{"id":21341,"date":"2026-04-07T11:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/?p=21341"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:53:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:53:22","slug":"grand-national-2026-day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/grand-national-2026-day-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand National Opening Day (Thursday): Races, Runners & Racecard"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Choose your bet on Grand National<\/a><\/p>\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n BET<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

18+ | Play responsibly | BeGambleAware.org<\/div>\r\n <\/div>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The time has come for the ultimate National Hunt event of the British horse racing calendar to take centrestage. The Grand National Festival takes place otrever the course of three days in the beginning of April each year. Its first day typically falls on a Thursday and is often referred to as the <\/span>Grand National Opening Day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the first day of the Festival, it sets the tone for the entire event and includes the Aintree Hurdle as its headline race. In this article you will find detailed information on what to expect on the first day of the Grand National, what races it hosts, and what its race cards have in store for horse racing enthusiasts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Grand National Opening Day (Thursday) Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Grand National Thursday<\/strong> will take place on 9 April 2026 at the Aintree Racecourse in Merseyside, near Liverpool. It will host 7 out of the total of 21 races of the event. Out of these, 4 races are classified as Grade 1: Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle, Manifesto Novices\u2019 Chase, Aintree Bowl, and Aintree Hurdle.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main schedule of the Opening Day is as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n