Ante-Post Odds For Grand National 2020

It may seem a long way off but blink and the Grand National 2020 will have already come around. Arguably one of the biggest horse races in the world, the Grand National will be viewed by more than 600 million fans around the world. And of course, there’s the matter of the betting market. The race is so popular that some bookmaker websites creak under the pressure of the hundreds of thousands of people trying to put a bet on every minute of race day.

As an avid fan, I can tell you that odds change rapidly on Grand National day. Case in point is LiveLoveLaugh who went from 125/1 at the start of the day to 25/1 by the time the race went off at 5.15pm. Why? Because of its name. And genuinely that is the only reason. Nearly half of all Grand National punters back a horse because of its name. And if you’re letting the kids choose for you well then…

But if you don’t fall into that camp and instead pick a horse after a little bit of studying, we have the run-down on the ante-post odds for the potential 2020 runners. And for those not too familiar with the term, ante-post means odds fixed at the time, before the runners are known, but thought likely to be entered. In lay-mans terms, it means the bookies are guessing at who will be entered and have given them odds.

It’s a risky strategy to bet on ante-post odds because if your horse doesn’t get entered or doesn’t run, you lose your stake!

Top 5 Grand National 2020 Runners Ante-post at Paddy Power

Tiger Roll – 8/1
This should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody. The back-to-back winner has garnered millions of fans over the last few years and 2020 will be no different. 6/1 is on offer at Betfred which is ridiculously low. But it is still possible to back the tiger at odds of 8/1 with other Paddy Power.

But, it’s not a done deal with owner Michael O’Leary confirming that he will go to the Cheltenham Festival but Aintree is in doubt. If the BHA Handicapper crushes him with top weight, he will not run. O’Leary is not going to sacrifice Tiger Roll for the chance at the triple win.

Burrows Saint – 20/1
This French 6-year-old is trained by Willie Mullins and owned by super-owners, the Ricci’s. I think it would be a miracle if Mullins entered him in the Grand National 2020. He will only be 7-years-old and relatively inexperienced.

That said, he did win the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse in fine style. That was over 3m5f and Mullins is clearly testing his limits as he then sent him to Auteuil for the Grand Steeple-Chase De Paris in May. That was an even longer race and Burrows Saint ran well to finish in 5th place.

Native River – 25/1
This is great value for a great horse. With 15 wins or places from 16 starts, this horse has notched up nearly £1m in earnings. The Colin Tizzard trained Gold Cup winner will be 10-years-old when the Grand National 2020 rolls around.

He has run and won at Aintree but it was back in 2016 in the Mildmay Novices Chase. In terms of his ability to go the distance that isn’t much of a concern. He was second in the National Hunt Chase in Cheltenham – a race Tiger Roll won twice as prep for the National. He hasn’t run much over 3m2f over the last couple of years but it’s unlikely the step up in trip would be too difficult for him.

Magic Of Light – 33/1
Another incredible Grand National story came for this mare, Magic Of Light. Trained by Jessica Harrington, it was the trainers first ever runner in the National and despite going off at odds of 66/1, had plenty of fans as one of the race’s only mares.

She delighted connections by zipping around the Aintree course to finish second behind Tiger Roll. That was a full mile more than she had ever run before. Her rating will go up and it’s likely she will carry more weight but Magic Of Light could be the dark horse of 2020.

Rathvinden – 33/1
Rathvinden went into the 2019 race as a strong favourite after Tiger Roll. Willie Mullins claimed it was his best chance at winning the race and he wasn’t too far off the mark.

He gave a great account of himself but was pipped to the post by 5L and had to settle for a third-place finish. Similar to Burrows Saint, Mullins also sent Rathvinden to Paris but he didn’t do as well and finished in 12th place.

With a few decent prep runs under his belt, he could do very well in 2020, especially if his main competition doesn’t run!