Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 North Yorkshire Grand National Preview
Scheduled to take place in January of each year at the Catterick racecourse is the North Yorkshire Grand National, a handicap chase which is run over a trip of three miles, five furlongs and two hundred and fourteen yards in which the field will face a today of twenty-four fences.
The race is a real stamina tester being at this time of the year over such a lengthy trip, more often than not you need a runner who is proven over this type of trip on testing ground. The race is a Class 3 in which runners aged five or older can enter.
North Yorkshire Grand National Information:
- North Yorkshire Grand National Past Winners
- North Yorkshire Grand National Trainer Statistics
- North Yorkshire Grand National Jockey Statistics
To see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are tipping throughout the card that includes this race, head over to the Catterick tips on the day of the race, do they agree with the runners on the trend shortlist or are they predicting other runners?
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the North Yorkshire Grand National market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 18 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2018 when the race had an over-round of 113%. The race in 2007 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 124%, whilst on average over the last 18 renewals of the North Yorkshire Grand National, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 North Yorkshire Grand National Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the North Yorkshire Grand National Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run North Yorkshire Grand National over the last 18 renewals:
- Sharp Response (7:33.30) in 2019
- Prince Of Slane (7:38.40) in 2006
- General Hardi (7:41.80) in 2011
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 18 if you had followed the winner of the North Yorkshire Grand National next time out then you would have backed a total of 0 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -18.00. Ahead of the 2025 North Yorkshire Grand National why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?
Over the last 18 renewals, it was Sharp Response, trained by Sue Smith and ridden by Danny Cook who set the fastest winning time in the North Yorkshire Grand National, the runner won the race in a time of 7:33.30 when winning the race in 2019. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Jonjo O'Neill and jockey Richie McLernon with Track And Trace who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 8:27.80 in the 2024 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
North Yorkshire Grand National Past Winners
Here are the North Yorkshire Grand National past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the North Yorkshire Grand National are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: The race was abandoned in 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2025 due to the weather.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 8:27.80 | Track And Trace (IRE) 7yo 11-1 7/2F | Richie McLernon Jonjo O'Neill (GB) |
| 2023 8:24.74 | Bushypark (IRE) 9yo 10-7 2/1F | Thomas Dowson Philip Kirby (GB) |
| 2022 7:57.00 | Supreme Escape (IRE) 8yo 10-9 5/1 | James Bowen Evan Williams (GB) |
| 2020 8:22.20 | Little Bruce (IRE) 8yo 11-11 15/8F | Thomas Dowson Philip Kirby (GB) |
| 2019 7:33.30 | Sharp Response (IRE) 8yo 11-12 7/4F | Danny Cook Sue Smith (GB) |
| 2018 8:06.80 | I Just Know (IRE) 8yo 11-10 4/1F | Sean Quinlan Sue Smith (GB) |
| 2017 7:46.00 | Straidnahanna (IRE) 8yo 11-10 11/2F | Danny Cook Sue Smith (GB) |
| 2016 8:17.20 | Lackamon (GB) 11yo 11-4 12/1 | Danny Cook Sue Smith (GB) |
| 2015 7:42.40 | Scotswell (GB) 9yo 10-9 5/1F | James Reveley Harriet Graham (GB) |
| 2014 8:05.40 | Sun Cloud (IRE) 7yo 11-0 4/1 | Brian Hughes Malcolm Jefferson (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the North Yorkshire Grand National have been based:
- GB: 17 winners with an additional 33 placings from 185 runners
- FR: 1 winner with an additional 1 placing from 6 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
North Yorkshire Grand National Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the North Yorkshire Grand National over the last 18 renewals is Sue Smith who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Lackamon (2016), Straidnahanna (2017), I Just Know (2018) and Sharp Response (2019). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the North Yorkshire Grand National is Philip Kirby (2 wins).
