2016 Grand National Betting: Odds and Analysis
Crabbie’s Grand National is coming to town in just over a week. More than a quarter of UK adults are expected to place more than £500 million in wagers over the course of that one race while some 600 million people around the world follow the action live on TV. If you can’t make it to Liverpool to see the action live, here’s where you can watch and bet on the 2016 Grand National from the comfort of home:
- Date: Saturday, 9 April 2016
- Time: 5:15 PM GMT
- Watch It: Live on Channel 4
- Where to Bet: Online, in-person and at any betting shop
Last year’s winner Many Clouds returns as the favorite this year with odds hovering in the 7/1 range for a first place finish. Many Clouds won it last year after opening with odds of around 25/1 and did so in impressive fashion; he achieved the second-fastest time in Grand National history despite carrying more weight than any other horse since Red Rum back in 1974.
Best Grand National Betting Sites
And on that note, one of the things that makes the Grand National so exciting is that any horse can win. Combine the unpredictability with that last stretch that can make or break a race and you get an event that is always worth a watch and a flutter. Five times in the past have horses priced at 100/1 managed to pull through and achieve the first place finish. In 2013, Auroras Encore defied the odds by winning as a 66/1 long shot.
Middling long shots dominated at Aintree last year with horses priced at 20/1 or greater taking up the top four spots. Shutthefrontdoor, last year’s favorite at 6/1, did manage a respectable fifth place finish, but it goes to show that the betting odds are hardly a crystal ball.
Early Grand National Betting Odds
Below are the early odds for the top 20 Grand National favorites according to the major horse racing betting websites. You can see even more prices for the other runners by clicking on the “view all” link at the bottom of each column.
Looking at the Favourites
Many Clouds, Silviniaco Conti, The Last Samuri, Holywell, the Druids Nephew and Cause of Causes are the tentative favorites in the lead-up to the 2016 Grand National this weekend. There are a ton of runners that are middling favorites, but I’d like to take a closer look at some of the biggest names running this year.
Many Clouds
Last year’s winner and this year’s favorite. Many Clouds’ performance last year was nothing short of remarkable with a starting price of 25/1 and burdened with 163 pounds. Despite being saddled with the second-most weight of the race, he recorded the second-fastest time ever logged at the Grand National.
His dominant win at Kelso last month has only strengthened him as the betting favorite. Grand National will make history if he wins the Grand National for the second year in a row. It has been 40 years since a horse has run for back-to-back wins.
Silviniaco Conti
Silviniaco Conti became a serious contender after his 20-length success at the Betfair Ascot Chase. Subsequently, his antepost betting odds for the Grand National plummeted from 20/1 to 10/1 where he stands now.
12/1 at William Hill
The Last Samuri
The Last Samuri, now trained by Kim Bailey, had a dominant success at Doncaster’s Gimthorpe Chase. The 10-length victory was more than enough to convince the bookmakers to price him as one of the leading favorites this year.
Holywell
Jonjo O’Neill trained Holywell is sometimes inconsistent but has proven that he can win any race at any time. He had a strong showing at the Cheltenham Festival with a second-place finish in the Ultimate Handicap Chase and even has a victory over Many Clouds in a Grade 1 novice chase at the Grand National a couple years ago.
16/1 at William Hill
Druids Nephew
Hopes were high for Druids Nephew at last year’s Grand National, but he ultimately came up short after falling at fence 26. He came second to Last Samuri in the Gimthorpe Chase and finished first in the Ultimate Business Solutions Handicap Chase at Cheltenham last year. This year, he will be ridden by veteran jockey Denis O’Regan.
Cause of Causes
Cause of Causes is another worthy contender at the Grand National this year. He finished 8th last year and, more recently, took a first place finish in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup at Cheltenham.
20/1 at William Hill
Wes Burns has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a writer, researcher, and analyst in the legal online betting industry and is co-founder of OnlineBettingSites.com. Wes approaches his work from the viewpoint of players.