Horse Racing

What To Expect At The Grand National Festival 2025: A Beginners Guide

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Horse Number 2 and Jockey with White Silks
25
Mar

The Grand National Festival is a globally watched, extremely prestigious event in the horseracing calendar, with over 500 million watching the races unfold across the 3-day event. Over the course of the 166 years that this highly esteemed festival has been running, a lot has changed, and a lot of culture has been built around the festival. Horse racing as a whole has built a fanbase and a culture behind it, growing in popularity as the sport has had more global coverage than ever before. When it comes to the Grand National, it is watched from all across the globe, with people taking advantage of Grand National free bets and all the sport has to offer outside of the actual races. Today, we are going to be taking a look at what to expect from the Grand National Festival 2025 so that beginners can learn and prepare for what is to come.

The Races

Although it seems obvious, it is important to understand what races are occurring and what takes place on each day to prepare for what is to occur over the 3-day event. If you are choosing to place bets on the races or even just watch the races, then it is a good idea to understand what races to expect to see. At the festival, across 3 days, there are over 20 races taking place featuring jockeys from around the world, with professionals and amateurs taking part.

The festival hosts a number of experienced riders and amateur opponents with the desire to make a name for themselves. The 3 days of this festival include high stake races, like The Aintree Hurdle (Thursday), The Bowl Chase (Thursday), The Topham Chase (Friday), The Melling Chase (Friday), The Liverpool Hurdle (Saturday) and finally, the biggest race at the festival and one of the biggest in the world, The Grand National (Saturday).

Activities Outside of Racing

Event Marquee

Whilst watching world-class jockeys go head to head in some of the most anticipated races of the year is a huge part of being a spectator, there is so much more to the culture behind the races and activities to engage in between races. The festival is a massive success on social media, with celebrities using the races as an opportunity to post and share their experience or outfits at the event. This has become a common trend for people to make the most of the prestigious event and share their visits on social media. If social media isnā€™t your thing and you’d rather just soak up the atmosphere, why not get involved with everything the racecourse has to offer, such as food and drink? A huge part of the Grand National experience is placing stakes on any of the different races included in the event. There are on-site places to place a bet on the races, with online sites also becoming a popular option with great betting offers available surrounding the Grand National.

Fashion

Fashion has become a big part of the Grand National Festival, and it has become a tradition to dress a certain way when you visit the prestigious Aintree Racecourse. The overarching theme is to dress in a very presentable manner, including suits and bold dresses.

The bold fashion theme has always been common at the event as it was once a reflection of the exclusivity for those who would attend the event, reflected by the vintage aesthetic in many of the outfits you will see. With the emergence of social media and sharing experiences online, the outfits have only become more interesting as a statement to share on social media pages, meaning the fashion aspect of the event is forever evolving and will remain a big part of the preparations.

Celebrities

The stature of the event and its global appeal have brought in many recognisable faces to the Grand National, showcasing their unique outfits and experiencing all that Aintree has to offer. There are many celebrities for viewers to look out for, with a wide range of famous faces from all different industries. A few celebrities we have seen on multiple occasions include TV host Holly Willoughby, Singer Olly Murs and Football Legend Sir Kenny Dalglish. Spotting celebrities is a good pass time whilst at the races, and it isnā€™t uncommon to see some big A-listers.

Music

DJ Mixing Desk

While the focus of the festival is horse racing, music is a big part of the 3-day event and invites many big artists to perform and famous DJs from around the world. There are many events, including after-parties and tents, hosting live DJs. During the eventā€™s history, there have been many massive celebrities performing at Aintree, with the likes of Tom Jones performing there in 2016, The Kaiser Chiefs in 2017 and Madness in 2011.