Grand National Betting Fence By Fence Guide

The Grand National is run over a distance 4miles and 4furlongs and takes in a total of 30 Aintree fences. Some are more difficult than others, some are certainly more famous than others, but all need to be treated with the greatest amount of respect for various reasons.

The first fence is often dangerous due to the fact that it comes very quickly after the start of the race and thus many of the 40 runners reach it at around the same time. One faller at the front of the field can cause catastrophic problems for the rest of the runners and riders. Fence three is the first open ditch and provides the first stern test for the horses with a six foot gap between the front of the ditch and the fence itself.

Fence six is the famous Bechers Brook which is named after Captain Becher who fell at this fence, the difficulty comes from the fact that the there is a Brook on the landing side which means that the descent is considerably larger than the ascent. Fence eight is the Canal Turn and provides difficulty due to the 90 degree turn that the horses must take immediately after landing, how the horses approach and exit this fence is crucial to their chances.

Finally there is The Chair (or fence 15) which is the biggest of all the Aintree fences at a height of 6 foot, thankfully for many it is one of the two fences which is only negotiated once.

With so many intimidating obstacles between a horse and Grand National success it is hardly surprising that there are so many fallers. That is why the Paddy Power (Go to Paddy Power ») faller insurance market makes perfect sense for this type of race, you may get slightly shorter odds but you do get your money back if your selection becomes a victim of one of the many Aintree fences.

Written By:- Nick (About our Authors)
Posted on:- 09/04/2010 - 20:50 PM
Filed in:- Grand National Betting News