The 2025 Grand National weights have been revealed, and it is I Am Maximus from trainer Willie Mullins, who tops the list as the lone top-weighted runner on 11-12.
The BHA Handicapper has decided that his rating of 167 is the best of the entries this year, and as such, he has the dubious honour of carrying the most weight.
Number two, and next on the list, is Royale Pagaille from Venetia Williams on 11-09.
They are followed by Henry De Bromhead’s Envoi Allen, Grangeclare West from Willie Mullins, L’Homme Presse from Venetia Williams, and Nick Rockett from Mullins – who are all on 11-08.
That means last year’s winner, I Am Maximus, has an uphill battle to retain his Grand National crown as he looks set to carry a full 6lbs more this time around.
Undoubtedly, this will have a significant impact on his chances of winning back-to-back Grand Nationals.
However, his current form is very much on par with where he was this time last year, so a double victory is not out of reach.
Early Withdrawals
Since the entries were announced, three horses have been withdrawn, the most notable being Gerri Colombe from trainer Gordon Elliott.
Elliott’s star chaser will not compete for the remainder of the 2024/25 racing season due to a setback.
The nine-year-old, owned by Robcour, was among the leading contenders for the Cheltenham Gold Cup after finishing as runner-up in last year’s race.
Elliott emphasised that while the setback is unfortunate, it is neither career-ending nor particularly serious.
However, the timing has forced them to rule out participation in the spring festivals, which also includes the Gold Cup.
Also withdrawn at this stage are Your Own Story from Lucinda Russell and Motu Fareone from David Cottin.
That leaves 87 moving on to the next stage of the 2025 Grand National proceedings.
And here they all are…
2025 Grand National Weights
So, without further ado, here is the full list of weights for all 87 remaining entries.
- 1 I Am Maximus – 11-12 – W P Mullins
- 2 Royale Pagaille – 11-9 – Venetia Williams
- 3 Envoi Allen – 11-8 – Henry De Bromhead
- 4 Grangeclare West – 11-8 – W P Mullins
- 5 L’Homme Presse – 11-8 – Venetia Williams
- 6 Nick Rockett – 11-8 – W P Mullins
- 7 Hewick – 11-7 – Miss Tara Lee Cogan
- 8 Gentlemansgame – 11-5 – M F Morris
- 9 Inothewayurthinkin – 11-5 – Gavin Cromwell
- 10 Monty’s Star – 11-5 – Henry De Bromhead
- 11 The Real Whacker – 11-4 – Patrick Neville
- 12 Minella Indo – 11-3 – Henry De Bromhead
- 13 Appreciate It – 11-2 – W P Mullins
- 14 Capodanno – 11-2 – W P Mullins
- 15 Conflated – 11-2 – Gordon Elliott
- 16 Delta Work – 11-2 – Gordon Elliott
- 17 Minella Cocooner – 11-2 – W P Mullins
- 18 Stumptown – 11-2 – Gavin Cromwell
- 19 Beauport – 11-1 – Nigel Twiston-Davies
- 20 Hitman – 11-1 – Paul Nicholls
- 21 Bravemansgame – 11-0 – Paul Nicholls
- 22 Chantry House – 10-13 – Nicky Henderson
- 23 Galvin – 10-13 – Gordon Elliott
- 24 Perceval Legallois – 10-12 – Gavin Cromwell
- 25 Threeunderthrufive – 10-12 – Paul Nicholls
- 26 Fakir d’Oudairies – 10-11 – Joseph Patrick O’Brien
- 27 Iroko – 10-11 – Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero
- 28 Kandoo Kid – 10-11 – Paul Nicholls
- 29 Trelawne – 10-11 – Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls
- 30 Idas Boy – 10-10 – Richard Phillips
- 31 Intense Raffles – 10-10 – Thomas Gibney
- 32 Limerick Lace – 10-10 – Gavin Cromwell
- 33 Senior Chief – 10-10 – Henry De Bromhead
- 34 Broadway Boy – 10-9 – Nigel Twiston-Davies
- 35 Coko Beach – 10-9 – Gordon Elliott
- 36 Farouk d’Alene – 10-9 – Gary Brown
- 37 Fil Dor – 10-9 – Gordon Elliott
- 38 French Dynamite – 10-9 – M F Morris
- 39 Mr Incredible – 10-9 – Sandy Thomson
- 40 Stay Away Fay – 10-9 – Paul Nicholls
- 41 Zanahiyr – 10-9 – Gordon Elliott
- 42 Pinkerton – 10-8 – Noel Meade
- 43 Meetingofthewaters – 10-7 – W P Mullins
- 44 Minella Drama – 10-7 – Donald McCain
- 45 Velvet Elvis – 10-7 – Gavin Cromwell
- 46 Celebre d’Allen – 10-6 – Philip Hobbs & Johnson White
- 47 Fontaine Collonges – 10-6 – Venetia Williams
- 48 Horantzau d’Airy – 10-6 – W P Mullins
- 49 Hyland – 10-6 – Nicky Henderson
- 50 Monbeg Genius – 10-6 – Jonjo & A J O’Neill
- 51 Vanillier – 10-6 – Gavin Cromwell
