The 2018 Grand National came down to a photo finish as Tiger Roll held on for a dramatic win. The eight-year-old horse started the day as a 10/1 favourite and just edged out Pleasant Company, who started at odds of 25/1.
The full horse race and betting review of Grosvenor will give you all the information you need on the Grand National and other big races.
Jockey wins first Grand National
Ridden by Davy Russell, it was a first Grand National win for the two-time Irish jockey of the year. Russell had done nearly everything in the sport up to this year’s Grand National win. He had won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Hennessy Gold Cup before finally winning the big race this season.
Russell’s win at the Aintree on the back of Tiger Roll pocketed the jockey £500,000. His winnings were half of the £1 million-pound winners’ purse that is available at the Grand National. It was another fantastic victory for the 38-year-old jockey, who has now earned over £1.362m in his illustrious racing career.
While Russell pocketed a cool half a million pounds, Tiger Roll has now won over £800,000 in his career.
Russell’s first ever win at the Grand National came in his 14th attempt. As the competition’s oldest jockey, it looked like Russell may never achieve a win at Aintree. However, the Irishman kept his competitors within reach during the race, and neither the jockey nor the horse made any mistakes along the four-and-a-quarter mile track.
The trainer wins again
Tiger Roll’s trainer, Gordon Elliott, continued to have one of the most remarkable years ever for a horse trainer. Elliott’s win at Aintree continues his streak of high-profile victories in 2018. Elliott finished the Cheltenham Festival with eight wins, setting a record set by fellow trainer Willie Mullins in 2015. The eight wins made Elliott the top trainer at this year’s event in Cheltenham. Elliott followed up his triumph at Cheltenham with his first ever win at the Irish Grand National.
The sportsbooks struggle at Aintree
While Russell and Elliott were the big financial winners during the Grand National, sportsbooks were not. Tiger Roll’s performance at the Cheltenham Festival had made him one of the top choices of punters. Tiger Roll’s previous races were “punter friendly”, and this year, bettors were able to take advantage of the horse’s form to cash-in.
According to The Sporting News, Tiger Roll’s win was the second worst result of the Grand National for sportsbooks. One sportsbook spokesman told the website that bookmakers would have been cheering for Pleasant Company to win the race. After Tiger Roll’s triumph at Aintree this year, he has already been installed as the favourite in 2019 at odds of 16/1.
It is believed sportsbooks had to make a multi-million-pound payout to their customers following the Grand National. Some sportsbooks had offered Tiger Roll at 12/1 odds, which influenced many to back the horse even more. This year’s event may go down as one in which sportsbooks greatly undervalued a potential winner.
According to the Racing Post, Tiger Roll received a majority of bets on the busiest horse race betting day of the year. According to Ladbrokes’ spokeswoman Nicola McGeady, the sports betting industry is now licking its wounds.
