The event takes place across three days at Aintree Racecourse, with Opening Day and Ladies Day taking place so far.

But the main event, the Grand National, will take place on Saturday, April 11.

The race will see 34 horses and jockeys jump 30 fences across the four-mile route with a £1 million prize up for grabs.

Zeus Power! ⚡️

A strong winner of the @oddschecker Sefton Novices’ Hurdle 👏 pic.twitter.com/n1njkNYjxR

— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) April 10, 2026

So, you do not miss seeing “the world’s greatest steeplechase”, here is all you need to know about the 2026 Grand National, including the start time, runners and where to watch.

How to watch the 2026 Grand National

Coverage for the Grand National will kick off on ITV1 and ITVX from 3.15pm.

The race will start at 4pm on Saturday, April 11.

Saturday’s final race will also be shown online at Racing.tv .

The first (12.45pm) and final (5pm) races on Saturday will not be available to watch on ITV.

Grand National 2026 runners

The horses taking part in the race are:

• I Am Maximus
• Panic Attack
• Jagwar
• Grangeclare West
• Johnnywho
• Monty’s Star
• Iroko
• Oscar’s Brother
• Captain Cody
• Haiti Couleurs
• Gorgeous Tom
• Gerri Colombe
• Final Orders
• Quai De Bourbon
• Stellar Story

Who has the rights to the Grand National?

ITV currently has the rights to broadcast The Grand National in the UK, which it has had since 2017.

The race was first broadcast on the BBC back in 1960, and it stayed that way until 2013 when Channel 4 got the rights, which lasted until 2016.

Along with the Epsom Derby, the Grand National is one of two horse races that must be broadcast on free-to-air television in the UK.

Will you be watching the Grand National? Let us know in the comments below.

The A34 southbound will be closed from 9pm this evening to 6am tomorrow morning between the junctions for the M40 and the Peartree Interchange.

According to National Highways, this is for ‘roadmarkings renewal’.

READ MORE: Botley Road three-year closure has cost at least £237m

This will impact bus services, with Stagecoach warning its customers in advance that the S5 will have to divert as a result.

In a statement issued on Saturday morning, a spokesperson for Stagecoach said: “The S5 will divert between Bicester and Gosford via A4095, Kirtlington, Enslow, Bletchingdon and Hampton Poyle, and we expect delays as a result.

“Services from Oxford to Bicester are not affected.”

The road was closed at the rail bridge on April 11, 2023, and initially the closure was only expected to last for months – not years.

“It’s astonishing – and embarrassing – that it is taking Network Rail more than three years to replace a bridge, when other countries manage to replace bridges in about three days,” said city councillor Susanna Pressel.

The road had been supposed to reopen at the bridge temporarily from October 2023 to March 2024 but delays forced Network Rail to re-think and announce the closure would continue until October 2024.

READ MORE: Botley Road station scheme moves to next stage

Network Rail then announced in 2024 there would be further delays, owing to the unforeseen “complexity” of the project, including the discovery of a Victorian arch beneath Botley Road close to the rail bridge.

In February this year, a new rail bridge was installed to boost capacity, and a new western entrance to the station and new platform five is now planned but it is unclear if the funding has been fully agreed by the Department for Transport.

Network Rail contractors remain on schedule to reopen the road by the end of August.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The latest estimate for the Oxford Phase 2 project, including the works associated with Botley Road, is £237.4m.

“This includes some of the costs associated with the fifth platform and construction of the western entrance, but not all.

“A cost and completion date for work to complete both have yet to be agreed with the Department for Transport, though we are on course to fully reopen the road by the end of August as planned.”

City councillor Susanna Pressel (Image: Oxford Mail)

Ms Pressel added that replacing the rail bridge was “an unusually massive engineering project” because the road had to be lowered, which meant diverting 11 utilities and protecting the much deeper road against flooding.

She said: “The project has created enormous misery for many residents and businesses – and not just the people I represent in the Botley Road area, but also countless residents and businesses to the west of the city, who used to use that route for vital access. I was speaking to a couple of residents just this week who need to get to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

“They can’t possible walk all the way through the tunnel (linking Botley Road and Frideswide Square), from the end of one bus route to the start of another, and a taxi all the way round the ring road would now cost about £50. They say they are not eligible for free patient transport.”

Ms Pressel added that residents and businesses have been upset by the noisy construction work.

She said: “Most building sites are at least quiet at night, but not this one – some work can only take place when no trains are running, so that has meant quite a lot of very noisy work in the early hours of the morning, including massive pile drivers.

“Some residents are in despair.”

The city councillor said she believed Network Rail planned to start work on a new western entrance next year and open it in about mid-2029.

Former county councillor John Howson (Image: Oxford Mail)

Former county councillor John Howson, who lives near Oxford station, said: “The Botley Road closure has been devastating for the whole community – both residents and businesses.

“There needs to be an investigation as to why the brick arch wasn’t detected before work started, and why it took the intervention of a minister (Lord Hendy) to get work back on track.”

In January, community campaigner Julian Le Vay estimated businesses in the area have lost about £50m, with more than 120 jobs lost.

The new platform will eventually serve rail links to Bristol, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge – and the Cowley Branch Line.