The 2022 Grand National – the prestigious National Hunt steeplechase – returns to Aintree races today, Saturday, 9th April. The Grand National start time is 5.15pm so place your bets! Some heavy rain has likely softened the going a fair bit but the weather is looking drier for this afternoon's classic. UK viewers can watch free on ITV. Make sure you know how to watch a free Grand National live stream from where you are.
Date: Saturday 9th April 2022
Start time: 5.15pm BST / 12.15pm ET / 2.15am AEST
Venue: Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool
FREE UK stream: ITV Hub (opens in new tab)
Watch anywhere: ExpressVPN (opens in new tab)
Ireland stream: Virgin Media Player (opens in new tab)
Australia stream: Foxtel (opens in new tab)
Think of the Grand National and you think of Red Rum, Tiger Roll and fallers at Becher's Brook. This year, the historic sporting jewel will welcome a sell-out crowd of 70,000, with many hoping to beat the bookies.
Delta Work (8-1) is this year's favourite. The Gordon Elliott-trained gelding romped to victory in last month's Cross Country Chase at Prestbury Park last month and has the class to the conquer the Grand National.
Wondering what horse Rachel Blackmore is riding in the Grand National? Well, the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner will jockey last year's Grand National winner, Minella Times (16-1). Can she make history by becoming the first female jockey to win the Gold Cup and the National in the same year?
Snow Leopardess (8-1), Any Second Now (9-1), Escaria Ten (12-1), Eclair Surf (14-1) and Cloth Cap (25-1), ridden by Tom Scudamore, are also fancied. Prefer to stick your pin in an outsider? The Henry de Bromhead-trained Poker Party is currently 100-1.
Ready to see the world's finest nags battle it out over 4 miles and 514 yards, 30 fences and two gruelling laps of Aintree? The race starts at 5.15pm BST on 9th April. Make sure you know how to watch a free Grand National live stream from where you are.
Grand National Festival racecard
2.25pm: The Betway Mersey Novices’ Hurdle Race
3.00pm: The Maghull Novices’ Steeple Chase
3.35pm: The Liverpool Hurdle Race
4.15pm: The Betway Handicap Steeple Chase
5.15pm: The Grand National Handicap Steeple Chase
Francesca Cumani and Ed Chamberlin (below) will present coverage of Grand National day, alongside the likes of Sir AP McCoy, Mick Fitzgerald, Ruby Walsh and Love Island's Chris Hughes.
The big race will also be live on RacingTV (TV and app). You can find Racing TV on Sky Channel 426 and Virgin Media Channel 536.
2022 Grand National free live stream
Good news: the 2022 Grand National is free to watch on ITV Racing ITV Hub (opens in new tab) will provide a free live stream.
Outside the UK this Saturday? You can use a VPN to access the Grand National free on ITV Hub from anywhere (opens in new tab). Fully explained details just below...
How to watch the 2022 Grand National abroad using a VPN
Even if you have subscribed to the relevant 2022 Grand National rights holders, you won't be able to use them when outside your own country. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, such that the servers and services you’re accessing aren’t aware of what you’re doing. All the information passing back and forth is entirely encrypted.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service such as ExpressVPN (opens in new tab) which offers a 100 per cent risk-free money back guarantee. If you're not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.
(opens in new tab)How to use a VPN
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN (opens in new tab) is the one we recommend.
2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For the Grand National, you may wish to choose 'London' for ITV Hub.
3. Then head over to ITVHub (opens in new tab) on your browser or device and enjoy the free Grand National live stream.
Australia: 2022 Grand National live stream
Aussie racing fans can subscribe to premium TV provider Foxtel (opens in new tab) to get their Grand National fix. The race will be shown on Sky Thoroughbred Central.
Sadly, Kayo Sports does not currently carry Sky Thoroughbred Central and there's still no confirmation as to when it might arrive on the popular over-the-top streaming service.
Brits abroad with a TV license can stream the Grand National for free using a VPN (opens in new tab). We recommend ExpressVPN.
Ireland: 2022 Grand National live stream
Horse racing fans in the Republic of Ireland should canter over to Virgin Media One to watch live coverage of the 2022 Grand National. The channel will also provide a free live stream via the Virgin Media Player.
