Willie Mullins Chases Grand National Hat-Trick With Both Past Winners Confirmed

Willie Mullins will saddle both of the Grand National's reigning champions on Saturday after five-day confirmations closed at Aintree, setting the stage for a race that could see Irish racing's most dominant trainer claim three consecutive victories in steeplechasing's most scrutinized and economically consequential event.

I Am Maximus, the 2024 winner and current bookmakers' favourite, and Nick Rockett, who caused a 33/1 shock in 2025, are among the 15 Mullins-trained runners confirmed for April 11's renewal. Together they embody both the Closutton yard's commanding grip on the race and the shifting pressures bearing down on a sport still under sustained examination from welfare campaigners, bettors, and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.

I Am Maximus carries 11st 12lb, the heaviest weight in the field, into Saturday's race. The 10-year-old, owned by JP McManus and ridden to his 2024 victory by stable jockey Paul Townend at 7/1, finished an agonising second behind stablemate Nick Rockett last year. Connections have said it would be "very surprising" if Townend does not continue his association with the horse, and the bookmakers' support reflects a near-miss that has defined his preparation this season. It would be a fourth Grand National triumph for McManus as an owner, following Don't Push It in 2010, Minella Times in 2021, and I Am Maximus two years ago.

Nick Rockett faces a different kind of pressure: history. The 9-year-old, standing barely 16 hands, won for owners Steward and Sadie Andrew when ridden by Patrick Mullins, Willie's son and an amateur jockey, in one of the race's most emotionally charged results in recent memory. Patrick Mullins described the horse, whose 33/1 victory completed a clean sweep of first, second, and third for the Closutton yard, as "brave as a lion." In 2026, Nick Rockett carries 11st 11lb, 3lb more than his winning weight, and bids to become the first horse to win consecutive Grand Nationals since Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019. The last horse to carry 11st 11lb or more to victory was Red Rum in 1974, when he shouldered 12st.

The broader backdrop for Saturday's race is a sport in careful, incremental transition. Aintree reduced the Grand National field from 40 to 34 runners in 2024, a change supported by research showing a direct correlation between field size and the risk of falls. Timber frames in the fences were replaced with more forgiving plastic, and the first fence was relocated 60 yards closer to the starting line to prevent horses from building dangerous speed early. A standing start was reintroduced for the same purpose. The 2026 field began with 78 initial entries before being trimmed to 55 at the second scratchings stage; a maximum of 34 will line up Saturday.

Those changes came in response to sustained welfare campaigning and a 2023 protest that delayed the race's start. British racing's answer has been methodical and institution-led. The contrast with the United States is instructive. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority reported a national fatality rate of 1.05 deaths per 1,000 starts in 2025, up from 0.9 the prior year, and the American reform apparatus remains contested between federal oversight, individual state laws, and tribal gaming compacts. Churchill Downs suspended racing entirely in 2023 following a spike in fatal injuries, a response born of crisis rather than anticipation.

The wagering economics underscore why neither country's racing establishment faces an easy exit. The Grand National attracts around £250 million in bets annually, ranked by Entain's global sportsbook data as the world's number one sporting event by total bets placed in 2025, ahead of the Super Bowl. Roughly 13 million people in the United Kingdom place a wager on the race each year, about a third of the adult population, with 82 percent of those bets placed at £5 or less. The race's £1 million prize fund is real money; the wagering market surrounding it is transformative.

For Mullins, whose nearest rival in the 2026 trainer confirmations is Gordon Elliott with 12 potential runners, the arithmetic is more immediate. Elliott has never trained a Grand National winner. Mullins has trained two in succession, and saddled the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh finishers in 2025. A third consecutive winner would move him beyond the reach of comparison, in a race that has never stopped demanding proof.