Grand National: Horses whose names start with R and jockeys in green are the best bets

A study of the 173 Grand National races to date found that horses sharing an initial with the legendary Red Rum were the most represented among the winners, with 20 showings

To select a winner in the Grand National This weekend, look for a jockey in green silk riding a horse whose name begins with an R, analysis suggests.

A study of the 173 races to date found that horses sharing an initial with the legendary Red Rum were the most represented among the winners, with 20 showings.

Even discounting Red Rum’s three wins in 1973, 1974 and 1977, it’s still the winning title – just 16 wins for runner-up M.

The 40 competitors who will start at Aintree on Saturday will be confirmed at the final announcement stage tomorrow.

Only One Starts R – Run Wild Fred, tonight at 1/20.

Over a quarter of winning jockeys have now worn green in the past 51 years. There were 13, including last year’s winner Rachael Blackmore – and 11 in blue.

Horse racing specialist Ruggles, who conducted the analysis, said: “We wanted to find out which horses the Brits should bet on to have the best odds of winning.”

The Brits will bet around £150million on the race.

All 70,000 tickets for Saturday have already sold out to bettors keen to return to live racing after being canceled due to Covid in 2020 and last year no bettors were on the track due to a virus outbreak.

Racegoers at tomorrow’s Liverpool NHS Day includes 10,000 health workers after the track donated the tickets to everyone who helped protect the nation during the pandemic.

Dickon White of The Jockey Club said: “There has been so much excitement in Liverpool as we get closer to the Randox Grand National Festival, we can’t wait to welcome racegoers back for the first time since 2019.”