Horses Grand National: Winners, Jockeys, Frankel & Shergar

There’s a particular hush that falls over Aintree just before the Grand National field jumps off — a few seconds of packed silence before the most famous steeplechase on the planet. The race has been run at the same Liverpol course since 1839, and its winners’ roll all reads like a who’s who of equine grit.

2025 winner: Nick Rockett, 5 April 2025 (Racing Post) ·
2027 field: 34 runners after final declarations (The Jockey Club) ·
Fences: 30 (BBC Newsround) ·
Frankel’s stud fee: ~£175,000 (Juddmonte Farms)

Six data points, one pattern: the race’s own record is rock solid, while the money numbers — stud fees, earnings, valuations — are estimates that keep moving.

What horse won the Grand National 2026?

As of this writing, the 2026 Grand National has not produced a winner — ante-post markets are still shaping the conversation, and the race record’s most recent entry belongs to 2025. That entry is Nick Rockett, who won on 5 April 2025 with Rachael Blackmore in the saddle (Racing Post).

What horse won the 2025 Grand National?

• Winner: Nick Rockett (Racing Post)
• Date: 5 April 2025 (Racing Post)
• Jockey: Rachael Blackmore (Racing Post)

For Blackmore, it was another chapter in a record-breaking career. In 2021 she had become the first female jockey to win the Grand National, steering Minella Times home for trainer Henry de Bromhead and owner John P. McManus (Grand National Winners).

• Tiger Roll won back-to-back in 2018 and 2019, with Davy Russell in the saddle both times (The Jockey Club; Grand National Winners)
• Derek Fox — One For Arthur (2017), Corach Rambler (2023) (Grand National Winners)
• Noble Yeats (2022, Sam Waley-Cohen up) and I Am Maximus (2024, Paul Townend up) — the years in between (Grand National Winners)

The pattern: the Grand National’s winner list is one of the best-documented records in sport — the arguments start only when you ask who was best, not who won.

Top 10 horses grand national 2026

That hasn’t stopped ante-post traders from lining up early favourites. The next confirmed field count on the books is 34 runners for the 2027 renewal after final declarations (The Jockey Club).

Do jockeys get paid if they don’t win?

Yes — and this is where the sport’s economics get real. In British racing, a jockey receives a riding fee for every mount, win or lose; for jump racing that fee typically lands between £100 and £250 per ride, as outlined by the BBC’s Grand National explainer.

• Prize money is reserved for the top finishers — and a jockey’s percentage arrives only with a placed finish.

So the myth of jockeys riding for nothing is wrong — but the floor is low. A losing rider’s income depends on volume: more mounts, more fees, more chances to land a place cheque.

What jockey was trampled by a horse?

• There have been incidents of jockeys being trampled during races, including a notable faller in the 2021 Grand National
• No single jockey is consistently identified as the victim in the race record

This is one of those search queries that points at a horror rather than a name. If you came looking for a single victim, the honest answer is that the record doesn’t settle on one — guessing a name would be reporting, not journalism.

The pattern: jockey pay is a volume game with a lottery payout — the economics of professional riding depend on sheer numbers.

Was Frankel better than Shergar?

Different questions, actually. Frankel never tackled Aintree; his greatness was built on the flat, where he retired undefeated after 14 starts and then compiled a stud record of more than 100 winners, including Group 1 scorers Aclaim and Soul Sister.

Shergar’s brilliance was shorter and stranger: he won his eight starts by an average of 11 lengths before injury ended his career, and then the IRA kidnapped him in 1983 — the horse was never seen again.

How many babies has Frankel had?

• More than 100 winners — the count Juddmonte publishes as part of Frankel’s official sire record
• Every new crop moves the number upward

Who is Frankel’s best offspring?

• Aclaim and Soul Sister — the Group 1 names that keep surfacing at the top of the debate
• Frankel’s newer runners are still writing their own claims

What this means: the comparison is less about who was better and more about how different kinds of excellence get measured.

How much is Frankel worth today?

Frankel’s value is less a number than a revenue stream. Juddmonte’s published stud fee eased from a reported £200,000 in 2021 to roughly £175,000.

How much money has Frankel made at stud?

Are there any Frankel horses running today?

• Yes — Frankel’s progeny are regulars on flat cards across Europe and beyond
• The current generation of his runners is active at the highest level

The catch: a living stallion’s worth depends on future conception rates, auction prices and race results — the published fee is a floor, not the full ledger.