The chances of a jockey winning the Grand National are relatively slim and dependent on a number of factors including the ability of the horse, trainer, and it goes without saying - a slice of luck.
Check out this year’s Grand National betting here!
According to the mathematicians, the percentage chance of a jockey winning the Aintree Grand National is at best 3% - making it harder to become a successful rider than one of the winning-most trainers in the big race.
It is however quite an achievement to win it more than once, but some jockeys have managed that. Let’s take a look through them all:
George Stevens (5 wins)
-
1856 – Freetrader 25/1 (in the horse racing odds)
-
1863 – Emblem 4/1
-
1864 – Emblematic 10/1
-
1869 – The Colonel 100/7
-
1870 – The Colonel 7/2f
Stevens started his riding career at the age of 16. In those days, races were pretty infrequent and over a period of 22 years he won 76 races, including five Grand Nationals.
Tom Olliver (3 wins)
He won the National three times, on Gay Lad in 1842, Vanguard in 1843 and Peter Simple in 1853.
Peter Simple’s four length win in 1853 was as a 15-year-old, which made him by far the oldest horse ever to win the Grand National.
Brian Fletcher (3 wins)
Fletcher's first Grand National success came when he rode Red Alligator to victory in 1968, a year after finishing third on the same horse.
In 1973, he won the world’s greatest steeplechase on Red Rum, repeating the feat the following year in 1974.
Red Rum became a National treasure – quite literally, winning for a third time with Tommy Stack in 1977, the year Fletcher retired.
Other Jockeys (3 wins)
-
Mr Tommy Pickernell : 1860, 1871, 1875
-
Mr Tommy Beasley: 1880, 1881, 1889
-
Arthur Nightingall: 1890, 1894, 1901
-
Mr Jack Anthony: 1911, 1915, 1920
Numerous jockeys (2 wins)
The list of jockeys that have won the Grand National twice is quite extensive:
Chris Green, Mr Alec Goodman, John Page, Mr J.M Richardson, Mr Ted Wilson, Percy Woodland, Ernie Piggott, Arthur Thompson, Bryan Marshall, Fred Winter, Pat Taaffe, Carl Llewellyn, Richard Dunwoody, Ruby Walsh, Leighton Aspell, Derek Fox & Davy Russell.
-
Chris Green: 1850, 1859
-
Mr Alec Goodman: 1852, 1866
-
John Page: 1867, 1872
-
Mr J.M. Richardson: 1873, 1874
-
Mr Ted Wilson: 1884, 1885
-
Percy Woodland: 1903, 1913
-
Ernie Piggott: 1912, 1919
-
Arthur Thompson: 1948, 1952
-
Bryan Marshall: 1953, 1954
-
Pat Taaffe: 1955, 1970
-
Fred Winter: 1957, 1962
-
Richard Dunwoody: 1986, 1994
-
Carl Llewellyn: 1992, 1998
-
Ruby Walsh: 2000, 2005
-
Leighton Aspell: 2014, 2015
-
Derek Fox: 2017, 2023
-
Davy Russell: 2018, 2019
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
