Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 Aintree Grand National Meeting
In this blog, we will be looking at all things Aintree covering the Grand National meeting looking at the past trainer and jockey records and more.
We will also provide links to each race blog during the meeting which contains trends for that specific race.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
Aintree Tipster Competition
We are running our annual Aintree tipster competition with a total cash prize fund of £200 and over 13 prizes.
The winner will receive a £50 cash prize, there's £25 for 2nd & 3rd and then £10 for the next ten tipsters.
TheKnow won the 2025 tipster competition, scooping themselves the £50 top prize, could they possibly win back-to-back competitions?
The competition is FREE TO ENTER, enter your tips in the normal fashion on the make-a-tip menu for the races.
To be in with a chance of landing one of the prizes you must fulfill the following criteria:
- Place 10 or more tips
- 5 or more of those must be profitable
- Each tip must contain 20 or more words
- You must finish with a profit
Then, during the three-day meeting, you can visit the tipster competition table to keep track of your progress throughout the week.
Does the Cheltenham Festival form stack up at Aintree?
With the dust settling after the Cheltenham festival and the attention of national hunt fans switching to the Aintree meeting, the same old questions crop up each year when trying to work out the best Grand National meeting tips.
Will the Cheltenham form hold up at Aintree?
The two tracks are very different with the undulations and steep climb up the Cheltenham hill compared to the flat sharpish turns of Aintree, so any horse winning at both meetings deserves plenty of respect in showing top-class festival form and versatility.
The other question is, with around three three-week break between both festivals...
Will those who had tough races at Cheltenham be ready for Aintree?
Before we delve into greater detail by looking at the Aintree meeting trends and stats as a whole and an in-depth look at the Grand National trends, the cold hard figures over the past ten festivals (2015 inclusive and excluding 2020) of those coming here via competing at the Cheltenham Festival last time out are:
105 winners and a further 191 placed from 1,034 runners which are slightly better than a 1 winner in ten strike rate and a level stakes loss of £299.30 points to industry SP and exchange players would have shown a £177.78 point level stakes loss to Betfair SP.
That would have been a hell of a lot of bets placed during the three days of the Aintree meeting over the past ten festivals following those blind and many would have taken each other on in the same race in any case.
The figures in reality when referring to the initial question and those showing the quality in winning at both meetings are much more manageable and show a nice level stakes profit:
21 winners (21 placed) from 78 runners (26.92%) followed up with a win here after winning at the Cheltenham Festival, in the process showing a £1.13 loss to £1 stakes.
Breaking those 21 winners down we are looking at:
- 18 of 58 runners won a Non-Handicap race
- 16 of 54 runners won a Grade 1 event
- 15 of 34 runners were sent off favourite
Don't forget to check out the daily Aintree tips from OLBG's Best Horse Racing Tipsters.
Grand National Meeting Trainer Statistics
Willie Mullins dethroned Nicky Henderson from the top spot after the 2025 meeting, Mullins has 27 winners over the past ten festivals from 157 runners and does actually how a small LSP of +6.07.
Nicky Henderson is now second on the list although only two behind Mullins with 25 winners from 176 runners although backing all Nicky's runners would have resulted in a £74.45 loss to £1 stakes
Paul Nicholls is next on the numerical list with 18 winners from 190 runners and is showing a £80.58 loss to £1 stakes.
The following trainers have had no luck having had plenty of runners at the Grand National meeting since 2015 but failed to hit a winner:
- 0-46 Venetia Williams
- 0-21 Rebecca Curtis
- 0-19 Emma Lavelle
- 0-18 Sue Smith
The following trainers have hit a single winner but have sent out a lot of runners in doing so and have a low strike rate:
- 1-73 (1%) Donald McCain
- 1-57 (2%) Jonjo O'Neill
- 1-47 (2%) David Pipe
- 1-36 (3%) Harry Fry
- 1-35 (3%) Charlie Longsdon
Here's a table of how some of the current trainers have performed at the Grand National meeting since 2015:
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| W P Mullins | 157-27-60 | +6.07 | +8.09 |
| Nicky Henderson | 176-25-59 | -74.45 | -55.66 |
| Paul Nicholls | 190-18-47 | -80.58 | -78.83 |
| Gordon Elliott | 138-17-41 | -32.00 | -20.04 |
| Dan Skelton | 143-9-39 | -62.75 | -42.20 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 81-8-22 | -12.50 | +1.47 |
| Lucinda Russell | 30-5-10 | +83.00 | +55.54 |
| Tom Lacey | 33-4-8 | +13.00 | +7.64 |
| Ben Pauling | 52-3-7 | -29.00 | -32.72 |
| Philip Hobbs | 50-3-11 | -39.64 | -30.89 |
Grand National Meeting Jockey Statistics
Nico de Boinville has retained his position at the top of the list for winners since 2015, he has recorded his 13 winners from 91 mounts and is showing a £47.07 loss to £1 stakes.
