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

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

A study of the 173 races so far found horses sharing an initial with the legendary Red Rum have been most represented among the winners, with 20 showings.

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

The 40 contenders taking to the starting line at Aintree on Saturday will be confirmed tomorrow at the final declaration stage.

Just one starts with R – Run Wild Fred, tonight at 20/1.

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

Horse racing specialist Ruggles, which carried out the analysis, said: “We wanted to find which horses Brits should bet on to be in with the best chance of winning.”

Brits are set to bet some £150million on the race.

All 70,000 tickets for Saturday have already sold out to punters desperate to get back to live racing after cancellation due to Covid in 2020 and no punters at the track last year amid a virus surge.

Racegoers at tomorrow’s Liverpool NHS Day include 10,000 health staff after the track donated the tickets to all those who helped keep the nation safe during the pandemic.

Dickon White, of The Jockey Club, said: “There’s been such a buzz around Liverpool as we’ve got closer to the Randox Grand National Festival, we can’t wait to welcome racegoers back for the first time since 2019.”