I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett head the confirmations for the 2026 Grand National at Aintree Racecourse.
Both horses are trained by Willie Mullins and won the race in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Top contenders
Owned by JP McManus, I Am Maximus won the 2024 race by seven and a half lengths and later finished second behind Nick Rockett in 2025.
The horse will attempt to become the first to win the race carrying top weight since Red Rum achieved the feat in the 1970s.
Nick Rockett, meanwhile, is aiming to secure consecutive victories – a feat last achieved by Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019.
Entries and field
A total of 49 horses remain in contention, although only 34 runners will line up when the final field and four reserves are confirmed on Wednesday.
McManus is chasing a record fourth Grand National triumph and also has contenders Iroko and Jagwar trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.
Irish dominance
Mullins is expected to dominate the field again, with nine horses guaranteed a run, including Grangeclare West, Spanish Harlem and Lecky Watson.
Fellow leading trainer Gordon Elliott also has strong entries such as Gerri Colombe and Firefox.
Race details
The 2026 Grand National will take place on Saturday, 11 April at Aintree, with the race scheduled to start at 16:00 BST.
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