The annual Grand National meeting at Aintree each spring is big business for the betting world, and the vast majority of bookies will look to cause a stir with the generosity of their welcome bonuses and enhanced Grand National odds offers. The Grand National is the race that everyone bets on - many having their only bet of the whole year on this race.
This guide will hopefully help you to understand Grand National betting odds and find the best prices available both in the ante-post and raceday markets.
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There are two types of Grand National odds: ante post and the starting price (SP).
Ante post Grand National betting odds are available pretty much all year round, with the bookmakers doing their best to approximate what the field and the market will look like on race day. As the start draws nearer, punters start to consider their SPs, which are the odds the horse will begin the race at.
Because this is key to Grand National betting: understanding how the final field, how recent form, and how weather conditions on the day can affect the race.
The odds can look significantly different on Grand National Saturday compared to 24 or even 12 hours earlier, and that is generally down to the weather – from heavy rain softening the track and handing the advantage to those who enjoy soft conditions, to sunny spells drying up the track and leading to quicker going.
All bookmakers offer a wealth of ante post and SP betting markets on the Grand National, and it really is a great time for punters, who can shop around for the best odds on a manic day for the bookies, where just an attractive horse name can move the market.
So where do the best value Grand National betting odds lie?
That really is one of those ‘how long is a piece of string?’ questions, with each bookmaker pricing the market differently according to the analysis of their horse racing traders.
All sportsbooks will offer differing prices for each horse, with some obvious overlap, so if you want to back two or three horses you may have to use different bookmakers each time to get the best value.
That’s where using an odds comparison site like Bookmakers.com comes in handy. Here you can compare odds from dozens of bookies on the Grand National and many other sporting events, so you won’t have to miss out on the best price ever again.
And don’t forget to consider the place terms, too. Some bookies may pay out winning each-way bets on a top-four finish, some top six and others even top eight. If you are planning on backing an outsider or two, the place terms could make a difference to your overall profit.
Really there is one main and obvious Grand National betting market to consider: your horse to win.
If you want to hedge your bets though there are other options. A top-three, -five or even top-ten finish bet helps to minimise your risk somewhat, and any firms offering enhanced places for each-way wagers should be given due consideration.
Another interesting angle of attack are the match bets, where you can back one horse to beat another. Even if your selection finishes last-but-one, they still have a chance to land your bet if their opponent was even worse.
There are various insurance-type bets available these days, and with reference to the Grand National one intriguing option is to back your fancy in an ‘insure bet’ market. Perhaps, at reduced odds, you can back your predicted winner but get your stake back if they fall?
In a race where there’s a really strong favourite with the bookmakers you may see two other markets open up: ‘betting without’ and ‘horse vs the field’. In the former, a market is created that doesn’t feature said favourite, with the odds of the remaining horses decreased somewhat to reflect their greater chance of winning.
And the latter is similar, although this time you can back any horse in the field other than the favourite. Whichever odds you plum for, Grand National betting guarantees some exciting chances of scooping a win.