It’s that time of year again, as the official list of 2025 Grand National entries was revealed on Tuesday, January 28th.
As we gear up for the 177th renewal of the great race, which will be held at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday, April 5th, 2025, at 4pm, it all starts here.
For 2025, 90 horses have been given the green light, and unsurprisingly, I Am Maximus is included on that list.
Trained by Willie Mullins, I Am Maximus looks set to return in a bid to retain his crown.
Now nine years old and knowing how difficult back-to-back wins are, can he run away with it again in 2025?
Or is the fact that he pulled up last time out in the Savills Chase in December an indication that his form is off slightly?
Of the 90 entries, 48 are trained in Ireland, which is down from the record 61 that were entered last year.
Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins still dominate with 16 and 10 entries, respectively – making up a whopping 29% of all entries between them.
Gerri Colombe, Royale Pagaille, Hewick, and L’Homme Presse are notable entries, given that they are also in contention for the 2025 Gold Cup at Cheltenham in March.
Undoubtedly, they will be handed top weight or thereabouts when the BHA Handicapper gets to work, but whether or not any of them will actually run in the Grand National remains to be seen.
Gordon Elliott Entries
Would it even be the Grand National if Gordon Elliott didn’t absolutely dominate the entries?
One of Ireland’s most successful trainers, he consistently enters a huge number of potential runners into the Grand National. In 2023, it was 21 runners; in 2024, he upped it to 26, but he has scaled back considerably and only entered 16 for 2025.
That’s a significant drop from 27.6 of all entries last year to just 18% this time around.
Is it still ridiculous? Yes. But just bear in mind that from the 21 in 2023, only five actually made the final line-up. Likewise, in 2024, only seven of his 26 entries ran in the race.
It will all come down to the weights and his Cheltenham options, but he is really only likely to have four or five runners this year.
Willie Mullins 2025 Grand National Entries
No slouch when it comes to training winners, Willie Mullins has 10 entries for 2025 (down three on last year), with I Am Maximus the headliner.
The reality is that Mullins enters horses of incredible calibre, which is why eight of his 13 ran in 2024. On that basis, he should be able to saddle at least six of his on April 5th.
I Am Maximus is the antepost race favourite and can currently be backed at 12/1 with Betfred.
He also has Appreciate It, Capodanno, Grangeclare West, Horantzau D’Airy, Macdermott, Meetingofthewaters, Minella Cocooner, Nick Rockett and Spanish Harlem in the mix.
Other Notable Entries
Gavin Cromwell has really stepped it up this year with eight of his yard getting the green light, three of which are owned by JP McManus.
They are Inothewayurthinkin, Limerick Lace, and Perceval Legallois. However, it is the likes of Stumptown and Yeah Man that could run a good race on the day.
Mister Coffey from Nicky Henderson is his back again for 2025, and he has three stablemates to accompany him. Chantry House, Fantastic Lady, and Hyland have all been entered.
Having never won the race, Henderson will be hoping for a miracle from one of his chasers so he can finally break his hoodoo in the Grand National – and who wouldn’t want to see that?
The McCain legacy lives on, with Donald hoping to saddle both Minella Drama and Richmond Lake in a bid to repeat his 2011 success with Ballabriggs.
And, with five 2025 Grand National entries, Paul Nicholls will be hoping that another is on the cards for his yard at Ditcheat.
Prominent Owners
Two of the biggest owners in National Hunt Racing, in terms of numbers, are JP McManus and Gigginstown.
This year, JP McManus has entered nine runners as an owner, up from five last year, so it looks like another strong hand for the gold and green hoops.
However, the big shock is that Gigginstown has significantly reduced its hold and chances by only putting forward four potential runners.
That is down from 11 entries last year, and all of them are trained by Gordon Elliott – Coko Beach, Conflated, Favori De Champdou, and Delta Work.