Next on the list and just one behind Nico now with 12 winners is Harry Cobden from 94 rides and Harry shows a positive LSP of +16.04.
Then it's the Irish with both Paul Townend and Mark Walsh on 11 wins apiece, Townend from 59 rides (-14.80) and Walsh from just 42 rides (+24.51).
At the other end of the spectrum, here are the jockeys who have failed to ride a winner over the past ten festivals from 30+ rides:
- 0-33 Charlie Deutsch
- 0-32 James Bowen
and these are the jockeys who have recorded a single win from 20+ rides giving them a low strike rate:
- 1-42 (2%) Jonjo O'Neill Jr
- 1-27 (4%) Adam Wedge
- 1-23 (4%) J J Slevin
- 1-23 (4%) Nick Scholfield
Here's a table of how some of the current jockeys have performed at the Grand National meeting since 2015:
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nico de Boinville | 91-13-29 | -47.07 | -35.43 |
| Harry Cobden | 94-12-30 | +16.04 | +4.93 |
| Paul Townend | 59-11-21 | -14.80 | -15.50 |
| Mark Walsh | 42-11-23 | +24.51 | +17.56 |
| Harry Skelton | 110-7-34 | -61.25 | -33.64 |
| Jack Kennedy | 32-7-17 | +18.33 | +26.94 |
| Mr P W Mullins | 29-6-14 | +33.33 | +19.10 |
| Rachael Blackmore | 49-5-11 | -3.00 | -4.19 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 103-4-12 | -50.37 | -53.68 |
| Sean Bowen | 73-4-13 | -38.00 | -28.45 |
Thursday Trends Preview
The three-day Grand National meeting kicks off on Thursday with four Grade 1 events on the seven-race card which features both the Aintree Hurdle and the Bowl Chase.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:45 Aintree Manifesto Novices Chase | Impaire Et Passe (FR) 7yo - 9/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:20 Aintree Anniversary 4YO Juvenile Hurdle | Murcia (FR) 4yo - 11/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 14:55 Aintree Bowl Chase | Gaelic Warrior (GER) 7yo - 11/4 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
| 15:30 Aintree Aintree Hurdle | Lossiemouth (FR) 6yo - 5/4 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 16:05 Aintree Foxhunters Chase | Gracchus De Balme (FR) 9yo - 22/1 | J J O'Shea Mr Huw Edwards |
| 16:40 Aintree Red Rum Handicap Chase | Sans Bruit (FR) 7yo - 5/1 | Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden |
| 17:15 Aintree Nickel Coin Mares Bumper | Seo Linn (IRE) 5yo - 15/8 | P Twomey W J Lee |
Friday Trends Preview
Day 2 of the Grand National meeting is Ladies Day or Fabulous Friday, the highlights on the track being the Melling Chase plus there is the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:45 Aintree Mildmay Novices Chase | Caldwell Potter (FR) 7yo - 11/4 | Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden |
| 14:20 Aintree National Meeting 2m4f Handicap Hurdle | Wellington Arch (GB) 6yo - 14/1 | Jonjo & A J O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill Jr |
| 14:55 Aintree Top Novices Hurdle | Salvator Mundi (FR) 5yo - 7/2 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| 15:30 Aintree Melling Chase | Jonbon (FR) 9yo - 4/6 | Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville |
| 16:05 Aintree Topham Chase | Gentleman De Mee (FR) 9yo - 14/1 | W P Mullins Mark Walsh |
| 16:40 Aintree Sefton Novices Hurdle | Julius Des Pictons (FR) 6yo - 14/1 | Jamie Snowden Gavin Sheehan |
| 17:15 Aintree National Meeting 2m Handicap Hurdle | Shes A Saint (IRE) 8yo - 25/1 | Dan Skelton Tristan Durrell |
Saturday Trends Preview
The Grand National is obviously the showpiece of the Aintree meeting and day 3 also includes three Grade 1 events, the feature of those being the Liverpool Hurdle.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 13:20 Aintree National Meeting 3m Handicap Hurdle | Deep Cave (IRE) 7yo - 28/1 | Christian Williams Jack Tudor |
| 13:55 Aintree Mersey Novices Hurdle | Honesty Policy (IRE) 5yo - 5/1 | Gordon Elliott Mark Walsh |
| 14:30 Aintree Freebooter Handicap Chase | Cruz Control (FR) 8yo - 10/1 | Tom Lacey Stan Sheppard |
| 15:05 Aintree Liverpool Hurdle | Hiddenvalley Lake (IRE) 8yo - 12/1 | Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe |
| 16:00 Aintree Grand National | Nick Rockett (IRE) 8yo - 33/1 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
| 17:00 Aintree Maghull Novices Chase | Kalif Du Berlais (FR) 5yo - 15/8 | Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden |
| 17:35 Aintree Champion Standard Open NH Flat Race | Green Splendour (GB) 5yo - 100/30 | W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Grand National Meeting Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
