1. Twenty five of the last 30 winners carried less than 11st.
2009 - There'll be more horses than ever carrying over 11st, including the current ante-post favourite My Will (10/1 Coral).
2. Irish-trained horses have won six of the past 10 runnings: Bobbyjo (1999), Papillon (2000), Monty's Pass (2003), Hedegehunter (2005), Numbersixvalverde (2006) and Silver Birch (2007).
2009 - What price an Irish-trained winner? Well, Ladbokes go 3/1 (as short as 7/4 in a place), while an Irish-trained 1-2 is only 5/1 with Totesport. According to the betting, their best chances are Becher Chase winner Black Apalachi (12/1 William Hill), Southern Vic (18/1 Sportingbet), War Of Attrition (20/1 Coral) and Hear The Echo (18/1 Skybet).
3. Grittar (7/1), West Tip (15/2), Rough Quest (4/1), Earth Summit (7/1), Hedegehunter (7/1) and Comply Or Die (7/1) are the only winners to be returned shorter than 10/1 since 1978. However, fancied horses have a decent record as, since 1969, the winner has been returned at 16/1 or less on 30 occasions.
2009 - Skybet have opened a market on the winner's SP with '10/1 up to and including 14/1' favourite at 7/4. 'Over 14/1 up to an including 20/1' is 2/1, 'under 10/1' is 3/1 and 'over 20/1' is 4/1.
4. There have been five winning favourites in the last 30 runnings: Grittar (1982), Rough Quest (1996), Earth Summit (1998), Hedgehunter (2005) and Comply Or Die, who was joint-favourite 12 months ago.
2009 - My Will is 9/4 favourite with Skybet's 9/4 to 'start favourite for the Grand National', a price which would look massive if Ruby Walsh decides to ride him.
5. 100/1 is the biggest winning SP in the race's history and there have been four returned at those odds: Tipperary Tim (1928), Gregalach (1929), Caughoo (1947) and Foinavon (1967).
6. Geraldine Rees was the first woman to complete, on Cheers on 1982. Others are Rosemary Henderson (fifth on Fiddlers Pike in 1994), Carrie Ford (fifth on Forest Gunner in 2005) and Nina Carberry, who finished ninth on the same horse in 2006.