Just Grand... place your bet in the £250m National

THE Grand National on Saturday will be the centrepiece to Britain’s biggest day of betting – and your sporting Daily Express can help you pick the winner.

Bookmakers reckon £250million will be staked across the UK on the 170th running of the world’s greatest steeplechase.

In a weekend that also sees golf’s US Masters, the Chinese Grand Prix and nine Premier League games the total wagered by Britons could hit a record £500million.

One in four of us is expected to have a flutter on the four-mile, 30-fence race at Aintree, which is switching to ITV from Channel 4.

And you can get off to a flying start with our handy Sweepstake Kit guide to all the runners and riders.

The favourites are 10-1 shots Definitly Red – heavily backed by Manchester United and Liverpool fans – and Vieux Lion Rouge.

Quaking bookies are terrified that if the deliberately misspelt Definitly Red wins they will owe punters £40million.

Coral’s David Stevens said: “Already we know many thousands of fans of the ‘Reds’, Liverpool and Manchester United, have backed the horse as its odds plummet.

“If it wins it could be a nightmare. We are bracing ourselves.” Nicola McGeady, from Ladbrokes, agreed that fans of both clubs were “coming out in their droves” to get behind Definitly Red.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge’s jockey pal Sam WaleyCohen has another fancied ride this year, on 16-1 The Young Master.

More than 150,000 people will visit the racetrack over the three days of the popular Merseyside jump festival.

However, passengers face rail travel chaos because of a 24-hour strike by members of the RMT union on Saturday.