There are a few key rules to follow before you wade into the Grand National betting. Looking back at the trends of past Grand Nationals gives a huge clue to the winner of this race.

When attempting to find the winner of this year's Grand National ensure the selection is carrying between 10stone 1lb and 11stone of weight. Horses out of the handicap (i.e: set to carry less than 10 stone if they could) and the topweights have a poor record in the Grand National. Your selection must have won over three miles or more. French horses should be avoided. Horses wearing blinkers or a visor must not be backed in the Grand National betting. Ensure your selected horse is aged between nine and twelve years of age. Youngsters and OAPs have a desperate record in the race. It helps a lot if your Grand National selection has good previous experience over the Grand National fences (either in a previous Grand National or in a different race that was run over the proper Grand National fences).

Those criteria suggest that you need a quality animal to win the Grand National. In recent years to course has become less formidable and so the element of luck has been reduced. Nowadays Grand Nationals are won by class horses. It is no lottery.

So if you are going to venture into the Grand National betting market and come out on top then stick to the rules above. Last word of advice, consider betting with our number one recommended online bookmaker Bet365 Online Bookmaker. Not only are they a huge and trustworthy outfit with a great name for customer service, they also offer a whopping £100 in free bets to new customers.