Outside Ireland this weekend? Irish nationals travelling abroad can use a VPN (opens in new tab) to access Virgin Media Player without being blocked. We recommend ExpressVPN (opens in new tab).
Grand National 2022 starters and odds
Full confirmed list of all 40 Grand National starters, trainers and odds:
1 Minella Times Henry de Bromhead Ireland Rachael Blackmore 14-1
2 Delta Work Gordon Elliott Ireland Jack Kennedy 8-1
3 Easysland Jonjo O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill Jr 100-1
4 Any Second Now T. M. Walsh Ireland Mark Walsh 10-1
5 Run Wild Fred Gordon Elliott Ireland Davy Russell 25-1
6 Lostintranslation Colin Tizzard Harry Cobden 80-1
7 Brahma Bull W. P. Mullins Ireland Brian Hayes 100-1
8 Burrows Saint W. P. Mullins Ireland P. Townend 22-1
9 Mount Ida Gordon Elliott Ireland Denis O'Regan 40-1
10 Longhouse Poet Martin Brassil Darragh O'Keeffe 16-1
11 Fiddlerontheroof Colin Tizzard Brendan Powell 14-1
12 Two For Gold Kim Bailey David Bass 50-1
13 Santini Polly Gundry Nick Scholfield 40-1
14 Samcro Gordon Elliott Ireland Sean Bowen 80-1
15 Escaria Ten Gordon Elliott Ireland A. P. Heskin 12-1
16 Good Boy Bobby Nigel Twiston-Davies Daryl Jacob 33-1
17 Lord du Mesnil Richard Hobson Kielan Woods 125-1
18 Coko Beach Gordon Elliott Ireland Sean Flanagan 80-1
19 De Rasher Counter Emma Lavelle Adam Wedge 40-1
20 Kildisart Ben Pauling James Bowen 33-1
21 Discorama Paul Nolan Ireland B. J. Cooper 40-1
22 Top Ville Ben Philip Kirby Thomas Dowson 80-1
23 Enjoy d'Allen Ciaran Murphy Conor Orr 14-1
24 Anibale Fly A. J. Martin, awaiting jockey 66-1
25 Dingo Dollar Sandy Thomson Ryan Mania 50-1
26 Freewheelin Dylan Anthony McLoughlin Ricky Doyle 50-1
27 Class Conti W. P. Mullins Sam Twiston-Davies 150-1
28 Noble Yeats Emmet Mullins Mr Sam Waley-Cohen 50-1
29 Mighty Thunder Lucinda Russell Derek Fox 40-1
30 Cloth Cap Jonjo O'Neill Tom Scudamore 28-1
31 Snow Leopardess Charlie Longsdon Aidan Coleman 8-1
32 Agusta Gold W. P. Mullins Daniel Mullins 100-1
33 Phoenix Way Harry Fry Kevin Brogan 80-1
34 Deise Aba Philip Hobbs Tom O'Brien 66-1
35 Blaklion Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 66-1
36 Poker Party Henry de Bromhead Robbie Power 100-1
37 Death Duty Gordon Elliott Jordan Gainford 40-1
38 Domaine de L'Isle Sean Curran Harry Bannister 100-1
39 Eclair Surf Emma Lavelle Tom Bellamy 14-1
40 Fortescue Henry Daly Hugh Nugent 40-1
Grand National facts and history
In February 1839, the appropriately-named Lottery became the first winner of the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, which later become known as the Grand National. Horses had to jump a stone wall and cross a stretch of ploughed land.
It's been over 40 years since Red Rum recorded the first of the three victories in the Grand National that earned him pride of place in the record books. He remains the only horse to have won the Grand National three times.
The Grand National is one of the richest horse races in the world. This years prize total money tops £1 million; £561,300 of that will go to the winner of this year's 2022 Grand National.
Over 600 million people tune in from all over the world to watch the Grand National on TV.
An estimated £300 million will be wagered on this year's Grand National. But before you reach for your wallet, remember that, on average, just 60 per cent of the field complete the challenging course.
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