The Grand National is remembered for its fences and crowds, but its record books rest on a handful of horses, and Red Rum still sets the benchmark with three wins, according to Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry). The piece covers the recent winners, the 2026 result and the points the evidence does not settle.
Most recent race in sources: 11 April 2026, 178th running · Venue: Aintree, near Liverpool · 2024 winner: I Am Maximus · Red Rum Grand National wins: 3 (1973, 1974, 1977) · Next scheduled race: 10 April 2027, 4pm
Quick snapshot
- I Am Maximus won the 2026 Grand National at 9/2 favourite (The Independent (national newspaper race report))
- 34 runners were declared for the race on 24 March 2026 (BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk))
- Red Rum won three Grand Nationals, in 1973, 1974 and 1977, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry) (The Independent (national newspaper race report))
- Pre-race field counts differed, with one source citing 49 declared runners and another 55 remaining entries, according to BettingPro (betting tips site)
- Shergar’s Grand National result is recorded as not established, according to Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- Tiger Roll won back-to-back, in 2018 and 2019 (BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk))
- Nick Rockett won in 2025 at 33/1 (At The Races (racing festival guide))
- Nick Rockett was declared a non-runner in 2026, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk) (BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk))
- The next race is scheduled for 10 April 2027 at 4pm, according to Grand National Winners (fan-run results site)
- Early prices are a starting point, so check the declared field before trusting any runner list
Eight figures frame the story, and one pattern stands out: the 34 declared runners are the number to trust, because pre-race counts ran higher.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Most recent race in sources | 11 April 2026, 178th running, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry) |
| Venue | Aintree, near Liverpool, England, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry) |
| Race distance | About 4 miles 2½ furlongs, 4m 2f 74yds (Irish Mirror (Irish national tabloid)) |
| 2026 winner | I Am Maximus, 9/2 favourite, per The Independent (national newspaper race report) |
| Declared field 2026 | 34 runners, declared 24 April 2026, per BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk) |
| 2025 winner | Nick Rockett, 33/1, per At The Races (racing festival guide) |
| Red Rum Grand National wins | 3 (1973, 1974, 1977), per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry) |
| Next scheduled race | 10 April 2027, 4pm, per Grand National Winners (fan-run results site) |
Which horse won the Grand National in 2019?
Tiger Roll won the 2019 race at 4/1, the shortest-priced winner in the recent period, and he had won the year before. BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk) describes the pair as the first back-to-back winners since Red Rum.
Tiger Roll’s back-to-back wins in 2018 and 2019
- 2018: Tiger Roll won, starting the back-to-back run, according to BBC Sport
- 2019: Tiger Roll won again at 4/1, according to BBC Sport
How recent winners compare with earlier decades
- 2022: Noble Yeats won at 50/1, the first seven-year-old winner since 1940, according to BBC Sport
- 2023: Corach Rambler won at 8/1, according to At The Races (racing festival guide)
- 2024: I Am Maximus won, according to BettingPro (betting tips site)
- 2025: Nick Rockett won at 33/1, according to At The Races (racing festival guide)
The pattern: Recent winners have come from a wide price range, from 4/1 to 50/1, so the race rewards a sound horse as often as a fancied one. Prices alone do not explain who wins.
Is Red Rum buried at Aintree?
Yes. ESPN UK (sports news coverage) reports that Red Rum is buried next to the winning post at Aintree.
His record is tied to his trainer as much as to the course. At The Races (racing festival guide) credits Ginger McCain with training him to a record three Grand National wins.
Red Rum’s three Grand National wins
- 1973: first Grand National win, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- 1974: second win, under the maximum weight of 12st, according to ESPN UK (sports news coverage)
- 1977: third win, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- 1975 and 1976: runner-up finishes, according to Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
Where the grave sits at Aintree
- The grave is next to the winning post, according to ESPN UK (sports news coverage)
- Aintree sits near Liverpool, England, the venue for the 2026 race, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- In 2026, I Am Maximus became the first horse since Red Rum to regain the title, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report)
Red Rum’s three wins remain the yardstick for any horse that wins under heavy weight, which is why the 2026 result was measured against him. ESPN UK (sports news coverage) set the top-weight parallel side by side.
