The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has today confirmed that Martin Greenwood is to step down from his position as Steeplechase Team Leader in September, a role that includes setting the weights for the Randox Grand National.
Martin will remain as part of the BHA’s handicapping team but has elected to relinquish his leadership position on medical advice.
His successor as Steeplechase Team Leader will be announced in due course.
Martin has worked as a handicapper with the BHA since January 2003, serving almost 20 years of that time in a senior leadership position. He has been responsible for the handicapping of the last eight Grand Nationals, having taken over following the retirement of his predecessor Phil Smith.
Martin Greenwood said: “Following a health scare in 2025, I have taken the advice of my doctor and decided it is the right time for me to take a step back from leading the team responsible for handicapping the chasing division.
“It is a position I have been very proud to have held and it has been a great honour to play a part in the world’s greatest race, the Grand National, over the last eight years. I would like to thank everyone at The Jockey Club and Aintree, with whom I have enjoyed many wonderful days, for their support during my time handicapping the race.
“I would also like to thank my colleagues at the BHA, in particular Dominic Gardiner-Hill and Richard Wayman, for their assistance in recent months as I came to this decision. I am looking forward to continuing as part of the handicapping team, as it remains something I enjoy very much, as well as to providing whatever support I can to my successor in the coming months.”
BHA Head of Handicapping, Dominic Gardiner-Hill, said: “This move is something we have been discussing with Martin in recent months and I fully support his decision. There is nothing more important in life than our health and it is right that he is doing what is best for him and his family.
“On behalf of all of us at the BHA, I would like to thank Martin for his many years of dedicated hard work with the staying chasers and, in particular, his work on the Grand National since taking over from Phil Smith eight years ago. The race remains one of the great spectacles in all of sport and Martin has played a key role in ensuring that is the case.
“We are delighted that Martin is not leaving the team, ensuring that our handicappers, the BHA and British racing as a whole, are not losing his vast experience and knowledge.”
