How Long is the Grand National?

| Tuesday 1st April 2025, 9:37am

Tuesday 1st April 2025, 9:37am

Aintree will once again take centre stage this weekend as the world's biggest Jumps race is upon us.

The 177th running of the Grand National is the highlight of the three-day Aintree Festival, which runs this year from Thursday, April 3 to Saturday, April 5. Below you can find how long the 2025 Grand National is...

The Grand National is like no other race in the UK. Not only is it packed with 34 runners, the horses must vault 30 jumps and run a huge distance to claim one of the biggest prizes in sport.

The race is run over a distance of 4m2½f, which is achieved by the horses running almost two circuits of the Aintree course.

In fact, the Grand National is so long that it takes around 10 to 12 minutes for the winner to cross the line. The record fastest time at the Grand National was set by Mr Frisk in 1990 when he ran the course in eight minutes and 47.8 seconds. Lottery is the slowest winner of this race at 14m 53s, and was the winner of the first Grand National in 1839.

Due to the distance covered and the time it takes to complete the race, the horses that compete in this event are only the very best 'stayers' - a racing betting term given to horses that have proven to have high levels of stamina and endurance. Horses often prepare for the Grand National by running in the bigger steeplechases at Cheltenham Festival.

As mentioned, there are 30 fences for the horses to jump over the course of this race, and over the years changes have been made to the fences to make them safer for jockeys and horses alike.

The solid cores to fences that once existed have been removed, allowing horses to brush through them in an easier fashion.

One to remember for a potential pub quiz question - Neptune Collonges has the shortest-winning distance of the National when he beat Sunnyhillboy in 2012.