Why this matters: The Aintree legacy is less about a grave than about a benchmark, and the 2026 race tested that benchmark directly.
What did the IRA do to Shergar?
The evidence gathered for this article does not cover the 1983 abduction, so this section cannot give a sourced account of what happened or who was responsible. The verified record lists Shergar’s Grand National result as not established, according to Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry).
What the sourced record shows
- No sourced evidence in this pack connects Shergar to the Grand National, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- Shergar’s Grand National result is recorded as not established, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- No sourced account of the abduction or its attribution was gathered for this piece
Why this piece leaves the case open
- Naming a group as responsible for a crime needs an authoritative record, and this evidence pack does not contain one
- Without that record, any answer about the IRA would rest on reputation rather than documentation
The catch: Readers looking for the IRA answer will not find it here, and that is deliberate. A confident line without a record would mislead more than an open question does.
Who is considered the greatest horse of all time?
The sources gathered for this piece do not rank the greatest racehorse of all time, and they do not compare Frankel or Shergar with Grand National winners. What they do offer is a race-specific benchmark, and Red Rum sits at the top of it.
Benchmarks the sources support
- Red Rum: three Grand National wins, in 1973, 1974 and 1977, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- I Am Maximus: two wins, in 2024 and 2026, per The Independent (national newspaper race report) for 2026 and BettingPro (betting tips site) for 2024
- Top weight: I Am Maximus carried 11st 12lb in 2026, against Red Rum’s 12st in 1974, according to ESPN UK (sports news coverage)
- Winning time: 9 minutes 9.68 seconds in 2026, against 9:06.14 in 2025, per Horse & Hound (specialist racing magazine) and At The Races (racing festival guide)
What a ranking would need
- A shared measure across races, such as ratings or speed figures
- Comparable conditions, including ground and distance
- A transparent list of which horses were included
The trade-off: A benchmark inside one race is not a ranking of every horse ever raced. The Red Rum record answers a narrower question than the one in the headline.
Who are the runners in the Grand National 2026?
Thirty-four runners were declared for the 2026 race, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk). Willie Mullins had nine potential runners, reduced to eight when defending champion Nick Rockett was withdrawn, per Horse & Hound (specialist racing magazine).
The withdrawal had a specific cause. Nick Rockett was declared a non-runner after being given a self-cert for coughing, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk).
What the 2026 finishing order shows
- 1st: I Am Maximus, 9/2 favourite, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report)
- 2nd: Iroko at 18/1, beaten 2½ lengths, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- 3rd: Jordans at 28/1, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report)
- 4th: Johnnywho at 12/1, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report)
- Panic Attack, trained by Dan Skelton, fell at the third fence, according to Horse & Hound (specialist racing magazine)
Where the odds came from
- Finishing prices are reported in the race coverage from The Independent (national newspaper race report)
- Pre-race odds pages are commercial, so treat their prices as a starting point
- Full pre-race odds for all 34 runners are not in the evidence gathered for this piece
Pre-race field counts disagreed across coverage. BettingPro (betting tips site) cited 49 declared runners and 55 remaining entries, so the 34 declared runners are the figure to use.
What this means: A field of 34 put weight on the trainer with the most entries, and Willie Mullins trained I Am Maximus, according to BettingPro (betting tips site).
Recent winners side by side
Four winners, one pattern: prices have ranged from 4/1 to 33/1, and both Red Rum and I Am Maximus won while carrying top weight.
| Winner | Year | Price or weight |
|---|---|---|
| Tiger Roll | 2019 | 4/1, per BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk) |
| Nick Rockett | 2025 | 33/1, per At The Races (racing festival guide) |
| I Am Maximus | 2026 | 9/2 favourite, 11st 12lb, per The Independent (national newspaper race report) and ESPN UK (sports news coverage) |
| Red Rum | 1974 | 12st top weight, per ESPN UK (sports news coverage) |
The implication: Weight and price tell different stories. A top-weight winner at 9/2 is a reminder that the market and the handicap do not always agree.
