The 2023 Grand National weights have been revealed and it is a tripleheader as three entries have been handed top weight.

The BHA Handicapper has decided that Any Second Now from trainer Ted Walsh, Conflated from trainer Gordon Elliott and Hewick from JJ Hanlon are the best horses entered.

As such, they have been handed 11-10 each for the 2023 Grand National, which will take place on Saturday, April 15th 2023.

They have been all been rated at 167, and head the 85 entries with Galvin (11-11), Noble Yeats (11-11), Envoi Allen (11-08) and Royale Pagaille (11-08) following them on the list.

Last year’s winner, Noble Yeats from trainer Emmett Mullins, will carry a full 15lbs more than when winning last year. The handicapper has rated him at 166 which is not entirely unsurprising given his current form.

Undoubtedly this will have a significant impact on his chances of winning back-to-back Grand Nationals. However, with another Aintree win in the Many Clouds Chase in December, he is still firing on all cylinders, so a double victory is not out of reach.

Early Withdrawls

Since the entries were announced, eight horses have already been withdrawn.

Henry de Bromhead announced the retirement of Minella Times this morning.

De Bromhead told the Racing Post: “We were hoping to have another crack at the Grand National with Minella Times but unfortunately he’s suffered a setback so he’s going to miss the race and we’ve decided to give him a well-earned retirement.

“The day he won the Grand National was magic. It’s up there with one of our best-ever days in racing and one we’ll never forget. He was absolutely brilliant on the day. He jumped fantastic and Rachael gave him an unbelievable ride.”

Also scratched from the 2023 Grand National are Fiddlerontheroof (IRE), Grumpy Charley (GB), Iwilldoit (GB), and Riders Onthe Storm (IRE).

Those that didn’t qualify for this year’s race are Chemical Energy (IRE), Nearly Perfect (GB), and Minella Crooner (IRE).

That leaves 77 moving on to the next stage of the 2023 Grand National proceedings.

And here they all are…

2023 Grand National Weights

So without further ado, here is the full list of weights for all 78 remaining entries.

• 1 Any Second Now – 11 12 – Ted Walsh
• 2 Conflated – 11 12 – Gordon Elliott
• 3 Hewick – 11 12 – John Hanlon
• 4 Galvin – 11 11 – Gordon Elliott
• 5 Noble Yeats – 11 11 – Emmet Mullins
• 6 Envoi Allen – 11 08 – Henry de Bromhead
• 7 Royale Pagaille – 11 08 – Venetia Williams
• 8 Fury Road – 11 06 – Gordon Elliott
• 9 Capodanno – 11 05 – Willie Mullins
• 10 The Big Dog – 11 05 – Peter Fahey

 

• 11 Delta Work – 11 04 – Gordon Elliott
• 12 Sam Brown – 11 04 – Anthony Honeyball
• 13 Franco de Port – 11 03 – Willie Mullins
• 14 Lifetime Ambition – 11 03 – Jessica Harrington
• 15 Carefully Selected – 11 01 – Willie Mullins
• 16 Chris’s Dream – 11 00 – Henry de Bromhead
• 17 Coko Beach – 11 00 – Gordon Elliott
• 18 Gaillard du Mesnil – 11 00 – Willie Mullins
• 19 Longhouse Poet – 11 00 – Martin Brassil
• *20 Minella Times – 11 00 – Henry de Bromhead (now retired)

 

• 21 Darasso – 10 13 – Joseph O’Brien
• 22 Burrows Saint – 10 12 – Willie Mullins
• 23 Pencilfulloflead – 10 12 – Gordon Elliott
• 24 Ga Law – 10 11 – Jamie Snowden
• 25 Happygolucky – 10 11 – Kim Bailey
• 26 Le Milos – 10 11 – Dan Skelton
• 27 Quick Wave – 10 11 – Venetia Williams
• 28 The Shunter – 10 11 – Emmet Mullins
• 29 Escaria Ten – 10 10 – Gordon Elliott
• 30 Farclas – 10 10 – Stud Gordon Elliott

 

• 31 Remastered – 10 10 – David Pipe
• 32 The Big Breakaway – 10 10 – Joe Tizzard
• 33 Threeunderthrufive – 10 09 – Paul Nicholls
• 34 Cape Gentleman – 10 08 – John Hanlon
• 35 Cilaos Emery – 10 08 – Sophie Leech
• 36 Diol Ker – 10 08 – Noel Meade
• 37 Roi Mage – 10 08 – Patrick Griffin
• 38 A Wave of The Sea – 10 06 – Joseph O’Brien
• 39 Minella Trump – 10 06 – Donald McCain
• 40 Vanillier – 10 06 – Gavin Cromwell

