Horse racing fans, around 150,000 of them, have been pouring through the gates at Aintree with this year’s edition of the annual Grand National Festival well underway. All eyes are on the main race of the meeting on Saturday, and with more and more people gaining access to live coverage and on-the-go betting facilities, it got us thinking here at SportsLens, how many people watch the Grand National worldwide?
How Many People Watch The Grand National?
According to the BBC, around 600 million watchers across 140 countries tune in to watch the world’s most prestigious steeplechase, while it attracted a peak viewership of 7.5 million in the UK alone last year. It is worth noting that this a sizeable drop from 2019’s record audience of 9.6 million.
The single biggest event on the UK’s racing calendar attracts around 150,000 in-person spectators to Aintree, as mentioned, which is situated just north-east of Liverpool. Being one of the most lucrative days of the year for bookmakers, the 30-fence race typically draws in horse racing fanatics and casual watchers alike, and it is customary to have a bet of some kind.
According to an OLGB study, around one in five of the UK participants surveyed said they planned to bet on the Grand National.
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How Does This Compare to Other Popular Races?
Cheltenham Festival, which took place just last month, is the largest meeting of the year with 28 races stretched across four days.
Although millions of people tune in to watch the week unfold, an average of 1.1 million per day, it is only fair to make a comparison between the Grand National and Cheltenham’s crowning jewel, the Gold Cup.
Viewing figures are yet to be released for 2023, but last year’s edition managed to draw in an audience of 1.6 million, which translated to a 19.4% share of viewers watching TV at the time according to the Racing Post.
Looking further afield, the most popular race in America, the Kentucky Derby, had a peak viewership of 19 million on US broadcaster NBC in 2022, putting it above some the nation’s most popular events such as the Indy 500 and the MLB All-Star game.
Despite being unable to find definitive viewing figures for the $30.5 million Dubai World Cup, it was transmitted to a record number of countries last year, including maiden broadcasts to China and India – expect this figure to be in the tens of millions.
Europe’s next-biggest meeting at Longchamps, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, had a peak audience of 1.1 million in 2020.
Comparing With Other Widely Viewed Events
According to sports travel platform Road Trips, the Grand National garners more worldwide viewers than all of the following: Champions League final (400 million), Super Bowl (112 million), MLB World Series (14.3 million), The Masters (13.15 million) and the NBA finals (16.9 million).
However, the Qatar World Cup final in December of last year for example, managed to draw in 1.5 billion global viewers according to Sports Pro Media.
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