- 52 Minella Crooner – 10-5 – Gordon Elliott
- 53 Quick Wave – 10-5 – Venetia Williams
- 54 Three Card Brag – 10-5 – Gordon Elliott
- 55 Twig – 10-5 – Ben Pauling
- 56 Duffle Coat – 10-4 – Gordon Elliott
- 57 Roi Mage – 10-4 – Patrick Griffin
- 58 Shakem Up’arry – 10-4 – Ben Pauling
- 59 Fantastic Lady – 10-3 – Nicky Henderson
- 60 Favori De Champdou – 10-3 – Gordon Elliott
- 61 Yeah Man – 10-3 – Gavin Cromwell
- 62 Chemical Energy – 10-2 – Gordon Elliott
- 63 Macdermott – 10-2 – W P Mullins
- 64 Mister Coffey – 10-2 – Nicky Henderson
- 65 Mr Vango – 10-2 – Mrs Sara V Bradstock
- 66 Bronn – 10-1 – Thomas Gibney
- 67 Desertmore House – 10-1 – Martin Brassil
- 68 Malina Girl – 10-1 – Gavin Cromwell
- 69 Richmond Lake – 10-1 – Donald McCain
- 70 La Renommee – 10-0 – Dr Richard Newland & Jamie Insole
- 71 King Turgeon – 9-13 – David Pipe
- 72 Stuzzikini – 9-13 – Gordon Elliott
- 73 Cruz Control – 9-12 – Tom Lacey
- 74 Surrey Quest – 9-12 – Toby Lawes
- 75 Apple Away – 9-11 – Lucinda Russell
- 76 Busselton – 9-11 – Joseph Patrick O’Brien
- 77 Gevrey – 9-11 – Gordon Elliott
- 78 Spanish Harlem – 9-11 – W P Mullins
- 79 The Goffer – 9-10 – Gordon Elliott
- 80 Famous Bridge – 9-9 – Nicky Richards
- 81 Copperhead – 9-7 – Joe Tizzard
- 82 Escaria Ten – 9-7 – Martin Keighley
- 83 Where It All Began – 9-7 – Gordon Elliott
- 84 Git Maker – 9-6 – Jamie Snowden
- 85 Gericault Roque – 9-4 – David Pipe
- 86 Pats Fancy – 9-3 – Rebecca Curtis
- 87 Placenet – 9-3 – D Cottin
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Who Will Make The Cut?
The Grand National weights are always exciting because it lets us speculate where we think the cut-off point will be for the runners.
Changes to the field size last year mean that we will no longer have 40 runners. For the second time, the race will go off with a maximum of 34 Grand National runners, though the reserve system will be returning for 2025.
Last year, Panda Boy was the final horse to make the cut, having started at number 53 on the list after the weights were announced.
That is a huge difference on 2023 when Born By The Sea made the cut from number 67 on the list when the weights came out.
Based on that, it means connections for Quick Wave, Three Card Brag, and Twig could have a long wait to find out if they are heading to Aintree or not.
Of course, that isn’t guaranteed, and it will all depend on which horses get withdrawn between now and then.
Next Stages For The 2025 Grand National
So now that the entries are in and the 2025 Grand National Weights are out, what comes next?
The first scratchings deadline will be at noon on the 25th of February, 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 18th 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 been placed first, second, third or fourth in a steeple chase with an official distance description of ‘two miles, seven and a half furlongs’ or more, at any time during the horse’s career.
The second reason is that the Cheltenham Festival will be over by March 18th. 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 2025 Grand National is at noon on March 31st, with the final declaration stage at 10am on the 3rd of April.
And then, of course, we have the big day itself – Grand National Day on Saturday, April 5th, 2025, at 4pm.
What Does The Weight Mean In The Grand National?
Unlike a lot of other races, the horses in the Grand National are handicapped, which 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.
This is determined based on a horse’s Official Rating. The horse with the highest rating gets the top weight, and the order then descends from there.
So for the 2025 Grand National, I Am Maximus was the highest rated horse entered on 167. He then carries top weight of 11-12. The next highest-rated horse was Royale Pagaille, with a rating of 164.
That’s three points less than I Am Maximus so his weight is 3lbs less as a result. It continues down the line until all 87 remaining entries have been given a weight.
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 weights, the handicapper can only go up to a maximum of 11st 12lbs. The minimum weight is 10st 2lbs regardless of the horse’s rating.
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