Have your bets ready by Grand National starting time

The British nation comes to a complete standstill around a quarter past four on the first Saturday in April - Grand National starting time.

As Grand National race time approaches, millions of people clutching betting tickets gather around their radio or television to find out which horse will add its name to the Grand National roll of honour.

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April 4th - Grand National 2009 date

The Grand National date is fairly flexible but usually falls within the first week of April, some three weeks after the Cheltenham Festival. The Grand National 2009 date is April 4th. The training schedule of the leading staying steeplechasers in Britain, Ireland and France, will be planned to peak at Grand National race time. It's not unusual for the preliminaries to overrun and some horses have already 'run their race' before Grand National starting time, having become overexcited and expended valuable energy that should have been saved for Grand National start time itself. Those that choose to hold their bets to the very last moment might take advantage of this final form pointer.

Grand National date etched in every racing fan's diary

For most horseracing fans, and for that matter, for general sports fans around the world, the Grand National date is one of the first days to be marked off in the sporting diary. Ranking right up there alongside other great annual British sporting occasions, the FA Cup final, Wimbledon, and the Open Golf Championship, the Grand National 2009 date, with special note made of the Grand National starting time, is a 'must see' for serious punters and occasional gamblers alike. Come Grand National start time there will surely be many tickets bearing the name Comply or Die, the David Pipe-trained runner fancied by many to go close to repeating his 2008 success.