miles 2 furlongsChaseApril
Old Roan ChaseGrade 22 miles 4 furlongsChaseOctober
Many Clouds ChaseGrade 22 milesChaseDecember
Formby Novices’ HurdleGrade 12 milesHurdleDecember

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Scott McGlynn

Scott McGlynn

Scott is an experienced betting content writer supplying content to major bookmakers and several sports betting websites. His passions are horse racing and Scottish football, and he’s a regular attendee at racetracks at home and abroad.

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