The Grand National is one of the biggest events for race horse fans across the world, and it’s nearly here.

As the most famous steeplechase in the world, the Grand National features 34 horses and riders racing two laps of Liverpool’s Aintree racecourse, which has a total distance of 4 miles and 2.5 furlongs with 16 fences en route that are jumped twice.

As usual, the venue is likely to be packed out the doors. But if you can’t be there, tuning in live from home is the next best thing.

Here’s everything you need to know about watching the Grand National, wherever you’re based.

When is the Grand National 2024?

The Grand National itself takes place this Saturday , 13 April 2024 .

The main event begins at 4pm UK time (8am PT, 11am ET, 5pm CEST) . This time has been brought forward from last year, where the race started at 5:15pm.

How to watch the Grand National 2024 in the UK

In the UK, the Grand National will be broadcast on ITV and RacingTV. The latter starts at £29.98 per month , but gets you access to a wide range of horse racing events throughout the year.

But if you just want to watch the Grand National, ITV is free in the UK – provided you have a TV licence .

It’s available via Sky, BT, Virgin, Freeview, Freesat or almost any other UK provider, and should be one of the default channels. But you can also watch live via ITVX on a wide range of different devices , including most smartphones, tablets, laptops and streaming sticks.

You’ll just need to create an account or sign in to start watching. Up to four different devices can be used to watch live at the same time on each account.

How to watch the Grand National 2024 outside the UK

If you’re based in another country outside of the UK that doesn’t air the Grand National, then never fear. You can still watch the event by using a VPN.

A VPN stands for virtual private network, and it re-routes your IP address. This can allow you to bypass geo-restrictions and access content you might not have otherwise been able to watch in your country.

We’re using NordVPN for the purposes of this tutorial. It tops our best VPN round-up , but there are plenty of great alternatives. Just make sure the one you choose can unblock ITVX.

To get started, just open the NordVPN app and connect to any server in the UK. You can do this by selecting it on a map, or just clicking the UK flag below the ‘Quick Connect’ button.

NordVPN connected to a UK server - 1

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Once connected, just navigate to the ITVX website or open the app and start watching like you normally would.

Which horses are running in the Grand National 2024?

The final field will be 34 horses, and the entries will be determined this Thursday, 11 April. For now, here are the potential runners in alphabetical order:

  1. Adamantly Chosen
  2. Ain’t That A Shame
  3. Amirite
  4. Annual Invictus
  5. Capodanno
  6. Cepage
  7. Chambard
  8. Chemical Energy
  9. Coko Beach
  10. Conflated
  11. Corach Rambler
  12. Delta Work
  13. Desertmore House
  14. Eklat De Rire
  15. Eldorado Allen
  16. Fakir D’Alene
  17. Famous Bridge
  18. Farouk D’Alene
  19. Foxy Jacks
  20. Frontal Assault
  21. Galia Des Liteaux
  22. Galvin
  23. Glengouly
  24. Good Boy Bobby
  25. I Am Maximus
  26. Iron Bridge
  27. Janidil
  28. Kinondo Kwetu
  29. Kitty’s Light
  30. Latenightpass
  31. Limerick Lace
  32. Mac Tottie
  33. Mahler Mission
  34. Malina Girl
  35. Meetingofthewaters
  36. Minella Crooner
  37. Minella Indo
  38. Mr Incredible
  39. Nassalam
  40. Noble Yeats
  41. Ontheropes
  42. Panda Boy
  43. Roi Mage
  44. Run Wild Fred
  45. Shakem Up’Arry
  46. Stattler
  47. The Goffer
  48. Tommie Beau
  49. Tullybeg
  50. Vanillier
  51. Where It All Began

What is the history of the Grand National?

The Grand National has been an annual event at Aintree since 1839, save for a few brief hiatus’ between 1916 and 1918 during World War 1, between 1941 and 1945 during World War 2, and in 2020 due to COVID.

To this day Red Rum is the only horse to have won the Grand National three times, in 1973, 1974 and 1977, with trainer Ginger McCain also going on to successfully lead Amberleigh House to victory in 2004. His son Donald then brought in a fifth win with Ballabriggs in 2011.

Rachael Blackmore also made history in 2021 by being the first woman to win the race with Minella Times in 2021.

Here are the horses who’ve won in the 21st century:

  • 2023: Corach Rambler
  • 2022: Noble Yeats
  • 2021: Minella Times
  • 2019: Tiger Roll
  • 2018: Tiger Roll
  • 2017: One For Arthur
  • 2016: Rule The World
  • 2015: Many Clouds
  • 2014: Pineau De Re
  • 2013: Auroras Encore
  • 2012: Neptune Collonges
  • 2011: Ballabriggs
  • 2010: Don’t Push It
  • 2009: Mon Mome
  • 2008: Comply or Die
  • 2007: Silver Birch
  • 2006: Numbersixvalverde
  • 2005: Hedgehunter
  • 2004: Amberleigh House
  • 2003: Monty’s Pass
  • 2002: Bindaree
  • 2001: Red Marauder
  • 2000: Papillon

Author: Anyron Copeman, Mobile Editor, Tech Advisor

Here’s how to watch the Grand National live from anywhere - 2

Anyron is Mobile Editor at Tech Advisor, where he’s been a mainstay of the editorial team since 2019. In his current role, Anyron is responsible for all smartphone, tablet and mobile network coverage on the site. A BA Journalism graduate, he has experience with a wide range of consumer tech products and services, including smartphones, tablets, foldables, wearables and more.

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