Aintree has experienced weather extremes ahead of the Grand National which has seen the track conditions wildly fluctuate.
The dreaded word ‘firm’ began to slip into the going description at the start of the week before rainfall put the track in lovely condition for Thursday, the opening day of the Grand National Festival.
Clerk of course Sulekha Varma applied 4-5mm of water overnight but a further 3.6mm fell from the sky during the second day of the meeting to soften things up.
If you’re planning to have a punt on any of the 21 races at the Aintree Grand National Festival, it’s only wise to do your research about the conditions. You never know, drying ground or a bit more cut could ruin your bet…
We like to think we’re helpful folks here at Paddy Power News so we’ve got the weather vane out and done a spot of amateur meteorology to bring you the latest forecast as well as the official going at Aintree Racecourse.
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Aintree Going
The latest inspection on Saturday, April 15 at 11:21am has the official going at Aintree Racecourse as Good to Soft, Soft (in places) on the Grand National course and Good to Soft on the Mildmay and Hurdle course.
Aintree Weather Forecast
As previously mentioned, nearly 4mm of rain fell on Friday but the forecasters are optimistic about the weather for Grand National Day on Saturday as it is tipped to be dry with sunny spells.
Aintree Racecard
Our snazzy Racecards page has details of the runners and riders, weights, odds and Timeform’s horse-by-horse analysis for every renewal on the Aintree Grand National Festival schedule.
The following seven races take place at Aintree on Saturday, April 15:
13:45: Maghull Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
14:25: Bridle Road Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
15:00: Mersey Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
15:35: Liverpool Hurdle (Grade 1)
16:15: Freebooter Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
17:15: Randox Grand National (Premier Handicap)
18:20: Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race (Grade 2)
Aintree Tips
Paddy Power News is the home of top tips and best bets for the 2023 Aintree Grand National Festival. Our superstar stable of pundits includes Grand National-winning jockeys Ruby Walsh and Mick Fitzgerald as well as ITV Racing expert Matt Chapman.
- Horse Racing Tips: Paddy Power’s complete Aintree cheat sheet for Saturday
- Grand National Tips: Our ultimate cheat sheet for Aintree 2023 race
- Matt Chapman’s horse racing tips for Saturday at Aintree
- Ruby Walsh’s horse racing tips for Grand National Saturday at Aintree
Read These Next on the Grand National 2023
- Gallop over to Paddy Power News for all the latest horse racing tips
- When is the Grand National? Aintree date, start time, runners and betting
- Grand National horse list and runner-by-runner guide to today’s big race
- The full list of Grand National weights for Aintree 2023