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Aintree Day 1 Betting Guide
Get the best tips for Aintree Thursday from expert tipsters along with key stats and trends, and for all Aintree Day 1 races, including the Aintree Hurdle.
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Aintree Day 1 of the Grand National Festival tends to set the tone for the next few days. If the sun is shining, the excitement will be at a fever pitch. The first race on Aintree Festival opening day always highlights up-and-coming steeplechasers.
Grey Dawning was all the rage for the first race this time last year, but misread the script and could only manage a lacklustre third-placed effort to Il Etait Temps. The winner pulled some nine lengths clear of his rivals, making the likes of Ginny’s Destiny look fairly ordinary indeed.
Below, we will provide you with an in-depth breakdown of the races scheduled to take place on the first of three days of racing at Aintree Racecourse. We will take you through the Aintree race schedule, our top Aintree Day 1 tips and key betting trends that might just help you pick a winner.
Aintree Grand National – Thursday Racecards
| Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 13.45 | Manifesto Novices' Chase (Grade 1) | 2m 4f |
| 14.20 | Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1) | 2m 1f |
| 14.55 | Aintree Bowl Chase (Grade 1) | 3m 1f |
| 15.30 | William Hill Aintree Hurdle (Grade 1) | 2m 4f |
| 16.05 | Randox Foxhunters' Open Hunters' Chase | 2m 5f |
| 16.40 | Close Brothers Red Rum Handicap Steeple Chase | 2m |
| 17.15 | Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares' Standard Open NH Flat (Grade 2) | 2m 1f |
Aintree Day 1 Betting Trends
I’ve taken a look back over the last 10 years of Aintree Grand National Thursday runners to find the interesting betting trends that you might find useful when considering your bets:
- The leading trainer in the Bowl Chase in recent renewals is Paul Nicholls, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from What A Friend (2010), Silviniaco Conti (2014 & 2015) and Clan Des Obeaux (2021 & 2022).
- There are multiple leading jockeys in the Bowl Chase over recent renewals, with Harry Cobden and Nico de Boinville having won the race twice. Harry Cobden winners have been with Clan Des Obeaux (2021 & 2022).
- Paddy Brennan winners have been with Nacarat (2011) and Cue Card (2016). Nico de Boinville winners have been with Might Bite (2018) and Shishkin (2023).
- The leading trainer in the Aintree Hurdle in recent renewals is Nicky Henderson, who has won the race six times, with those six winners coming from Oscar Whisky (2011 & 2012), Buveur DAir (2017), LAmi Serge (2018), Epatante (2022) and Constitution Hill (2023).
- No favourite has won the Manifesto Novices’ for at least the last ten seasons.
- Three of the last four favourites have obliged in the 4-Y-O Hurdle, including last year’s favourite Sir Gino. He powered away to record a near four-length success over Kargesse.
- Eight of the last ten winners of the Red Rum Handicap Chase were British-trained.
Aintree Day 1 Results & Post-Race Analysis
Make sure you check back on Aintree results page to ensure you get fully caught up with all of the Aintree Day 1 fast results. The first day of action will determine how the rest of the meeting flows and a lot of that will be down to ground conditions.
Keep an eye out in the big handicap to see how many horses finish in that race to gauge an idea of how others may do so a couple of days later in the Grand National itself.
The Team Behind This Page
The horse racing experts who maintain and update this page:
- Karl Hedley is a horse racing content writer and tipster for Punters Lounge. He received his break when he entered the Racing Post Search for A Tipster competition in 2006, and beat 6000 others to win the title in 2007.Since then he has been written countless articles for The Irish Field, The Irish Post and several online websites. He was until recently the Irish racing tipster for The Times (Ireland edition).His favourite racing memory to date includes being present to see the brilliant Kauto Star win the Champion Chase at Down Royal.
- Steve Day is the Content Manager for Punters Lounge. Steve brings a wealth of experience in the online gambling and sports betting content creation. Since 2010, Steve has successfully written for well-known gambling publications, such as casino.org, cardschat.com, gamingslots.com, and footballleagueworld.co.uk.In 2015, Steve took on the role of Football Forums Content Manager at Punters Lounge where he has fostered a knowledgeable and supportive community that share betting insights and tips.Steve transitioned into a full-time content manager in 2022 where he leverages his deep industry expertise to develop high-quality, reliable, and engaging content across casino and sports betting.
- Steve Simmons is the Head of Racing at Punters Lounge and has a wealth of racing knowledge. He started out his career at Ladbrokes' head office as a board marker progressing through to settler, odds compiler, and finally trader. He also spent time as PR/ante post manager for start up company before becoming a self employed odds compiler and horse racing consultant. Steve has an incredible passion for the sport and a knack for picking winners.
- Tom Schurch is the Content Lead at Punters Lounge. Since joining the Punters Lounge team in 2019, Tom has extensive knowledge and experience within the Gambling Industry and applies this to ensure that him and his team deliver helpful and reliable insights that help bettors play smarter.
