- A fleet of 26 Irish challengers will take on just 8 UK trained horses in the big one.
- 14% of the UK public still believe an English-trained horse will win.
- Name trumps form for punters betting on the Aintree Grand National.
- Odds are the ultimate decider for 28% of respondents
The majority (24%) of the UK population wrongly assume that at least half of the horses running in the nation’s most famous race, the Aintree Grand National, are trained on home turf.
A study conducted by Paddy Power of over 2000 UK adults revealed that just 7% of the public correctly said that between five & ten runners will hail from their home soil.
Despite their low representation in the big one compared to the fleet of 26 Irish-trained challengers crossing the Irish Sea to contest the race, 14% of optimistic Brit’s still believe an English-trained horse should win the steeplechase which will be watched by millions worldwide.
This morning’s final declarations confirmed six English-trained horses (Nassalam 16/1, Eldorado Allen 66-1, Latenightpass 25/1, Galia Des Liteaux 25/1, Chambard 66/1 and Kittys Light 11/1) are currently set to contest the big one, making it a total of 8 runners representing UK trainers when Scottish-trained favourite Corach Rambler (5/1) and Welsh-trained Mac Tottie (66/1) are included.
Former Grand National winning trainer Dr Richard Newland caused controversy recently when he suggested that Irish-trainers be banned from running horses in the UK to level the playing field given their recent domination at the Cheltenham Festival.
However, Paddy Power’s poll conducted by Research Without Barriers showed that 25% of the UK’s general population object to that suggestion.
In fact, 12% stated they were “embarrassed” that this was even suggested as a measure to level the playing field.
However, responses from those identifying themselves as British racing fans contradicted this view, with a worrying 58% feeling a ban should be implemented.
While one in 10 Brits say having bragging rights over Ireland “matters hugely” to them when it comes to sporting rivalry more generally, patriotism has plays a minimal part when it comes to punting.
Just 4% of Brits consider where the winner of the Grand National hails from when making their selection.
But it’s a bigger bone of contention amongst over a third of horse racing fans.
The public are most likely to consider factors including the horse’s odds (28%), a name with a personal meaning (24%) or the horse’s form (22%) to guide their judgement.
Paddy Power spokesperson, Rachael Kane, said: “There’s been some Brexit-y solutions suggested as a quick fix to Ireland’s domination of British horse racing in order to level the playing field so, we decided to poke the hornets’ nest and find out what people really think.”
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