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How to watch the Grand National 2019: Watch live wherever you are

The biggest horse-racing event of the year is nearly upon us

The Grand National is the most watched steeplechase event in the world, and with good reason. The event annually promises thrills and spills galore as horse and rider attempt to jump 30 huge fences over two laps of the infamous 6.9km course, with a prize fund of £1 million for the eventual victor. “The ultimate test of horse and rider” it is indeed.

This year, all eyes are once again on Tiger Roll, the nine-year-old steed who is back chasing more glory after victory in the event last year. Although he’s diminutive in stature, Tiger Roll is a large presence on the course, and is the hot favourite for the Grand National crown, coming in off the back of his fourth Cheltenham Festival prize in six years last month. If Tiger Roll were to win, he would become the first horse to claim consecutive Grand National victories since Red Rum famously achieved the feat in 1973 and 1974.

Elsewhere, Lake View Lad, Valseur Lido and One For Arthur are all ones to watch in this year’s race.

Keen to join the more than 600 million people who are set to follow the 172nd staging of the Grand National? Here’s how to watch all of the action in the UK, or wherever you are.

What date is the Grand National?

The 172nd Grand National takes place at 17:15 BST on Saturday 6 April, at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, UK.

Make a note in your diary now, this is not one you’re going to want to miss.

How to watch the 2019 Grand National in the UK

If you live in the UK, then you’re in luck. The 2019 Grand National will be shown live on ITV for the second year running.

Coverage of the day’s racing begins at 2pm BST, with a special programme for the Grand National itself taking place from 16:35 to 18:15. Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani will present, with accompanying analysis from Brough Scott and horse-racing legend AP McCoy.

If you’d prefer to watch the action from your laptop or another device, the event will be simulcast on the ITV hub website and the app of the same name.

This is all assuming, of course, that you have a valid UK TV licence.

How to watch the 2019 Grand National wherever you are

If you’re not in the UK this weekend, then don’t worry: you’ll still be able to watch all of ITV’s live coverage. The best way to achieve this is by downloading and installing a VPN.

VPNs essentially trick your computer into thinking it’s in another country by changing its IP address. Simply download and install your favoured VPN, log in, connect to the appropriate server location (i.e. the UK), head on over to the ITV Hub website and away you go.

Unsure which VPN to go with? Then check out our guide to the best VPNs, where we’ve tested all the major services and presented our findings in terms that are easy to understand.

NordVPN is a great option. It’s easy to use and features a mobile app, meaning you can watch the Grand National on the go. Privacy is also one of its big strengths: NordVPN is based in Panama, so you can be pretty confident that the UK authorities won’t be able to get their hands on your records.

Download NordVPN now

Avast SecureLine keeps things simple. To launch a VPN session, you just choose a country from the dropdown list and hit Connect – it’s that easy. You can also use SecureLine on up to five devices at once, so you can split the cost between you and any friends who might also want to watch the big race.

Download Avast SecureLine now

For one-off events such as the Grand National, TunnelBear is also definitely worth consideration. It offers a quirky interface, decent performance and, best of all, it’s completely free (for up to 1GB of data per month).

Download TunnelBear now

Again, this is all assuming you have a valid UK TV licence. If you do, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the action from perhaps the biggest, neigh, the biggest sporting event of 2019 this Saturday.