Home of the Grand National, Aintree hosts National Hunt racing over two distinct courses: the famous Grand National course with its unique fences, and the Mildmay course used for the rest of the calendar. The three-day Festival in April is one of the biggest meetings in jump racing.
Course Profile
| Direction | Left-handed |
| Surface | Turf |
| Racing | Hurdle (274), Chase (252), National Hunt Flat (55) |
| Total races (dataset) | 581 |
Top Trainers
| Trainer | Runs | Wins | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Skelton | 348 | 47 | 13.5% |
| N J Henderson | 264 | 43 | 16.3% |
| P F Nicholls | 278 | 34 | 12.2% |
| W P Mullins | 165 | 28 | 17.0% |
| N A Twiston-Davies | 192 | 20 | 10.4% |
| Gordon Elliott | 162 | 17 | 10.5% |
| C L Tizzard | 101 | 15 | 14.9% |
| Olly Murphy | 123 | 13 | 10.6% |
| A King | 115 | 12 | 10.4% |
| Fergal O’Brien | 136 | 11 | 8.1% |
| T R George | 102 | 11 | 10.8% |
| D E Pipe | 116 | 10 | 8.6% |
| D McCain Jnr | 202 | 10 | 5.0% |
| Mrs Melanie Rowley | 32 | 10 | 31.3% |
| Harry Fry | 81 | 10 | 12.3% |
Top Jockeys
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Skelton | 268 | 40 | 14.9% |
| Aidan Coleman | 142 | 22 | 15.5% |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 212 | 21 | 9.9% |
| B S Hughes | 160 | 20 | 12.5% |
| H Cobden | 112 | 19 | 17.0% |
| Nico de Boinville | 101 | 17 | 16.8% |
| R Johnson | 122 | 16 | 13.1% |
| P Townend | 66 | 13 | 19.7% |
| S Bowen | 120 | 12 | 10.0% |
| M P Walsh | 45 | 11 | 24.4% |
| P J Brennan | 95 | 11 | 11.6% |
| Sean Bowen | 89 | 10 | 11.2% |
| J J Burke | 102 | 10 | 9.8% |
| D A Jacob | 102 | 9 | 8.8% |
| R M Power | 38 | 8 | 21.1% |
Favourite Performance
Across 645 races in the dataset, the market favourite won 199 times — a strike rate of 30.9%.
Broadly in line with the national average (~32%).
Going Distribution
| Going | Races | % |
|---|---|---|
| Good | 208 | 35.8% |
| Good to Soft | 196 | 33.7% |
| Soft | 162 | 27.9% |
| Heavy | 15 | 2.6% |
The most common going description is Good, accounting for 35.8% of races.
Betting Angles
- Dan Skelton tops the trainer stats with 47 wins from 348 runs (13.5% strike rate).
- W P Mullins has the highest win rate in the top 10 at 17.0% (28 from 165 runs), often sending runners with a good chance.
- P Townend rides this course well: 19.7% win rate from 66 rides.