The Grand National is typically staged on the second Saturday in April. The 2026 renewal, for example, is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, 2026. The initial entries are revealed in early February, the weights are published two weeks later and a series of declaration stages whittles the field down to a maximum of 34 runners, which are confirmed 48 hours before the day of the race.
Looking forward to the 2027 Grand National inevitably involves a degree of clairvoyance. Indeed, the nature of National Hunt racing is such that it must be a shade of odds against naming a runner in the 2027 Grand National, never mind one that has a realistic chance of winning the world-famous steeplechase. However, it is common for horses to run in the Grand National year after year, so it is conceivable that younger horses that have demonstrated their credentials at Aintree, or elsewhere, could still be plying their trade at a sufficiently high level to warrant serious consideration.
It is worth noting that, at the time of writing, all of the last 10 Grand National winners were aged seven, eight or nine. However, looking back a little further, since the turn of the century Monty’s Pass, Numbersixvalverde, Silver Birch, Don’t Push It and Ballabriggs were all 10-year-olds, Red Marauder, Neptune Collonges, Auroras Encore and Pineau De Re were all 11-year-olds and Amberleigh House was a 12-year-old.
The first three in the current ante-post betting for the 2026 Grand National, Haiti Couleurs, I Am Maximus and Iroko, will be 10, 11 and nine, respectively, by the time the 2027 renewal rolls around, while the 2025 winner, Nick Rockett, will also be 10. Barring accidents, any of that quartet could figure, but it is worth noting that the minimum age for entry in the Grand National is seven, as it has been since 2012, so there is still time for an up-and-coming staying chaser to develop into a bona fide Grand National contender.