How to watch Grand National 2025 online or on TV live: race times, schedule, streaming and more

If you want to watch the 2025 Grand National horse race, then you're in the right place, because this guide will give you all the information you need to see it online or on TV.

UK equestrian fans have it easy to watch the Grand National, with several options. It doesn't matter if you're out of the country though, as you can watch the Grand National on ITVX from anywhere with a VPN.

The Grand National itself takes place on Saturday, April 5, but the Opening day is Thursday, April 3 with events then and on the Friday. You can find a full schedule below.

Returning to Liverpool's Aintree Racecourse, the Grand National will see 34 racers jockeying for the top spot (if you'll pardon the pun). That lower number of entrants carries over from 2024, which introduced the change, though only 32 racers actually took place that time due to withdrawals.

The Grand National is one of the biggest events in the equestrian calendar and so if you're a horse-racing fan, whether living in the UK or abroad, you'll want to find a way to see it.

So here's everything you need to know to watch the Grand National in 2025 including start times, streaming options and the live TV channel.

How to watch the Grand National

You have three different options for watching the Grand National.

On TV, you can watch the race on the channel ITV1, which is of course free (the Grand National is one of several sports events that is required by law to be free to watch in the UK!). You can find timings below.

There are two streaming options. Firstly, ITVX lets you watch ITV channels live and again this is a free option. Alternatively, the equestrian streaming service Racing TV will broadcast it, though that costs £30 per month or £300 per year (with a £10 day pass available too).

Grand National schedule

All times UK / BST.

Here's the full schedule for the Grand National events over three days. If you only care about the race itself, it's on Saturday, April 5 at 4pm.

Thursday, April 3 (opening day)

• 1.45pm: Manifesto Novices' Chase 2m 4f
• 2.20pm: 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle 2m 4f
• 2.55pm: Aintree Bowl Chase 3m 1f
• 3.30pm: Aintree Hurdle 2m 4f
• 4:05pm: Foxhunters' Open Hunters' Chase 2m 5f
• 4:40pm: Red Rum Handicap Chase 2m
• 5:15pm: Nickel Coin Mares' Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race 2m 1f

Friday, April 4 (Ladies day)

• 1.45pm: Franny Blennerhassett Memorial Mildmay Novices' Chase 3m 1f
• 2.20pm: Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f
• 2.55pm: Top Novices' Hurdle 2m
• 3.30pm: Melling Chase 2m 4f
• 4:05pm: Topham Handicap Chase 2m 5f
• 4:40pm: Novices' Hurdle 3m 1/2f
• 5:15pm: Handicap Hurdle 2m 1/2f

Saturday, April 5 (Grand National day)

• 1.20pm: Handicap Hurdle 3m 1/2f
• 1.55pm: Novices' Hurdle 2m 4f
• 2.30pm: Freebooter Handicap Chase 3m 1f
• 3.05pm: Liverpool Hurdle 3m 1/2f
• 4pm: Grand National 4m 2 1/2f
• 5pm: Novices' Chase 2m
• 5:35pm: Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race 2m 1f

Grand National catch-up

Can't watch the Grand National live? That's okay, because it'll likely be free to watch after the event.

I say this because past Grand Nationals have been uploaded by both ITV Sport and Racing TV onto YouTube, for anyone to see.

They usually get uploaded shortly after the race, and last year it was shown the day after.

How to watch the Grand National everywhere else

Despite being a big event in the UK, the Grand National generally isn't shown on TV or streaming services outside of the British Isles.

So if you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch the Grand National, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite sporting event, TV show or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

How to use a VPN to watch any stream

• Download the app at NordVPN
• Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
• Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!

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