While popular names, colours or song titles often turn the dial in favour of a horse among recreational bettors, it is once again likely to be bad news for French-named horses who are always among the least backed selections.
The Grand National is absolutely unique. It is the one race of the year where the overriding factor in a horse's popularity is its name. Which is completely unheard of for any other race.
In 2024, Galia Des Liteaux (23rd), Farouk D’Alene (28th) and Eklat De Rire (29th) were all among the least backed horses, while Vanillier, 2023’s runner up and co-favourite that year, was only the 20th most selected in a field of 32. The Italian named Capodanno, meaning “New Year’s Day” was the least selected horse in the field.
In turn, Ain’t That A Shame, an initially high-priced selection was the most selected due to the likely popularity of Fats Domino’s 1955 hit song.
Horse racing is different to other sports in how volatile the odds are, there are hundreds of variables the team needs to amalgamate to create the markets, and horses never compete under the same conditions with the same weights more than once.
Yet in the Grand National, everything pales in comparison to the names of the horses, which means the trading team at Entain is preparing for an entirely different race than normal. A recent survey carried out by Ladbrokes has revealed 35% of punters will make their choice based on an attention-grabbing name, while less than one in three (29%) actually take form into account.
One of our key jobs as a trading team for the Grand National is to go through the list of runners and assign a popularity rating to each name. If a horse features a common name such as ‘Bob’s Great’, then that will be one of the most popular names on the day.
"One of our key jobs as a trading team for the Grand National is to go through the list of runners and assign a popularity rating to each name. If a horse features a common name such as ‘Bob’s Great’, then that will be one of the most popular names on the day."
"But if a horse has a French name, especially a long one that nobody can write out on a slip in a shop, then regardless of whether that horse might have a great chance of winning, it is unlikely to be popular. All the trading rules go out the window."
- Tim Smith, Senior Trading Manager at Entain
Other indications a horse might attract interest include their colour with greys always popular. While current events in the public consciousness have also been known to draw in big numbers. Party Politics was very popular in 1992 for once-a-year punters, running just five days before the General Election. The person on the horse can have a significant influence as well, with female jockeys striking a chord with the British public and always being well backed.
“Rachel Blackmore is always very popular in any race she rides but it is at another level at the Grand National. In 2021, she became the first female jockey to win the Grand National and was cheered home by millions. This year as she is likely to be the only female jockey in the field, it will be no different.”
The Grand National of Choice
This year for the first time, Entain will be offering exactly the same odds and places terms online and in shops across its Ladbrokes and Coral brands. All each-way bets will be paying 5 places with 1/5th odds, so customers can place their bets the way they enjoy the most. As part of the Grand National of Choice, ‘Easy Slips’ will be available in all Ladbrokes and Coral shops to make the experience as simple and accessible as possible. Using these slips customers can simply select their runner from the list and their stake limit.
The teams at Entain prepares for the Grand National months in advance to handle the huge volume of bets placed on the day which average over 15,000 bets a minute. To cope with demand, Entain will produce over four million bet slips across its retail shops for customers.
We test everything extensively months in advance, turning over every stone so we can manage the huge flow on the day. This year we have tripled our capacity to handle the busiest period of the day online which is right after the race finishes when customers login to check how much they have won.
Betting insights from Tim Smith, Senior Trading Manager at Entain:
Nick Rockett is likely to be very popular among recreational bettors, as are Intense Raffles and Coko Beach, while Kandoo Kid is one of several possible grey challengers. Rachel Blackmore has chosen to ride Minella Indo over Henry de Bromhead’s other entry Senior Chief, which will likely give the former Gold Cup winner a huge boost in popularity. Blackmore came third on Minella Indo last year and was leading heading over the last.
Horantzau d'Airy, Perceval Legallois, and Fil Dor are likely to struggle for attractors, but Vanillier could break the spell for the French named group. Many believe the grey gelding could go one better at Aintree this time around after his second-place finish in 2023. Despite taking a costly wrong turn at Cheltenham, the usually popular pick recovered miraculously to finish third behind stablemate Stumptown in the Cross Country Chase.
Gold Cup Winner Inothewayurthinkin was initially the Grand National favourite before being withdrawn from the race after beating Galopin Des Champs earlier this month. Inothewayurthinkin was set to be the shortest favourite in a lifetime but now leaves a more open field.
2024 Grand National facts:
- It amassed a staggering 700% more bets than its closest big race rival, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
- Casual punters bet modest stakes with 82% of cash bets made on the Grand National were £5 or less and less than 1% of bets exceeded £20.
- Nearly 50% of turnover on the Grand National originated from bets of £5 or less, showcasing the broad participation of horse racing enthusiasts. This contrasts with just over 30% for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
- Around 30% of participants either made their first sports bet, deposited for the first time, or returned after a break since the previous year's race.
