The Grand National is one of the world’s best-known horse races, held annually at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. The handicap steeplechase was first run in 1839, and today it has reached such legendary status that many people who do not usually watch – or bet on – horse racing will still place a little bet on the Grand National as a recreational pastime. So it seems predictable that such an important race would be the subject of a few online slots, but surprisingly I can’t think of any existing titles besides the subject of today’s review: Rare Stone’s Grand National: Sporting Legends. This is a 40-payline machine with a 94.85% RTP and a game-specific progressive jackpot.
The base game includes a ‘Wild Horses’ modifier that can activate randomly on any spin, adding up to eight wild symbols to the reels in random positions. The main free spin bonus round has two phases; in phase one, three horses will race to decide which prize-boosting features will be active for the remainder of the bonus round. The second phase will then play out with six free games, potentially enhanced by additional pay lines, an enlarged playfield, prize multipliers, or other beneficial adjustments.
Are you excited about this year’s Grand National? Or would you rather just spin some slots instead? Here’s a thought… why not do both with our free demo slot of Grand National: Sporting Legends! It’s available to play below:
| Provider | Playtech |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 4 |
| Paylines | 40 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.10 - 500 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 5,000x |
| Bonus Buy | No |
| RTP | 94.85% |
| Our Rating | 7.0 |
Grand National Sporting Legends Slot Casino Bonuses
Grand National Sporting Legends Slot Free Play
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Grand National Sporting Legends Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
With the Grand National just around the corner, I guess that I ought to suggest a few other online slots to try out in the spirit of this legendary event! Let’s start with Buffalo Dale Grandways – I have no idea what it has to do with the Grand National, but it was the first result when I searched for the term in our review library! On a more serious note, Slingshot Studios and Relax Gaming recently collaborated on a new horse racing-themed slot named Front Runner: Link & Win. It wasn’t fantastic, if I’m honest, although it did have a couple of unique and interesting features that make it worth a look. One more then whilst we’re at it – how about Big Horsey Fortune by Inspired Gaming? It’s also not fantastic, but it does have an amusing name – what more can you ask for?
The scatter symbols included on the Grand National: Sporting Legends reels have a payout of 50x the total bet for all five symbols. Whilst this isn’t an enormous amount by any means, it’s still nice to see a payout of any kind for hitting the scatters in a modern online slot. It’s also far more than you’ll get for any other symbol on the paytable as well – the wild and horse symbols both share payouts of 3x the total bet for a full payline of five of a kind, and those are the most valuable of the lot! The trophy only pays 2x the bet for all five symbols, whilst the horseshoe will only get you 1.5x your total stake for a full line of those. The binoculars and betting slips are the final high-paying symbols, both of which share returns of 1x the bet for a five of a kind combination. As for the low pays, all five royal symbols share equal returns of 0.5x the bet for a complete pay line.
The minimum/maximum bets available in Grand National: Sporting Legends seem to be €0.10 and €500.00, respectively, although I doubt whether every online casino will accept such huge wagers at the top end of that range. Whatever the case, as this is a progressive jackpot slot, it may be worth playing a little higher than usual here, as your odds of triggering the jackpot are directly correlated with the size of your wager.
Base Game & Modifiers
According to the information pages hidden away at the bottom of this game, Grand National: Sporting Legends has also been released under several other names. I’m not sure if the other titles mentioned, such as Newmarket: Sporting Legends, are already available, but the message seems to be that they are all identical games anyway.
All of these ‘Sporting Legends’ machines use a five reel, four row setup as standard, along with 40 paylines. The number of paylines can increase during the free spins feature – see below for details.
Wild Horses Modifier
At the start of any base game spin, horses may gallop across the spinning reels. When this occurs, up to eight wild symbols will be left behind them. Should a wild be positioned on top of a scatter symbol, the scatter will still contribute towards a feature trigger.
Grand National Sporting Legends Slot Bonus Features
Bonus scatter symbols appear on all five reels, but you’ll only need to hit three to trigger the free games feature. Should you hit four or five scatter symbols, you will receive an additional cash prize in addition to triggering the bonus round.
Free Spins
After triggering the free games feature, you will initially be awarded six free spins. Next, a horse race will take place to determine which of the six improvements will be applied to your bonus round. The available options are:
- Random Wilds: Up to three random wilds will be added to the reels at the start of every free spin.
- +5 Spins: Five additional spins will be added to your initial six.
- Ways: The free games will utilise 1,024 pay ways instead of 40 paylines.
- Sticky Wilds: Any wild that lands during the free games will become locked in place for the duration of the feature.
- 5x Multiplier: All wins will be boosted by 5x.
- Expansion: The playfield is enlarged with an additional fifth row. This will increase the number of paylines from 40 to 50. In addition, if the ‘Ways’ enhancement is triggered simultaneously, the game will use 3,125 ways instead of the usual 1,024.
- +8 Spins: Eight additional spins will be added to your current total.
- Expanding Wilds: Any wild that lands during the free games will expand to cover the entire reel.
- No Royals: All low-value symbols are removed from the reel strips.
Pros
- A well-known theme for UK Players.
- Running on the Playtech platform.
- Progressive jackpots.
Cons
- No stated standard max win.
- Low RTP.
Final Thoughts
How much enjoyment you will get out of Grand National: Sporting Legends is highly likely to depend on which enhancements you receive each time you hit a bonus round. Some of them are much more exciting than others, and my experience suggests that the best enhancements tend to be awarded much less often than the not-so-great ones. Still, if you’re looking for a Grand National-focused game, this is probably the best one you can find.
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