Fact File: Scottish Grand National - (2025)

Updated: 15/05/2025

The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older.

It is run at Ayr every April, over a distance of about 4 miles and during its running, there are 27 fences to be jumped.

It’s Scotland's equivalent of the Grand National and is held during Ayr's two-day Scottish Grand National Festival meeting

The race, then known as the “West of Scotland Grand National”, was first run at a course near Houston, Renfrewshire in 1858.

In 1867, after objections by the leader of the Free Kirk in Houston, the race moved to Bogside Racecourse, near Irvine.

Bogside Racecourse closed in 1965, and the Scottish Grand National was transferred to Ayr the following year.

Several winners of the Scottish Grand National have also won its English counterpart at Aintree.

The first to complete the double was Music Hall, the winner of the 1922 Grand National.

The feat has been achieved more recently by Little Polveir and Earth Summit, but the only horse to win both races in the same year was Red Rum in 1974.

Ken Oliver is the joint leading trainer for the Ayr Scottish National, having won it 5 times, once at Bogside with Pappageno's Cottage (1963)

And at Ayr with Spaniard (1970), Young Ash Leaf (1971), Fighting Fit (1979) and Cockle Strand (1982)

Only 3 horses have won the race at Ayr back-to-back, Barona (1975-76), Androma (1984-85) and Vicente (2016-17)

Joe Farrell won the race in 2018 for Rebecca Curtis and Adam Wedge at 33/1, beating Ballyoptic by a nose

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