The Grand National holds a special place in the hearts of the UK public and is the one sporting event that tempts even the most risk averse to have a flutter. The 2018 renewal of the world’s greatest steeplechase will be held at Aintree racecourse on Saturday 14th April and millions of viewers around the world will be tuning in to watch the spectacular event.
The National Hunt showpiece is a sight to behold with 40 runners attempting to clear 30 fences over the gruelling four-mile marathon trip. The Grand National has thrown up many heroes down the years the most famous of which is Red Rum, three-time winner during the 1970s. Bob Champion, the jockey who fought his way back from cancer to win the 1981 Grand National aboard Aldaniti and brave Hedgehunter who competed in the race five times, winning in 2005, are two more examples.
It may seem bazaar, but the popularity of the Grand National works against the interests of matched betting to some degree. Being the biggest betting event in the racing calendar means bookies don’t have to work as hard to attract business. Once a year punters will be flocking to betting shops and registering with bookies online for no other incentive than to feel involved in the historic race. Previous experience tells us to expect many online bookies to withdraw or reduce their welcome offers on Grand National day and in some instances, from the day before.
Matched betting sites will still have plenty of sign up offers to attempt and the usual horse racing offers should still be available to existing customers. It simply means that matched bettors need to be mindful when planning which offers to do. Not all online bookmakers provide betting on horse racing and their welcome offers should not be affected.
The Grand National itself is a great race for using free bets earned from earlier offers. Remember free bets are typically valid for four to seven days and what could look more ‘muggy’ than using them on a 40 runner cavalry charge? Thanks to the big odds on the National, it’s easy to retain a high percentage profit from free bets and placing a number of free bets on different Grand National selections off sets exchange liabilities for a more efficient use of your bank.
While the bookies pull back on sign up offers, punters will still be able to get Grand National free bets and there will be other promotions, which could earn a nice profit such as Extra Places. FreeBets website has latest horse racing betting offers for Grand National like Betvictor offers to return your money if your horse doesn’t run or Coral returns your money if your horse falls during the race. There are many such exciting offers available here. Expect to find firms offering to pay down to 6th, 7th or possibly 8th place in the National and use matched betting to make a profit from finding a horse to occupy one or more of the extra places.
As previously mentioned, Grand National odds will be very high given the open nature of the race and the fact there will be 40 runners involved. This means qualifying losses could be quite big unless very close matches are found. Thankfully, the competition between bookmakers is very strong and they will have large and varied liabilities on the race which usually throws up a number of arb opportunities and exact matches with exchange odds. While arbing is normally a no go for matched bettors looking to protect their accounts, the Grand National is one race where that advice can be ignored.
Article published 08/03/2018