7th April 2015 ­– The Grand National is arguably the world’s most famous horse race, and payments processor Worldpay predicts this year’s running will be “the biggest Grand National ever” for online bookies.

With its huge field of runners and riders and regular long-odds winners, the marathon contest has been thrilling spectators since the 19th Century. It has also proved popular with bookmakers as the winning horse has been notoriously tricky to pick over the years, even for the experts.

Alan Watson, Vice President Gambling, Worldpay eCommerce, said:

“The Grand National is always the most popular betting event in the sporting calendar and we are already seeing huge excitement around this year’s race. Racing fans were emboldened by a Cheltenham Festival that saw bookies take a bit of a pasting and we anticipate that punters will pile in on Saturday afternoon. We expect this to be the biggest Grand National ever for the online bookies, and the fact Champion Jockey AP McCoy is riding the race for the very last time only adds to the drama.”