Grand National 2026: Guide to three-day Aintree festival

The Randox Grand National festival opens at Aintree racecourse on Thursday.

More than 150,000 racegoers are expected at the three-day event on Merseyside.

Aintree racecourse, in Sefton, has hosted the festival since 1839, with Red Rum the most successful horse in Grand National history having won the steeplechase race three times.

Here is a guide on how to get to the festival, dress code and the all-important race times for Opening Day, Ladies Day and Grand National Day.

Racegoers heading to the iconic Aintree meeting are advised to plan ahead, use public transport where possible and leave plenty of time.

Stagecoach Manchester and Merseyside will be running a dedicated shuttle bus service from Liverpool city centre to Aintree Racecourse across all three days of the Randox Grand National Festival.

Passengers can board the shuttle from Elliot Street in the city centre for a direct journey to Park Lane (Aintree Station), located just a short walk from the racecourse entrance.

Buses will run frequently throughout the day, helping visitors avoid the hassle of traffic and parking while travelling comfortably to and from the festival.

Tickets are priced at £5 for an adult single and £6 for an adult return.

During the festival, Merseyrail will operate a seven-and-a-half-minute frequency service between Liverpool city centre and Aintree stations on the Merseyrail Northern Line before and after the races.

The seven-and-a-half-minute service will run between Aintree and Liverpool Central/Moorfields stations from about 10:00 BST to 13:00 and 16:30 to 20:00.

To accommodate the more frequent services between Liverpool city centre and Aintree there will be reduced services to some stations on the Ormskirk branch of the Northern Line and a slightly amended 15-minute timetable on the Southport branch of the Northern Line.

On the Headbolt Lane branch of the Northern Line, a reduced 30 minute service will operate all-day for all three days of the festival.

The Wirral Line will operate an amended timetable from 07:00 to 19:00 during the festival.

Customers travelling to the festival from any Wirral line stations are advised to change at Moorfields for an Aintree-bound train.

Limited on-course parking is available for the Grand National meeting.

This can be booked by calling the booking line on 0844 579 3001.

The Grand National is the biggest day of the racing calendar for racegoers. Thousands of people will pack the Aintree grandstands to watch the iconic contest unfold.

Ladies Day at the Grand National Festival is one of the biggest fashion days of the year.

Some spectators get dressed to the nines, wearing their best outfits to Aintree. However, there is actually no official style code for the Aintree Grand National. Read more here.

Gates open at 11:00 BST on Opening Day, which is often thought of as a day for true racing aficionados and can often be the place where new talent in the horse racing world will emerge.

The race times are as follows:

13:45: Boodles Juvenile Hurdle

14:20: Manifesto Novices' Chase

14:55: Aintree Bowl

15:30: Foxhunters' Chase

16:05: Aintree Hurdle

16:40: Red Rum Chase

17:15: Mares' NH Flat Race

Ladies Day, the second day of the annual meeting is all about glamour and style, alongside the horseracing on the course.

The gates open at 10:30 BST - expect bright outfits and big hats as the crowd goes all out.

It will also see the Style Awards, where two best dressed racegoers will be crowned, along with the most sustainably dressed racegoer.

Here is the schedule for the second day for the top class racing of the Aintree meeting:

13:45: William Hill Handicap Hurdle

14:20: Mildmay Novices' Chase

14:55: Top Novices' Hurdle

15:30: Melling Chase

16:05: Topham Chase

16:40: Sefton Novices' Hurdle

17:15: Debenhams Hurdle

Gates open at 10:00 BST on Saturday, but all eyes will be on the runners and riders taking on 30 unique fences for the main event, which takes place at 16:00.

The schedule for Grand National Day is as follows:

12:45: Maghull Chase

13:20: William Hill Hurdle

13:55: Mersey Novices' Hurdle

14:30: William Hill Handicap Chase

15:05: Liverpool Hurdle

16:00: Grand National

17:00: Weatherbys NH Flat Race

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