\nI Am Maximus wins the 2024 Grand National(Image: Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
The festival will boast its own Ibiza beach club allowing fans to dance to club anthems before settling down with cocktails on sun loungers to watch the action beamed in on giant TV screens. Top BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong will perform an exclusive set after the big race.<\/p>\n
Racing chiefs reckon at least \u00a3250m will be gambled in Britain alone on what promises to be one of the closest Nationals in its 187-year history. The 2024 champ I Am Maximus is current favourite to triumph for the second time but a host of others – including Jagwar, Grangeclare West, Iroko and last year\u2019s winner Nick Rockett – are expected to push him all the way in a steeplechase which boasts prize money of \u00a31m.<\/p>\n
Bookies are preparing to take up to 100,000 bets-a-minute in the build up. More than 600m racing fans are expected to tune in to watch the action in 170 countries around the world.<\/p>\n
Over 130,000 revellers will watch the action live at Aintree over the three days necking 350,000 pints, 10,000 bottles of champagne and 30,000 cocktails shaken and stirred at the racecourse\u2019s 60 bars.<\/p>\n
At the same time Brit golfer Rory McIlroy will be battling to win back-to-back US Masters crowns in Augusta, Georgia – against home-grown two-time champ Scottie Scheffler.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRory McIlroy (right) will be hoping to fend off competition from Scottie Scheffler at this year’s US Masters (Image: Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
The Northern Irishman broke down in tears after winning last year in dramatic style following a play-off with England\u2019s Justin Rose to complete an historic grand slam of all four of golf\u2019s majors. Rory, 36, has been battling a bad back but has declared himself fit and ready to go for further glory at the four-day tournament which starts on Thursday and boasts a first prize of around \u00a33.2m.<\/p>\n
Bookies say golf is a \u2018huge market\u2019, the Masters is its \u2018Wimbledon\u2019 and the prospect of a showdown between McIlroy and American Scheffler, 29, will spark a huge gamble. In the past individual bets of up to \u00a365,000 have been placed on star players at the tournament.<\/p>\n
Completing a weekend of wagers will be the Premier League – which could virtually be decided at the weekend. If leaders Arsenal beat Bournemouth at home and second-placed Manchester City lose at Champions League-chasing Chelsea some bookies could pay out.<\/p>\n
Arsenal would be 12 points ahead with just six matches to play. Paul Binfield, of Paddy Power, said sporting fever was \u2018about to grip the nation\u2019.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\nWill Bukayo Saka (left) and Declan Rice help Arsenal to Premier League glory(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA\/Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
He said: \u201cWith perhaps much uncertainty in the world right now sporting excellence may be about to provide a much welcome distraction. There\u2019s something for every sports fan this coming weekend with a heavenly hat-trick of the Grand National, Rory versus Scottie at the US Masters and a possible conclusion to the Premier League title depending on Arsenal and City\u2019s results.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world\u2019s most famous steeplechase will bring some much-needed cheer to the city of Liverpool after the football club\u2019s season of woe. And it certainly looks one of the tightest races in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRevellers at Aintree’s Ladies Day (Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
A spokesman for The Jockey Club warned the eight million Brits expected to try and find a winner in the big race to hold onto their betting slips until the result has been confirmed. \u201cBetting slips or fancied picks, carefully clutched or pondered for days and weeks, are not to be fully celebrated or dismissed until the result has been officially announced,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cReplays are avidly studied to determine what happened and where to each of the runners and riders. Whether a regular racegoer or once a year punter interest in the Randox Grand National is such that it is easily the biggest single turnover betting event each year and the most anticipated.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegular punters and the annually curious can take a financial interest in one of Britain\u2019s 6,000 or so off-course betting shops, over the telephone, via the internet, on their smartphone or at Aintree Racecourse itself, with an estimated eight million Britons enjoying a flutter and \u00a3250 million wagered on the world\u2019s greatest steeplechase in the UK alone. Not only is the great race compelling it can also be financially rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Millions of Brits are set to embark on a \u00a31bn betting bonanza with a feast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}