People and entries
Who's got what
Entries are shuffled with your browser's secure random generator, then dealt round the table one at a time, like cards. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
- Maths reviewed by Josh Miller
- Tested by Diana Westfield
This Grand National sweepstake kit draws the horses for you. The race has a maximum field of 34, so at £2 a go a full sweep is a £68 pot. Put the names in, paste the runners once the final field is out, and one tap deals them round. Free to use, nothing to download, and the draw happens on your screen where everyone can see it.
Running a Grand National sweepstake
- Sell the entries. One horse each is the classic sweep: 34 people, 34 runners. With a smaller office, people can buy two or three.
- Print the blank kit if you’re collecting cash before the field is confirmed. It has a numbered line for every runner, a name column and a paid tick box.
- Add the runners once the declarations are out, usually two days before the race. Until then, number 1 to 34 works fine.
- Draw and copy the result into the group chat, or print it.
If it doesn’t divide evenly, leave “Deal out every entry” ticked and some people get an extra horse. Untick it and everyone gets the same number, with the spares left out.
Splitting the prize pot
The kit adds up the pot for you. 60% for the winner, 25% for second and 15% for third is the most common split. On a £68 pot that’s £40.80, £17 and £10.20. Plenty of offices add a “last past the post” prize, often 10%, as there’s usually a horse that pulls up or falls early. Pick the split you want and the amounts update.
Is it fair?
Every draw shuffles the runners with your browser’s secure random generator, then deals them out one at a time like cards. Who gets the favourite is pure luck, which is the whole point. A favourite at 8/1 still loses about nine races in ten.
For other events, use the general sweepstake generator. Placing a bet on the race? The CasinoCalcs each way calculator handles the place terms.
Printable Grand National sweepstake kit
Press “Print a blank kit” above and you get an A4 sheet with a numbered line for each of the 34 runners, a name column, a paid column and your prize split at the bottom. Pin it up a week or two before the race, collect the money as people sign, and fill the horses in when the final field is declared. For the 2027 race in April, the kit works exactly the same way; nothing needs downloading. New to running one? The guide to how to run a sweepstake covers splits, non-runners and the rules people argue about.