Thirty fences, four and a quarter miles, and the one race a year that the entire country stops to watch
Grand National 2027: Three Days at Aintree and How to Spend Them
About the Grand National
The Grand National is run at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool each April, over a distance and a set of fences that exist nowhere else in racing. The 2027 festival runs 8-10 April, with the National itself on Saturday 10 April.
What Makes It Different
It is a handicap, which is the whole point: the weights are set to give every horse a theoretical chance, and the result is a race that professionals struggle to predict and that a first-time racegoer can win money on.
It is also three days rather than one. Thursday and Friday carry serious racing to a crowd that is there for the sport; Saturday carries the National and a crowd of seventy thousand that is there for the occasion. Choosing which of those you want is the entire decision.
Where to Start
- Decide between Saturday and the other two days — Saturday is the National and the spectacle, Thursday and Friday are better racing and a calmer day
- Choose the enclosure carefully — Aintree is large and the enclosures differ enormously in view, service and atmosphere
- Book Liverpool early — the city fills for the festival and the hotels worth having go months ahead
- Plan for weather and for standing — April in the north-west, on grass, for most of a day
Arrange It With Perfect.Live
Tell us whether you want the National or the racing, and we will pick the day and the enclosure
The 2027 Festival
Three days: Thursday 8, Friday 9 and Saturday 10 April 2027. The Grand National is the feature race on the Saturday, run in the late afternoon.
The Thursday and Friday cards are substantial in their own right, and are where most regular racegoers prefer to be.
Enclosures and Hospitality
Access runs from general enclosures with access to the lawns, through reserved seating, to private boxes and restaurant packages with a view of the winning post. The boxes go first and are largely committed before the year turns.
We do not resell tickets. We take which day and what kind of day, and secure the enclosure that delivers it.
How We Help
- The right day and the right enclosure rather than whatever remains
- A hotel in Liverpool secured before the city fills
- A car for the arrival and for the hour when seventy thousand people leave at once
- A table that evening in a city where every restaurant is booked
Frequently Asked Questions
The festival runs 8-10 April 2027, with the Grand National on Saturday 10 April.
At Aintree Racecourse, just outside Liverpool.
It is a handicap over an exceptional distance and over fences unique to Aintree, which levels the field in a way ordinary races do not.
Saturday for the National and the atmosphere; Thursday or Friday for better racing and a considerably easier day.
Around seventy thousand people. It is one of the largest single-day crowds in British sport.
The results are confirmed by the racecourse and the racing authorities immediately after the race, with the full finishing order following once weights are verified.
The enclosure and the hotel. Both are committed months before the runners are known.
Ready When You Are
Three days at Aintree, and the right side of the rail for each of them
