Grand National 2015: Preview & Betting Tips For Saturday’s Showpiece At Aintree

The Crabbie’s Grand National

Saturday 11^th April. 4:15PM. Channel 4

The waiting is nearly over and all eyes will be on Aintree for this Saturday’s Crabbie’s Grand National.

Excitement for this year’s event is arguably even greater than ever as this is to be 19-time Champion Jockey AP McCoy’s final ride in the world’s most famous steeplechase event. Forty jockeys will battle it out over a gruelling four mile and 30-fence race for one of sport’s biggest achievements and millions around the world will be tuning in to see if their chosen horse has won the big money.

Who will earn their place in history?

McCoy Money Creates Opportunity

[quote_right]Have you picked the Grand National winner yet? Get paid 6 places for each way bets at BetVictor[/quote_right]Unsurprisingly, the big money has been placed on what could be AP McCoy’s final mount. Shutthefrontdoor is the big favourite and whilst it’s not the greatest price, it hard to dismiss its credentials.

On the other hand, the hype surrounding the Champion Jockey’s final National ride could pave the way for potentially huge rewards elsewhere. This is particularly true when utilising some of the bookmaker offers.

Competition for trade is huge. Consequently, various bookmakers are offering fantastic promotions in order to entice customers. One that stands out to us is Bet365’s half-stake refund.

Place an Each-Way before midday on Saturday and Bet365 will refund half of your stake, irrespective of the result. It’s an absolutely tremendous offer that is bound to tempt punters into placing wagers on outsiders they believe will be in and amongst the frontrunners.

Our choice would be Soll at 20/1. Tom Scudamore’s ride came 7^th in the 2013 race, which highlights the 10-year-old’s pedigree, and has also won back-to-back races since David Pipe became trainer last year. We think it has a great chance of placing, which would return a decent profit using Bet365’s offer, and could possibly cause an upset by winning the £1million prize fund.

Baltazhar To Be Crowned King?

Last year, Richard Johnson came runner-up aboard Baltazhar King and the 37-year-old will be desperate to go one better this time around. We think plenty of smart punters will be tempted to back the 11-year-old bay gelding.

Some will have been surprised by the stretch off odds from 9s to 10s, but that is largely down to the huge sums being placed on the favourite. In all honesty, 10/1 still isn’t the greatest price in a Grand National, but he’s certainly in with a shout.

The more conservative punter might want to utilise BetVictor’s six-place payout at 9/1, but we’re confident that this horse will be amongst the leading pack and are therefore taking the better odds of 10/1 with Paddy Power – who are themselves paying out on the first five.

Placing won’t generate great winnings, but it would crucially keep us in the black. If last year’s runner-up is crowned King of Aintree, though, we’ll be jumping for the skies.

Grand National 2015 Bets

We’re going for three selections on this year’s Grand National. Here are our tips:

Bet 1:

Soll @ 20/1 E-W with Bet365

Bet 2:

Baltazhar King @ 10/1 E-W with Paddy Power

Bet 3:

Top Irish Finisher: First Lieutenant @ 9/2 with Bet365