15 April 2023 , 07:00
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The most prestigious race on the National Hunt calendar will take place on Saturday, with 40 horses all competing to win the Grand National.
The race is being staged for the 175th time and last year's champion Noble Yeats will be looking to win the race again this time around. The prize money on offer has increased in recent years and was upped to a whopping £1m in 2014.
Whoever wins the Grand National will take home a £561,300 cut of that prize pot, with only the top ten finishers earning any money. The runner-up will bank £211,100, while the third-placed horse will earn £105,500.
Since the pot was set at £1m in 2014 it has only dropped below that threshold once. That occurred in 2021 when the Covid pandemic meant spectators could not visit Aintree and watch the race. As a result, the money on offer dropped by 25 percent to £750,000.
Ain't That A Shame is currently the favourite with bookmakers after it was announced that Rachael Blackmore, who won the 2021 Grand National on Minella Times, would be riding the nine-year-old. And Blackmore is feeling confident about her chances, describing the Henry de Bromhead trained horse as having a "lovely profile for the race".
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"I love the Grand National," she said in her Betfair blog. "It's a class race, and all that goes with it. All the history. And it's a great feeling, getting ready for the race again, knowing that I was lucky enough to win it before. Ain't That A Shame has a lovely profile for the race.
Rachael Blackmore is feeling confident about her chances on Ain't That A Shame (Jon Super/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"He was unlucky to be just beaten in the Munster National at Limerick in October, and it wasn't my best day in the saddle when I finished fourth on him in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. But he won nicely at Gowran the last day, and it was no harm that the runner-up came out and won at Fairyhouse there at the weekend.
"You don't really know how a horse will handle the track or the fences until you get out there, but he had a pop over the National fences at The Curragh, and he went well. I'd be confident that he will take to the fences fine. He travels well through his races, which is a big help.
"You're just hoping that you can get into a nice position and find a nice racing rhythm over the first few fences. I am hopeful that he can. After that, you never know, it's the Grand National, but he has his chance and I'm very much looking forward to it."
Around 75 percent of the money paid out is thought to go to the owner, with the trainer pocketing close to 10 percent. Most jockeys also tend to have agreement with owners to earn a percentage of any prize money that they win.
Full breakdown of prize money
- $561,300
- £211, 100
- £105,500
- £52,700
- £26,500
- £13,200
- £6,800
- £3,600
- £2,000
- £1,000