Here are some of the top North Yorkshire Grand National trainer statistics over the last 18 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sue Smith | 14-4-5 | +13.25 | +5.33 |
| Philip Kirby | 5-2-3 | +0.88 | +0.51 |
| Michael Easterby | 3-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.25 |
| Peter Niven | 3-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.00 |
| Chris Bealby | 3-1-1 | +3.50 | +1.44 |
| Tom George | 3-1-3 | +1.50 | +3.20 |
| Evan Williams | 2-1-2 | +4.00 | +3.05 |
| Harriet Graham | 2-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.13 |
| Jonjo O'Neill | 2-1-2 | +2.50 | +2.48 |
| Donald McCain | 8-0-2 | -8.00 | -4.50 |
North Yorkshire Grand National Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the North Yorkshire Grand National over the last 18 renewals is Danny Cook who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Lackamon (2016), Straidnahanna (2017) and Sharp Response (2019). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the North Yorkshire Grand National is Thomas Dowson (2 wins).
Here are some of the top North Yorkshire Grand National jockey statistics over the last 18 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Cook | 3-3-3 | +19.25 | +12.03 |
| Thomas Dowson | 3-2-2 | +2.88 | +1.38 |
| Brian Hughes | 11-1-3 | -6.00 | -4.35 |
| Sean Quinlan | 8-1-3 | -3.00 | -1.00 |
| James Reveley | 5-1-2 | +1.00 | +0.63 |
| Dougie Costello | 4-1-1 | +5.00 | +2.00 |
| James Bowen | 1-1-1 | +5.00 | +3.00 |
| Richie McLernon | 1-1-1 | +3.50 | +2.10 |
| Jonathan England | 6-0-0 | -6.00 | -6.00 |
| Henry Brooke | 4-0-1 | -4.00 | -2.85 |
2026 North Yorkshire Grand National Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 1, 4, (5, PU), (7, PU), 2, UR, 6, 2, 1, PU, 1, (1, 6, UR), 1, 1, 3, 1, 1
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 18 / 18 (79%) - Break of 5 - 332 days (Last Place)
- 18 / 18 (79%) - Had 1 - 4 placings (1 Year)
- 18 / 18 (81%) - Within the first 9 of the market
- 18 / 18 (81%) - No bigger than 16/1
- 18 / 18 (82%) - In a field of 2 - 11 (Last Win)
- 18 / 18 (83%) - Carried 144 - 165lbs (Debut)
- 18 / 18 (83%) - Furthest ran 3m1f - 4m½f
- 18 / 18 (83%) - Highest Placed is not G1-3/LST
- 18 / 18 (84%) - Ran over 1m5½f - 2m7½f (Debut)
- 18 / 18 (86%) - Had 1 - 7 wins (Career)
- 18 / 18 (86%) - No bigger than 11/1 (Last Win)
- 18 / 18 (87%) - Fewer than 6 placings (Going)
- 18 / 18 (88%) - No older than an 11yo
- 18 / 18 (88%) - Placed within last 5 starts
- 18 / 18 (89%) - Ran in 2 - 24 races (Chase)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Catterick racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the North Yorkshire Grand National. If there is anything that you do not understand in this blog, please leave a comment or head over to the Horse Racing Terms and Abbreviations article which is available in the OLBG Betting School section.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the North Yorkshire Grand National by adding a tip on the race here.
North Yorkshire Grand National Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 9+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +22.63 is when runners ran in a race worth £3,000 on debut.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 2 career starts in higher class races, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-25.
The course which has produced the most winners of the North Yorkshire Grand National is Doncaster, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Doncaster last time out.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 17 winners from a total of 186 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 7 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the North Yorkshire Grand National, that stallion Be My Native has produced 2 winners (2007,2003).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the North Yorkshire Grand National despite multiple attempts:
- Beneficial (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 18 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was General Hardi in 2011, winning for John Wade at odds of 16/1 under the guidance of Denis O'Regan. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 18 renewals there have been 8 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2026 North Yorkshire Grand National. If you are interested in other races at the Catterick racecourse, then why not read our blog for the Catterick Dash?
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this North Yorkshire Grand National Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
