National countdown begins

The Grand National meeting at Aintree kicks-off on Thursday with three-days of top clas National Hunt action and we will giving you daily tips here and more importantly free bets galore so log in daily to enter competitions.

A blogger put up great stats up last year which I think need to be taken seriously and read carefully if you a serious gambler. Here are some very interesting National trends that you PG readers might take on board when trying to pick a National winner...

WEIGHT

In the last 57 years only Red Rum has carried more than 11st 5lbs to victory, while Hedgehunter is the only horse since Corbiere in 1982 to carry more than 11st (and Hedgehunter only carried 11st 1lb). We know there is no Red Rum in this year’s field so we’re looking for a horse carrying no more than 11st.

AGE

The last time a 7-year-old won the National was 68 years ago and you have to go back a further 27 years to find the last 6-year-old winner. You'll be looking for a horse aged between 8 and 12 inclusive.

Only 2 teenage horses have won the National and the last one was 85 years ago.

Horses aged in double figures have won 12 of the last 18 runnings but 9-year-olds also have a decent record.

DISTANCE

Every winner of the National since 1970 has previously won over 3m or further, so that defeats the myth that 2m 4f horses are perfect for the National.

In ’07 all six runners who had yet to win over 3m or further failed to finish, as did the seven similar runners in ’06.

HEADGEAR

Blinkered, visored or cheekpieced horses have a poor record in the National. Since L'Escargot in 1975 only Earth Summit has carried headgear to victory. Since then 146 horses have failed to carry headgear to victory, although McKelvey finished 2nd in ’08 with headgear on.

IRISH HORSES

Irish-trained horses have a good record in the National, winning 6 of the last 9.

PREVIOUS RUNNERS

In the past 20 years 18 of the horses finishing in the first 4 ran in the previous year’s National. SIX of the last seven winners had previously run over the National fences.