Grand National 2021 live on ITV

ITV will broadcast exclusive free-to-air coverage of all three days of the 2021 Randox Grand National Festival live from Aintree on 8-10 April.

Held at the famous Liverpool course and run over the iconic fences, the big race returns to the spring sporting calendar this year after it was cancelled 12 months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Run since 1839, the Grand National is a race like no other and sees its 40 competitors take on Aintree’s unique and challenging four mile course, which features famous fences such as Becher’s Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn

The showpiece race is part of three days of top class racing, which includes nine Grade One races across the meeting, before culminating in the greatest steeplechase of them all at 5.15pm on Saturday, 10 April, with a UK TV audience of around 10 million viewers expected to tune in to watch one of sport’s greatest spectacles.

Following on from ITV’s record-breaking Cheltenham Festival coverage, where almost two million viewers watched the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Randox Grand National Festival offers three more days of extraordinary racing.

ITV Racing will broadcast five races a day on ITV and STV with an extended show on Grand National Day itself, all led by presenters Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani.

Commenting on the return of the world’s greatest horse race this year, Chamberlin said:

“The Randox Grand National is Liverpool’s race and they always put on an amazing show. With limited crowds this year, we hope to do this on ITV for the hundreds of million watching round the globe. It’s the one day the eyes of the sporting world are on horse racing.”

His co-presenter Francesca Cumani said:

“Ever since I was a little girl the Grand National has been the horse race that has created the most memories. With no race last year, I can’t wait to be back!”

Alongside Chamberlin and Cumani in the ITV presenting position at the racecourse will be Grand National-winning jockeys Sir Anthony McCoy, Mick Fitzgerald and Ruby Walsh, who will be joining the team ‘virtually’ from Ireland.

Reports, interviews and betting news from around the course will come from Rishi Persad, Alice Plunkett, Matt Chapman and Luke Harvey, while Oli Bell and Chris Hughes will host the ‘Social Stable’ segments, encouraging viewers at home to join in with the action.

Richard Hoiles leads the race commentary team, and he will assisted for the races run on the Grand National course by additional commentators Mark Johnson and Ian Bartlett.

Across the week, the ITV Racing production and technical team will use state-of-the-art and innovative visual and audio technology, and the presenting team will be talking to owners and connections of the horses remotely.

The Grand National itself on Saturday will be followed by a full replay with analysis to show where viewers’ selections finished.

Alongside live afternoon coverage, The Opening Show, presented by Oli Bell, will air on ITV4 every morning throughout the festival to preview each day’s action, with an extended 90-minute edition on Saturday. 

The show will feature Matt Chapman every day, as well as Ruby Walsh and Luke Harvey on Thursday, Alice Plunkett on Friday and Sir Anthony McCoy and Mick Fitzgerald on Saturday. 

All ITV Racing coverage from Aintree across ITV and ITV4 will also be simulcast on the ITV Hub, on web and app, for viewers to watch online and on the ITV Racing website – itv.com/racing.

ITV Racing’s ‘Social Stable’ will be linked to all the channel’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles ensuring viewers can get involved in the action, while the popular ITV7 competition will also be in action during the meeting.

Also returning this year is the Virtual Grand National on Friday evening at 8pm on ITV4, presented by Nick Luck, with a repeat showing on ITV at 1pm on Saturday ahead of the channel’s live coverage of the real race.

In 2020, the virtual version of the race replaced the real thing on ITV and was watched by nearly 5 million viewers. The event raised more than £3m was raised for NHS Charities Together, as bookmakers took bets on the race and donated their profits.

Scroll down below to see the full ITV schedule and race cards, while further Grand National Festival information can be found via itv.com/racing.

Every race from the 2021 Grand National Festival will also be broadcast live on dedicated horse racing channel Racing TV, including exclusive live coverage of the first and final races of each day.

For a full list of all forthcoming major live horse racing events on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated racing TV listings page.

🏇 TWO DAYS TO GO 🏇

We can’t wait for the Randox Grand National Festival LIVE on @ITV!

Tune in to The Opening Show EVERY MORNING of the Festival at 9:30am on @ITV4 🙌#ITVRacing #TheOpeningShow #GrandNational pic.twitter.com/l00yurKG3p

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 6, 2021

UPDATE: Schedules below have been amended and are subject to further change, due to ITV’s coverage of the death of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

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DAY 1 – THURSDAY 8th APRIL

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DAY 2 – FRIDAY 9th APRIL

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DAY 3 – SATURDAY 10th APRIL

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