Read Timeform's report of the 2026 Randox Grand National, which was won by I Am Maximus who became the first horse since Red Rum in 1977 to regain his crown.
The sample size of the Grand Nationals run since the introduction of the modifications in 2013 - and the reduction in serious injury or worse in that time - has been large enough for a while to confidently conclude the 'modern day' race is significantly safer, yet the 2026 edition, ground-breaking yet again in terms of the winner's achievements, featured the sort of thud-and-blunder chaos that can't ever be eradicated completely given the remaining demands of a thirty-four strong field tackling still the biggest fences around, with fourteen of those to set out either falling or unseating following only 8 in the preceding 2 renewals combined and no fallers at all in 2024, representing the joint-most in that thirteen-year period behind only the fifteen to meet one of those fates in the post-protest delayed running in 2023.
Happily, that rather more old-school feel did stretch above and beyond the increased proportion of non-completions, as I Am Maximus ended the wait not only for a horse to regain the Grand National but also the drought of top-weight success stretching back to Red Rum's third win in 1977, giving the all-conquering Willie Mullins a fourth success but, more revealing in terms of the current climate in the sport as well as the race itself, a third in a row, all with Grade 1-calibre chasers from lofty marks rather than the dyed-in-the-wool stayers famed for excelling in renewals of old.
Red Rum remains the only 3-time winner, but in terms of winning performance this year's victor surpassed anything the most famous Aintree horse of all time ever achieved, with a figure in the low 170s marking the highest-rated winning performance in Timeform's history, akin to Crisp's effort in defeat in 1973, when reeled in only late conceding 23 lb the year Red Rum secured the first of his National successes.
