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This evening sees the return of the iconic Grand National horse race at Aintree on Merseyside.
A field of 34 horses and jockeys will take to the racecourse, with 30 fences – including the Chair and Water Jump – between the start line and racing glory.
I Am Maximus (Paul Townend, Willie Mullins, J.P. McManus) triumphed in 2024 and returns this year as a strong field looks to win one of racing’s top prizes.
But with victory comes financial reward, though the prize find hasn’t gone up in a number of years.
£1m is up for grabs, but how does that break down for the field?
The winning horse gets £500,000, the equivalent to Luke Littler’s package having won the World Darts Championship in January – though the prize for the festive event is set to double from this year.
There’s £200,000 for the horse finishing second and £100,000 for the horse finishing third.
Beyond that there’s £65,000 for fourth and £40,000 for fifth.
The top 10 is completed with £30,000 for sixth, £20,000 for seventh, £15,000 for eighth, £10,000 for ninth and then £5,000 to round it off.
Willie Mullins has six horses in this year’s field of 34 but if this year’s prize money was in effect last year, his horses would have won £520,000 – I am Maximus would have won £500,000 for winning and Meetingofthewaters would have picked up £20,000 for finishing seventh.
So there you have it, the straight prize money reward for winning or placing in this year’s Grand National. Now to place your bets and back the winner. How hard can it be?
Grand National prize money
| Position | Prize Money |
| 1 | £500,000 |
| 2 | £200,000 |
| 3 | £100,000 |
| 4 | £65,000 |
| 5 | £40,000 |
| 6 | £30,000 |
| 7 | £20,000 |
| 8 | £15,000 |
| 9 | £10,000 |
| 10 | £5,000 |
