THE 2024 Randox Grand National has attracted 94 entries and 61 of them are trained in Ireland. Gordon Elliott has made 26 entries and Willie Mullins has 13 engaged.

Following a recent rule change, only 34 horses will be allowed run in the race, which takes place on Saturday, April 13th, this year. When the weights for the race are published on February 20th it will become more apparent how many of the Irish horses will be likely to make the cut.

Late last year it was leaked that the British Horseracing Authority [BHA] was consulting with industry stakeholders on the possible introduction of a limit for races such as the Grand National. Both Mullins and Elliott had five runners in the Aintree race last year.

The issue was back in the news in mid-November when Elliott saddled 14 of the 20 runners in the Troytown Chase at Navan.

However, last month the BHA said it had “considered the feedback and discussed the matter” and it has been agreed “not to take any immediate action in regards to this matter, but to keep the issue under review.”

A number of commentators had opined that trainers and owners could easily get around any limit on the number of runners they could have in a big race by transferring the horses into other yards a week or two before the race.

Cleared to race

Yesterday the BHA confirmed that Monbeg Genius would be allowed to run in the race, even though his owners Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman recently had £75 million in assets frozen or restrained by a court order.

Trained by Jonjo O’Neill, Monbeg Genius has been a leading contender for the Grand National ever since he finished third to Corach Rambler and Fastorslow at Cheltenham last year.

The BHA statement said: “Having been made aware of a restraint order on a number of assets belonging to Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman, the BHA liaised with relevant parties in order to understand the potential implications this had for their involvement in racing. Following these discussions, the BHA can confirm that horses in the ownership of Barrowman Racing Ltd are not affected by the restraint order and are therefore permitted to continue to race.”

Earlier start

This year’s Grand National will have a new earlier start time of 4pm.

The switch from 5.15pm is one of several changes to the £1 million showpiece first announced nearly four months ago as part of an ongoing focus on equine welfare.

Most of the changes, which include reducing the maximum number of runners from 40 to 34, moving the first fence nearer the start of the race and introducing a standing start, were announced in full in October last year.

But The Jockey Club explained at the time that while it had been agreed that bringing the start time forward would help assist in ensuring the safest ground conditions, discussions would need to take place to agree the specifics before a new start time could be agreed.

Explaining the decision, Sulekha Varma, The Jockey Club’s North West Head of Racing and Clerk of the Course at Aintree, said: “We leave no stone unturned in providing world-class standards of welfare for our participants and undertake a review after every Randox Grand National.

“These reviews look at a wide range of factors and the learnings from the process drives a number of changes, large and small, annually. In October we announced that one of the changes being made from 2024 would involve bringing forward the start time of the race, which has been 5.15pm since 2016.

“This was a decision we took after a number of participants and other racing stakeholders raised concerns about the long build-up to the race throughout the day and heightened tension as a result. These were not issues which had been identified as a problem when the race was previously staged at 3.45pm and 4.15pm.

“Bringing forward the start time of the Randox Grand National by 75 minutes to 4pm will also help us to maintain optimal jumping ground, as warm or breezy conditions can dry out the racing surface.”