2008 Grand National Entries Announced

A bumper entry of 150 horses has just been announced for the 2008 Grand National, which will be run on Saturday 5th April at the Aintree race course. The website www.grand-national.me.uk has compiled a detailed list of horse form and trainer information for the entered horses. Along with a guide which offers advice on picking a horse with the potential to win the race.

Aintree, Liverpool (PRWEB) February 7, 2008 -- The 2008 Grand National (http://www.grand-national.me.uk) will be run on Saturday 5th April at the Aintree race course. The Grand National commands a worldwide TV audience in excess of 500 million viewers and is arguably one of the world's premier horse racing events.

The race is a national institution in the UK and is watched by people who would normally have no interest in horseracing. It is also the busiest day of the year for bookmakers who rake in millions as people place small each-way bets on horses that they take a shine too.

To complete the race each horse must jump 30 fences and outrun the other 39 contenders to claim the prize money of £800,000 ($1.5 million). The fences are notoriously difficult to navigate and will usually claim over half the runners before the final furlongs. In fact, it's the difficulty of the Grand National which seems to inspire the huge public fascination.

It's the race where betting on any horse is more of a lottery than an informed choice as last years 33/1 winner Silver Birch proved. However, the two pre-race favorites' in 2007 did finish in the money.

The runners for the 2008 Grand National have just been announced and at the moment there are 150 entries! However, this will be whittled down to a starting line up of 40 horses with several familiar names included in this year's race and some notable omissions, including last year's winner Silver Birch and Numbersixvalverde who have both been withdrawn due to injury. For a full list of the 2008 Grand National runners with recent form guide click here (http://www.grand-national.me.uk/grandnationalrunners.php).

Now is the perfect time to take a closer look at the runners and try to pick out a potential winner. Any horse backed in the Grand national is going to need a slice of luck to win this race but there are characteristics which point to a champion. Based on previous Grand National races it's quite easy to discount many of the horses in the field as no hopers.

Below is the top 5 Grand National tips for selecting a winner.

1.Weight Watchers: Don't back a horse that is carrying more than 11 stone 3lb as few horses have the stamina to carry top weight and still perform on the lengthy Aintree course. In the last fifty years only Red Rum (1974, 1977) and Corbiere (1983) have won carrying more.

2.Age Concern: Just like people, horses learn from experience too. Look for a horse aged between 9 and 11. Younger horses just don't have the experience for this grueling race.

3.French Foreign Legion: Over the years a large number of French trained horses have attempted to win the Grand National but you'll need to dig deep into the record books to find an actual winner - 1909 to be exact! So discount those French horses.

4.Go Green: The Irish take few things in life as seriously as horse racing and just as quickly as you discount French horses you should take note of the Irish runners - the last six Grand National winners have all been from Ireland!

5.The Fall Guy: It may seem obvious but selecting a horse with great jumping ability is a must for a Grand National pick. If when you check out a horses form you see lots of F's (Fell) and U's (Unseated Rider) in the form column then simply give it wide berth.

"It's interesting to note that no French horse has won the Grand National for nearly 100 years"

You can read more about the Grand Natioanl horse race at Grand National History (http://www.grand-national.me.uk/grandnationalhistory.php), along with the latest odds, runners and tips you will also find the new Red Rum (http://www.grand-national.me.uk/redrumsnationaltips.php) virtual tipster page.

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