70% of parents would let their children pick a Grand National horse

A survey of British adults conducted by the website GrandNational.fans and YouGov found that the majority of British parents would let their children select a Grand National horse for them to back in the race.

A whopping 70% of parents who have placed a bet on the Grand National would let their children choose a horse for them to bet on, according to new research out today.

A study of Grand National betting habits by YouGov for the GrandNational.fans website also found that 52% of respondents who have bet on the Grand National claimed to have placed a winning bet with 54% preferring to place their bets with a high street betting shop. Just 8% of those asked used a bookmakers betting app.

GrandNational.fans survey - key findings:

• 25% of British adults are likely to bet on the 2018 Grand National
• 51% who have bet on the Grand National typically back more than 1 horse
• Only 6% of those surveyed could correctly identify Randox Health as the Grand National sponsors
• 45% of those who have placed a bet picked a horse to back based on its name
• Just 21% who have placed a bet backed a horse based on its form
• 61% of those who place a bet do it Each-Way

The Grand National will be run on the 14th April with an anticipated UK television audience of around 9m tuning in to watch the action unfold from Aintree.

“For one day a year, people who rarely place a bet are likely to have a flutter, with our research showing that 25% of people are likely to have a punt on this year’s race. And not forgetting that 69% of people who have placed a bet on the Grand National have been involved in a Grand National office Sweepstakes” says Simone Wright, founder of GrandNational.fans website.

“It’s also interesting to see what influences the decisions people make on which horse to back. Factors you might think are normal - like a horse’s form (21%) or a tip (9%) – are dwarfed by people who chose a horse based on its name (45%).

“It’s choices like this, and the fact that 44% of people aren’t influenced by the odds and that 56% of those making a bet generally tend to stake between £1 and £5 on a horse, which suggest to us that betting on the National is more about fun than financial gain.”

Roger Hart, Horse Racing Consultant said: “The Randox Health Grand National has always been known as the “peoples race”.

“These findings show its appeal stretches much further & across all generations so it could easily be seen as a race that brings families together in a major celebration of something uniquely British in which everyone participates.”

Despite the popularity of placing bets, most respondents (64%) didn’t know or could not recall the name of last year’s winner, and just 6% could correctly identify the current race sponsor (Randox Health). In fact 25% believed the race is still sponsored by John Smiths, the drinks brand that ceased association with the race back in 2013.