How to check a Grand National field before you trust it
- Start with the declared count: 34 runners were declared on 24 March 2026, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk).
- Check withdrawals: the defending champion Nick Rockett was declared a non-runner, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk).
- Compare the price with the result: I Am Maximus won at 9/2 favourite, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report).
- Treat counts above 34 with caution, since pre-race coverage cited 49 and 55, according to BettingPro (betting tips site).
The catch: Early lists look authoritative, but most of them were built before declarations. The declared field is the only list that carries official weight.
Timeline of key Grand National dates
- 1973: Red Rum wins his first Grand National, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- 1974: Red Rum wins again under 12st, according to ESPN UK (sports news coverage)
- 1977: Red Rum wins a third time, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- 2018 and 2019: Tiger Roll wins back-to-back, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk)
- 2024: I Am Maximus wins the race, according to BettingPro (betting tips site)
- 2025: Nick Rockett wins at 33/1, according to At The Races (racing festival guide)
- 24 April 2026: 34 runners are declared, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk)
- 11 April 2026: I Am Maximus wins, the 178th running, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report) and Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
- 10 April 2026: next race scheduled at 4pm, according to Grand National Winners (fan-run results site)
Why this matters: The sequence shows a race that rewards repeat success more rarely than its history suggests. Only three horses in this timeline have won more than once.
Confirmed facts and open questions
Confirmed
- I Am Maximus won the 2026 race, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report)
- Nick Rockett was a non-runner in 2026, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk)
- 34 runners were declared, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk)
- Red Rum won three times, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
Open
- Pre-race field size varied across coverage, according to BettingPro (betting tips site)
- Shergar’s link to the race is not established in the sources gathered
- The IRA question stays open because no authoritative record was gathered
- The 2027 date comes from a fan-run site, so treat it as provisional, per Grand National Winners (fan-run results site)
- Rankings of the greatest racehorse depend on criteria and are not settled
The trade-off: Firm facts cover the last three renewals, but the older record and the wider Shergar story rest on thinner evidence than the headlines suggest.
What the sources say
I Am Maximus is the first horse to regain the title since Red Rum, having come up short to stablemate Nick Rockett last year.
The Independent (national newspaper race report)
I Am Maximus became the first horse since Red Rum to regain his crown and win under top weight in a dramatic race at Aintree.
Red Rum became, and remains as of 2026, the only horse to have won the Grand National three times.
Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry)
What this means: Three separate outlets make the same point from different angles, which strengthens the Red Rum comparison without settling the wider ranking question.
What the record means for the next renewal
The next renewal carries a clear stake: a winner who regains the title under top weight would join a line that only Red Rum has drawn so far, according to The Independent (national newspaper race report). For punters planning around the 10 April 2027 race, the choice is clear: check the declared field before backing anything, or accept that early prices are guesswork.
Related reading: Joe Calzaghe record and toughest fights · Frank Warren Queensberry Promotions career
grandnationalwinners.co.uk, plymouthherald.co.uk, attheraces.com, sportinglife.com
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Grand National held?
The race is held at Aintree, near Liverpool, England, per Wikipedia (encyclopaedia entry).
What was the 2025 winning time?
The 2025 winning time was 9:06.14, per At The Races (racing festival guide).
Who won the 2024 Grand National?
I Am Maximus won the 2024 race, according to BettingPro (betting tips site).
When is the 2027 Grand National scheduled?
The race is scheduled for 10 April 2027 at 4pm, according to Grand National Winners (fan-run results site).
Who trained the 2026 winner?
Willie Mullins trained I Am Maximus, with Paul Townend riding, according to BettingPro (betting tips site).
How many runners were declared for 2026?
34 runners were declared for the 2026 race, according to BBC Sport (national broadcaster’s racing desk).
George Harry Howard Bennett is a staff writer for Public Journal UK, specializing in UK news, policy analysis, and public affairs coverage. He works under Editor-in-Chief Margaret Ellison, maintaining high standards of sourcing, verification, and fact-checking. Bennett reports on Westminster, government policy, and societal issues, providing balanced and accurate journalism with timely insight.