All 2025 Grand National Entries
- Apple Away (IRE), 8, Lucinda Russell
- Appreciate It (IRE), 11, W. P. Mullins
- Beauport (IRE), 9, Nigel Twiston-Davies
- Bravemansgame (FR), 10, Paul Nicholls
- Broadway Boy (IRE), 7, Nigel Twiston-Davies
- Bronn (IRE), 8, T. Gibney
- Busselton (FR), Joseph Patrick O’Brien
- Capodanno (FR), 9, W. P. Mullins
- Celebre d’Allen (FR), 13, Philip Hobbs & Johnson White
- Chantry House (IRE), 11, Nicky Henderson
- Chemical Energy (IRE), 9, Gordon Elliott
- Coko Beach (FR), 10, Gordon Elliott
- Conflated (IRE), 11, Gordon Elliott
- Copperhead, 11, Joe Tizzard
- Cruz Control (FR), 8, Tom Lacey
- Delta Work (FR), 12, Gordon Elliott
- Desertmore House (IRE), 10, Martin Brassil
- Duffle Coat (IRE), 8, Gordon Elliott
- Envoi Allen (FR), 11, Henry de Bromhead
- Escaria Ten (FR), 11, Martin Keighley
- Fakir d’Oudairies (FR), 10, Joseph Patrick O’Brien
- Famous Bridge (IRE), 9, Nicky Richards
- Fantastic Lady (FR), 10, Nicky Henderson
- Farouk d’Alene (FR), 10, Gary Brown
- Favori de Champdou (FR), 10, Gordon Elliott
- Fil Dor (FR), 7, Gordon Elliott
- Fontaine Collonges (FR), 10, Venetia Williams
- French Dynamite (FR), 10, MF Morris
- Galvin (IRE), 11, Gordon Elliott
- Gentlemansgame, 9, M. F. Morris
- Gericault Roque (FR), 9, David Pipe
- Gerri Colombe (FR), 9, Gordon Elliott
- Gevrey (FR), 9, Gordon Elliott
- Git Maker (FR), 9, Jamie Snowden
- Hewick (IRE), 10, Tara Lee Cogan
- Hitman (FR), 9, Paul Nicholls
- Horantzau d’Airy (FR), 8, W. P. Mullins
- Hyland (FR), 8, Nicky Henderson
- I Am Maximus (FR), 9, W. P. Mullins
- Idas Boy (IRE), 11, Richard Phillips
- Inothewayurthinkin (IRE), 7, Gavin Cromwell
- Intense Raffles (FR), 7, Thomas Gibney
- Iroko (FR), 7, Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero
- Kandoo Kid (FR), 9, Paul Nicholls
- King Turgeon (FR), 7, David Pipe
- L’homme Presse (FR), 10, Venetia Williams
- La Renommee (FR), 7, Dr Richard Newland & Jamie Insole
- Limerick Lace (IRE), 8, Gavin Cromwell
- Macdermott (FR), 7, W. P. Mullins
- Malina Girl (IRE), 8, Gavin Cromwell
- Meetingofthewaters (IRE), 8, W. P. Mullins
- Minella Cocooner (IRE), 9, W. P. Mullins
- Minella Crooner (IRE), 9, Gordon Elliott
- Minella Drama (IRE), 10, Donald McCain
- Minella Indo (IRE), 12, Henry de Bromhead
- Mister Coffey (FR), 10, Nicky Henderson
- Monbeg Genius (IRE), 9, Jonjo & A.J. O’Neill
- Monty’s Star (IRE), 8, Henry De Bromhead
- Motu Fareone (IRE), 9, D Cottin
- Mr Incredible (IRE), 9, Sandy Thomson
- Mr Vango (IRE), 9, Sara Bradstock
- Nick Rockett (IRE), 8, W. P. Mullins
- Pats Fancy (IRE), 10, Rebecca Curtis
- Perceval Legallois (FR), 8, Gavin Cromwell
- Pinkerton (IRE), 9, Noel Meade
- Placenet (FR), 8, D Cottin
- Quick Wave (FR), 12, Venetia Williams
- Richmond Lake (IRE), 9, Donald McCain
- Roi Mage (FR), 13, Patrick Griffin
- Royale Pagaille (FR), 11, Venetia Williams
- Senior Chief, 8, Henry de Bromhead
- Shakem Up’arry (IRE), 11, Ben Pauling
- Spanish Harlem (FR), 7, W. P. Mullins
- Stay Away Fay (IRE), 8, Paul Nicholls
- Stumptown (IRE), 8, Gavin Cromwell
- Stuzzikini (IRE), 7, Gordon Elliott
- Surrey Quest (IRE), 8, Toby Lawes
- The Goffer (IRE), 8, Gordon Elliott
- The Real Whacker (IRE), 9, Patrick Neville
- Three Card Brag (IRE), 10, Paul Nicholls
- Threeunderthrufive (IRE), 8, Gordon Elliott
- Trelawne, 9, Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls
- Twig (GB), 10, Ben Pauling
- Vanillier (FR), 10, Gavin Cromwell
- Velvet Elvis (IRE), 9, Gavin Cromwell
- Where It All Began (IRE), 9, Gordon Elliott
- Yeah Man (IRE), 8, Gavin Cromwell
- Your Own Story (IRE), 9, Lucinda Russell
- Zanahiyr (IRE), 8, Gordon Elliott
How The Entries Get Whittled Down
As we move through the next few weeks and months, those 90 2025 Grand National entries will eventually get reduced down to the 34 that will start the race on Saturday April 5th 2025.
In order to qualify for the race, a horse must have started in a steeplechase during the current season and have been placed first, second, third, or fourth in a steeplechase with an official distance description of ‘two miles seven and a half furlongs’ or more, at any time during the horse’s career.
Horses must be also allotted a rating of 130 or more by the BHA Handicapper following a review of the horses entered and after taking account of races run up to and including February 10th.
To qualify, horses must have run at least three times in Steeple Chases run under the Rules of Racing of the same Recognised Racing Authority up to and including February 10th.
At the Handicapper’s discretion, such horses may be allotted a rating.
Entries closed on the 28th of January (90 entries), and the weights will be revealed on the 11th of February 2025.
The first scratching deadline is the 25th of February. The second scratching deadline is the 18th of March. Five-day confirmation stage is on the 31st March with the final declaration stage on the 3rd of April.
For all the odds, check out our odds page, and don’t forget that there will be a lot of betting offers on the run up to the race so we will also keep you up to date with them.
We will also be spending a lot of time producing some great tips, so don’t forget to check them out closer to the race.
