The Grand National Day 2018 is the most popular horse racing event in British. In this event, 40 runners will daunting obstacles of 30 fences and over the racecourse of 4 and ½ miles. The festival will stable for three days and expect 150,000 racing fans.
In this Grand National meeting, a total of 21 races will take place. The Grand National Race set to start at 5:15 PM on Saturday 14th April. The race will host by Aintree Racecourse, which is approximately six miles away of Liverpool and hosted the Grand National Race since 1839.
Grand National Day 2018 – Which horses will be running?
A total of 110 horses entered this year, and all of the horses will be assigned by British Horse Racing Authority Head of Handicapping. The final 40 horses will run in the race but yet to be selected. It is simple system than it looks, and its designed to create as close as possible to race.
The handicap system aims to create a dead heat before the race. Each horse has an official rating and it will determine the weight they carry. Better horses carry more weight compare to the other horses. The weights for this year’s race was announced 14th February, and the listed horses descending order from most to least. Owners and trainers can withdraw their horse from the list if they are unhappy with the weight or do not think they are prepared for this race.
The top 40 horses will be selected with four reserves before the Grand National Day. Runners leading the betting currently who should be good to go include Total Recall, Blaklion, Native River, Minella Rocco and Definitely Red. According to William Hill, Total Recall is favourite to win at the Grand National.
Grand National Day 2018 – What are some of the famous fences?
Once upon a time, the Aintree Racecourse fences were perilous, but after a series of alternations, it is not quite like that. However, this historic Racecourse still notorious obstacles in the business and thrilling to make races more exciting.
The Chair: It is the tallest fence on the racecourse and stands a five foot three inches high.
Foinavon: It is the smaller fences in racecourse named after the 100/1 shot who avoided a disastrous pile-up in 1967 and went on to win.
Canal Turn: As the name suggests, horses must take a sharp turn to the left after jumping this five-foot obstacle.
Valentine’s Brook: In 1840 a horse that allegedly jumped backward and the horse spun around in mid-air to create the optical illusion that its hind legs landed first.
Becher’s Brook: It was named after Captain Martin Becher, a jockey who fell at this stage and hid in the brook to avoid injury. The sixth and 22nd fence in the race may not be the biggest, but its difficulty comes from the fact the landing side is 10 inches lower than the takeoff side.
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