One of the biggest questions that gets asked around Grand National time is: When is it on? That is because each year, depending on the horse racing schedule, the date changes.
The Randox Health Grand National 2020 will take place on Saturday, 4th April 2020. The race takes place at Aintree Racecourse and will start at 5.15pm.
Grand National 2020 Date
Unlike many other festivals that have specific days each year, the Grand National is often subjective. Basically, it’s always a Saturday in April, but which one is entirely dependant on the BHA.
Though I should point out that it always either the first or second Saturday in the month. And that date is very important for a large number of potential runners. The more time between the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National Festival, the better for connections.
There are numerous Grand National Runners who will be good enough to take part in both. But if the timings are off and there isn’t enough time to recover, trainers will often opt for Cheltenham and skip Aintree.
Of course, there are exceptions to this, including Tiger Roll. He won at Both Cheltenham and Aintree two years running.
What Time Is The Grand National 2020 On?
As mentioned above, the race ill start at 5.15pm. But it hasn’t always been run so late in the day. When Bobbyjo claimed victory for the Carberry’s in 1999, the race started at 3.45pm.
The race briefly started at 4.10pm and that was when Hedgehunter won it in 2005. The following year, 2006, the Grand National start time moved again but only to 4.15pm.
It stayed that way for 10 years. However, in 2016 that start time was moved again to 5.15pm. It was controversial as many believed it was only to give bookies more time to make money.
But the organisers stated that the later start time gave more fans a chance to watch the race. With so many people now working on a Saturday, 5.15pm gave more people a chance to watch when they got home. So far, it hasn’t had an adverse effect, in fact, viewing figures were up in 2019 and nearly hit the 10 million mark according to ITV.
Grand National 2020 Tickets
Most racing fans will already know that Grand National day, is the third day of the Aintree Festival. It is preceded by Grand National Thursday and Ladies Day on Friday.
It is one of the single biggest horse races in the world. More than 70,000 fans will head to Aintree on Saturday 4th April 2020, but first, they need tickets!
Thankfully The Jockey Club releases tickets well in advance of race day. In fact, this year they went on sale on 24th July, giving fans more than eight months to prep for the big day.
However, these Grand National tickets are in high demand and at the time of writing this, only a few were left for sale. Unfortunately, most of the lower-priced tickets are already sold out.
And even if you fancy treating yourself and splashing out for hospitality, that is also uncomfortably close to selling out. There are only five packages remaining and they start at £334.80pp.
If you are feeling particularly flush, you could spring for the Silver Birch Garden Party Package at a hefty £718.80pp.
So there you have it. The Grand National 2020 Start Time, Date and Ticket info. Whether you plan to watch from home, in the pub with friends or attend the event itself, have a great time!
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