The Grand National horse race is Entain's most popular annual betting event, surpassing both the Super Bowl and the Champions League final in terms of betting volume.
Entain will accept over 15,000 bets per minute, with stores producing more than 4 million betting slips for the event.
According to data from Entain's UK sports betting companies, when it comes to betting on the big horse races, the British public cares most about the name of the event.
Although popular names, colors, or song titles often make a horse a favorite among recreational bettors, this can be bad news for horses with French names, as they are consistently among the least supported choices.
"The Grand National is truly unique. It is the only race of the year where the primary factor in a horse's popularity is its name. This is unheard of in any other race."
In 2024, Galia Des Liteaux (23rd), Farouk D'Alene (28th), and Eklat De Rire (29th) are among the least supported horses, while Vanillier, the runner-up in 2023 and one of the favorites that year, ranked only 20th out of 32 competing horses. The Italian horse named Capodanno (meaning "New Year's Day") is the least supported on the field.
Conversely, "Ain't That A Shame," initially a high-priced choice and ridden by an inexperienced jockey, became the most popular horse, likely due to the popularity of Fats Domino's 1955 hit song.
"As part of the big race trading team, one of our main tasks is to carefully review the list of participating horses and assign a popularity rating to each name. If a horse has a common name like 'Bob's Great,' it will be one of the most popular names of the day."
However, if a horse has a French name, especially a long one that no one can write down on a shop slip, it is unlikely to be popular, regardless of its chances of winning. All trading rules are thrown out the window in such cases."
Entain's Senior Trading Manager Tim Smith says other factors that might interest people include the color of the horse, with grey horses always being popular. Current events also draw significant attention, as seen in 1992 when party politics were very popular among bettors just five days before the general election. Female jockeys also resonate with the British public and have been strongly supported.
"Rachel Blackmore is popular in any race she participates in, but she reaches another level in the Grand National. In 2021, she became the first female jockey to win the Grand National, cheered on by millions. This year, as she is likely the only female jockey on the field, the situation will be no exception."
Entain's Senior Trading Manager Tim Smith's betting insights state that Nick Rockett is likely to be very popular among entertainment bettors, as are Intense Raffles and Coko Beach, while Kandoo Kid is one of several potential grey horse contenders. Whether Rachel Blackmore will ride Senior Chief or Minella Indo remains to be seen, but if she switches from Minella Indo to another horse trained by Henry de Bromhead, it would definitely boost Senior Chief's popularity significantly.