 

• 41 Velvet Elvis – 10 06 – Tom Gibney
• 42 Ain’t That A Shame – 10 05 – Henry de Bromhead
• 43 Corach Rambler – 10 05 – Lucinda Russell
• 44 Enjoy d’Allen – 10 05 – Ciaran Murphy
• 45 Lord Lariat – 10 05 – Dermot McLoughlin
• 46 Ash Tree Meadow – 10 04 – Gordon Elliott
• 47 Battleoverdoyen – 10 04 – Gordon Elliott
• 48 Cloudy Glen – 10 04 – Venetia Williams
• 49 Gin On Lime – 10 04 – Henry de Bromhead
• 50 Mister Coffey – 10 04 – Nicky Henderson

 

• 51 Mr Incredible – 10 04 – Willie Mullins
• 52 Ashtown Lad – 10 03 – Dan Skelton
• 53 Gabbys Cross – 10 02 – Henry de Bromhead
• 54 Hill Sixteen – 10 02 – Sandy Thomson
• 55 Eva’s Oskar – 10 01 – Tim Vaughan
• 56 Rapper – 10 01 – Henry Daly
• 57 Recite A Prayer – 10 01 – Willie Mullins
• 58 Death Duty – 10 00 – Gordon Elliott
• 59 Dunboyne – 10 00 – Gordon Elliott
• 60 Francky du Berlais – 10 00 – Peter Bowen

 

• 61 Frontal Assault – 10 00 – Gordon Elliott
• 62 Our Power – 10 00 – Sam Thomas
• 63 Sporting John – 10 00 – Philip Hobbs
• 64 Back On The Lash – 9 13 – Martin Keighley
• 65 Fortescue – 9 13 – Henry Daly
• 66 Defi Bleu – 9 12 – Gordon Elliott
• 67 Born By The Sea – 9 10 – Paul Gilligan
• 68 Gevrey – 9 10 – Gordon Elliott
• 69 Milan Native – 9 10 – Gordon Elliott
• 70 Punitive – 9 10 – Gordon Elliott

 

• 71 Captain Kangaroo – 9 08 – Willie Mullins
• 72 Darrens Hope – 9 08 – Robert Murphy
• 73 Fakiera – 9 08 – Gordon Elliott
• 74 Mortal – 9 08 – Gordon Elliott
• 75 Captain Cattistock – 9 05 – Fergal O’Brien
• 76 Fantastikas – 9 05 – Nigel Twiston-Davies
• 77 Secret Reprieve – 9 05 – Evan Williams
• 78 Glamorgan Duke – 9 01 – Paul Gilligan

Next Stages For The 2023 Grand National

So now that the entries are in and the 2023 Grand National Weights are out, what comes next?

The first scratchings deadline will be at noon the 7th of March, although not much really happens at this point. Horses that are known to be injured generally come out at this stage.

Following that is the second scratchings deadline at noon on the 28th of March. This is always more interesting for two reasons. The first is that it is the deadline for qualification. Prior to this date, the potential runner must have started in a steeple chase during the current season.

The second reason is that the Cheltenham Festival will be over by March 22nd. Plenty of horses will have entries into both, and how they come out of Cheltenham will often determine whether or not they also go to Aintree.

The five-day confirmation stage for the 2023 Grand National is at noon on April 10th with the final declaration stage at 10am on the 13th of April.

And then, of course, we have the big day itself – Grand National Day on Saturday, April 15th 2023 at 5.15pm.

What Does The Weight Mean In The Grand National?

Unlike a lot of other races, the horses in the Grand National are handicapped and this means they can all have different weights. But why is this?

In horse racing, a handicapper’s job is to try and balance out the field so each horse has as close to an equal chance of winning as possible.

Some horses are faster or jump better so to give the ‘lesser’ ones a real chance in the race, the handicapper calculates how many lead weights must be added to the saddle of each horse.

A horse that has strong form may have more weight added to its saddle, in an attempt to make the race more evenly balanced.

For the Grand National, the handicapper can only go up to a maximum of 11st 10lbs on weight. The minimum weight is 10st 2lbs regardless of the horse’s rating.