How To Bet £10 on the Grand National for once-a-year punters

Racing can be so intimidating, can’t it? The strange jargon. The peculiar odds that require a degree in maths. All the mysterious talk about the ground, the going (they are the same thing) and the weights. The endless stats and figures. And, above all, the suspicion others (everyone?) know far more than you. 

Fear not. Ignorance can be bliss and what you don't know cannot hurt you. The Grand National is gloriously unscripted and surprise winners are frequent, although I suppose you cannot be surprised if you didn’t know what a surprise would represent in the first place. 

On ten occasions this century the winner of the big race has been won by a 25-1 chance or bigger. There are banana skins at every turn and favourites often flounder. Exasperated "experts" can be found flinging formbooks from windows.

An estimated £150 million will be bet on the big race this weekend (4pm on Saturday - set an alarm) with many once-a-year punters using a well-worn technique of skimming down the names and colours hoping that something will smack them between the eyes. 

The usual 40 horses have been trimmed to 34 these days, so that’s immediately six fewer to choose from. None are likely to mean that much to you if you have just come out of punting hibernation. Where are Red Rum, Desert Orchid, Frankel, Frankie Dettori and AP McCoy when you need them?

There’s a Hitman, Duffle Coat and Twig among the line-up. You could probably squeeze them into a Guy Ritchie movie scene with a little creativity. 

Talking of which, fans of the blockbuster Gladiator will look no further than I Am Maximus (especially if they backed him last year, when he won), while Perceval Legallois also owes his title to a sword-wielding hero. 

Golf fans will probably look no further than Threeunderthrufive, while those who like a bit of alliteration (Mon Mome won at 100-1 in 2009) will be torn between  Broadway Boy and Kandoo Kid. 

There are seven greys to choose from - Kandoo Kid, Intense Raffles, Coko Beach, Fil Dor, Hyland, Vanillierand Duffle Coat  – and the record-breaking Rachael Blackmore, the only female jockey taking part, will be aboard Minella Indo as she seeks a second success in the race. 

But if you’ve flicked up and down the runners and found nothing that lights your fire, then how about the staking plan below? 

Most of the big bookmakers are offering six places for each-way players (BetMGM, Coral and Ladbrokes are exceptions), while Betfred are going a step further and offering seven. 

The 50-1 on offer at the start of the week has shrunk to about 25-1 but the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner is still a big price to roll back the years. He ran a cracker when third in last year’s edition, has been targeted at a return ever since and the brilliant Rachael Blackmore keeps the faith. 

Looked a likely winner between the final two fences last year only to fade into seventh. He’s chalked up between 16-1 and 22-1 at the time of typing. If you want a longer explanation as to why he will do better this time, then click here.  

Comes alive in the spring and will not mind the drying ground. Stays and jumps well, while his pedigree includes plenty of previous Grand National heroes. Most bookmakers are offering 14-1 or 16-1. 

He was favourite this time last week but has been a marked drifter in the betting (as big as 14-1 in places) because he is not going to get the muddy ground which clearly suits him well. However, he has got ticks in most of the other boxes and there is nothing to say he will not cope with the better conditions.  

I’m keen on this bet. It looks a distinct possibility with Iroko the only horse among the home team quoted at shorter than 20-1. The Irish challenge is powerful and if they dominate we get all our stake back, plus a bit more. William Hill offer 5-2 on an Irish 1-2-3 and BetVictor go 11-2 on an Irish 1-2-3-4.