It’s a competition that develops rapidly between bookmakers every year when the Grand National comes around: the race to offer the most Grand National places to punters.
The general minimum across bookies tends to be 5 places, and anything less than that can be considered particularly miserly! In addition, with the Grand National being one of the biggest horse racing events of the year and attracting bettors who wouldn’t normally gamble on the horses, bookies will tend to offer more places in an attempt to hook in new customers.
We all want to know who’s going to give more than 5 places, and who’s going to offer the most Grand National places, so we’ve done some digging and rounded up the best available information on who’s paying out for the most places.
- Who’s paying 10 or more places at the Grand National?
- Who’s paying 8 places?
- How to use ante-post betting to get more places on the Grand National
- How do you place an each-way bet?
- Grand National Runners
Who’s paying 10 or more places at the Grand National?
Officially no one’s paying more than 6 places. However, unofficially you can get 10 places at Bet365 with reduced odds.
At Bet365 you need to select the “each way extra” tab when you’re viewing the full Grand National race card. That will give you options for more places, but when you select those extra places outside of the normal card, you will see the odds/price reduce! They’re only paying 5 places in the main market!
Who’s paying 8 places?
Again, officially no one’s paying more than 6 places, BUT unofficially you can get 8 places at reduced odds with Betfair.
At Betfair when you add the horse to betting slip, click the e/w tick box on your betting slip and you should see a drop down offering you the chance to increase up to 8 places. The odds once again will go down as you pick more places.
How to use ante-post betting to get more places on the Grand National
The Grand National is one the world’s biggest horse races and has the most runners in the starting lineup. For a long time, 4 places was the standard number you could back an each-way result. That means if the horse came 1st, 2nd 3rd or 4th it was placed. And dependent on your bet you might have got a return.
Bookies are now offering extra places and the battle ensues a day or two before the race goes off. Bookies start to publish their final declarations and extra places are declared. At the recent Cheltenham Festival, extra places were up for grabs and betting sites competed from the first race for market share.
You can currently bet ante-post and benefit where bookies have offered early extra places. The most on offer comes from Paddy Power and Betfair with 6 places so far. They also offer non-runner money back if the horse doesn’t make the cut.
That means if the horse isn’t entered it would have previously been a lost bet if you wagered ante-post. But with this non-runner money back offer, you can place ante-post bets knowing that if it doesn’t run, you get the money back as cash. You then bet from the early extra places at increased odds from the ante-post scenario.
For more info on ante-post betting, what it is and how to place an ante-post bet read more on our ante-post betting page.
How do you place an each-way bet?
To place an each-way bet on the Grand National, you make your selection (pick your horse) and tick the box that says e/w.
For more info on how to study the form on a race card read our dedicated post here!
Whether that’s online or in a betting shop, you’ll probably use a coupon. If you’re writing out a betting slip make sure you write e/w on it. Now here’s the important bit: you’re making 2 bets when you bet e/w, so whatever your stake is, double it!
For example, if I want £1 e/w on “Tiger Roll” – that’s going to cost £2. Because e/w is a bet that the horse wins (which is a place) or it does not win but still places – so you are placing 2 bets, effectively. How may places are on offer determines if you get anything back.
For more info on how to place a bet read our dedicated post.
Grand National Runners
The final declarations of the 40 runners of the Grand National are usually made around 48 hours before the race.
In the days before the final declarations you can usually check out the future racing section on a bookies’ website or app for up-to-date ante-post odds.
Remember, ante-post means the horse is not yet confirmed as a runner and may be a loss if it is not declared as a final participant in the race.