Star names and competitive races help Cheltenham Festival betting turnover buck recent trend

The value of the best horses taking each other on was reflected in betting figures from the Cheltenham Festival which bucked the recent downward trend in turnover, bookmakers have said.

Simon Clare, PR director for Ladbrokes and Coral parent company Entain's UK brands, said officials should consider measures to funnel the best horses from the Mares' Hurdle to the Champion Hurdle and Stayers' Hurdle if looking at any further changes to the race programme.

Ladbrokes and Coral's betting turnover across online and betting shops on this year’s festival was up year-on-year, Entain said, an outcome attributed to the combination of star quality in the form of Constitution Hill, Jonbon and Galopin Des Champs, and hugely competitive handicaps throughout the four days.

The Champion Chase and Champion Hurdle were the big movers in Entain's festival race-by-race betting league table, having underperformed last year due to long odds-on favourites in the form of El Fabiolo and State Man respectively.

However, Entain said that thanks to the presence of star names Jonbon and Constitution Hill and increased competitiveness, the Champion Chase was the second biggest betting race at the festival (from 25th place), and the Champion Hurdle was fourth (from 22nd).

The Mares' Hurdle was the 13th biggest betting event of the festival, and Clare added: "While the Mares' Hurdle performed reasonably well in terms of betting this year, the value of big-name horses running against each other in feature races can clearly be seen in this year's chart versus last year so, if there are to be further changes, anything that ensures the best mares run in the Champion Hurdle or Stayers' Hurdle rather than the Mares' Hurdle would seem a positive move."

The impact of changes to this year's festival and the presence of big names was also noted by Sky Bet's head of sports PR Michael Shinners.

He said: "In general, turnover held up well over the festival, particularly as results were not punter-friendly in the main. The tweaking of the racing programme, taking out the old Turners Novices' Chase and replacing it with a competitive handicap, probably helped. 

"This change probably forced the hand of the Mullins team to run Ballyburn in the Brown Advisory rather than competing in the Turners and being an incredibly short price.

"Racing also needs big names. The National Hunt scene has arguably more equine stars than the Flat. The likes of Constitution Hill and Galopin Des Champs are household names who have resonated with sport bettors. These names have certainly helped create interest in the festival."

The Cheltenham Gold Cup retained its place as the biggest betting race of the festival despite a 17 per cent drop in stakes due to Galopin Des Champs being odds-on, Clare said.

Gold Cup day is also the biggest betting day of the meeting overall, with the Albert Bartlett the third biggest betting race of the festival, the Martin Pipe fifth, the Triumph hurdle sixth, the Hunters' Chase seventh and County Hurdle ninth. Even the Mares’ Chase was the 12th biggest betting heat of the week despite a nine-runner field and a 6-4 favourite in Dinoblue.

Clare said: "The massive uplift in turnover on Gold Cup day versus the rest of the festival is often underappreciated, and also so extraordinary that a race like the Hunters' Chase, with so many horses and riders unfamiliar to racing fans, is the seventh biggest betting race of the festival and one of the biggest betting races of the year."

The impact of being shown on mainstream television was also evident, with the non-ITV races in the 5.20pm slot on the first three days of the meeting filling three of the bottom four places.

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