Does Skelton’s Festival success herald a changing of the guard?

Amidst all the hand-wringing over the quality of British competition against the Irish, one bright light shone through on a week dominated by the Willie Mullins winner machine. Four winners for the Alcester yard of Dan Skelton, ridden by brother Harry, suggested it’s not all one way traffic west.

A Wednesday double courtesy of Langer Dan in the Coral Cup and Unexpected Party in the Grand Annual was re-inforced the following day by a Grade I double of Grey Dawning in the Turners and Protektorat in the Ryanair. The total haul catapulted the Warwickshire yard into first place in the Trainers’ Championship.

The Skelton brothers outlined their plan for more of the same in an interview on Luck on Sunday with the eponymous Nick Luck. The big fixtures at Aintree, Ayr and Sandown will define where the championship ends up.

It’s anything but over yet however. Paul Nicholls is chasing a 15th championship and is unlikely to give way readily. Equally, the troubled yard of Seven Barrows may see a resurgence, and winning the Grand National can be a gamechanger.

But for the first time in a decade, the pre-eminence of the old guard among trainers looks rocky. Challenger yards like Ben Pauling’s, Fergal O’Brien’s and Lucinda Russell’s are all making their presence felt at the top table. These are yards unafraid to run their horses on the premise that if you’re not in, you can’t win. Their winning strike rate is lower than Nicky Henderson’s for example, but they run more horses pro-rata. They and Skelton are already snapping at Ditcheat’s heels and festival success at Cheltenham or Aintree would introduce them to the sort of wealthy owners that could accelerate their progress into the top 5, and in Skelton’s case, to the number one slot.

The Festival was undoubtedly diminished by the absence of so much high quality bloodstock from Seven Barrows, and it is to be hoped that the all-clear comes in time for Henderson to reassert himself at Aintree or Sandown. But at 73, he’s in the twilight of a career spanning 50 years. He might be forgiven for focusing on quality rather than quantity. He’s not going to be chasing a champion moniker just for the sake of it.

One outlier performing well beyond themselves this term is Venetia Williams. Courtesy of performances from L’Homme Pressé, Royal Pagaille and Chambard, she finds herself in 5th position in the table, and were it not for Willie Mullins Festival exploits, she would be 4th. The yard isn’t large enough to go all the way to the top, but it’s been an outstanding season, and is far from finished.

Paul Nicholls though has plenty of ambition yet. Expect him to be looking to close the gap in the remaining six weeks of the season to make for a nail-biting championship finish. He won’t take being beaten by his former protegé without a good ding-dong.

Stratford novice Sine Nomine wins Cheltenham Foxhunter

The St James’s Place Foxhunter turned in a feel-good story to close out Gold Cup day at Cheltenham with the victory of Sine Nomine, 22 years on from owning a previous winner of the race for Robin Tate. Stratford followers will recall seeing the grey mare win the novice hunter championship here back in early June 2023.

Trained by daughter and Catterick Clerk of Course, Fiona Needham and ridden by John Dawson, the game grey mare showed a good turn of foot after the last to make up around 3l and outpoint 11/8 favourite, It’s On The Line, and retain the Festival’s largest trophy in Britain once again.

Back in 2002, it was Fiona Needham in the plate to win the race on Last Option, but this time around, it was senior statesman of the Yorkshire Area changing room, John Dawson, who guided the 8 year old mare to success. Dawson is a veteran of over 900 rides between the flags, and nearly 200 winners, but this will rank right up there with the best. “We didn’t really know what we had,” he told Racing TV, “but I always knew she had that little bit of something else.”

Hunting round the first circuit, Sine Nomine took closer order at the top of the hill joining a group of 7 after Ferns Lock had cut out the running for the first circuit and a half. Time Leader and Shantou Flyer were both prominent throughout, and favourite backers could have been forgiven for thinking their horse was cooked as It’s On the Line was pushed along down the hill. Two out, Time Leader asserted, pressed by the favourite, who hadn’t left Dawson and Sine Nomine room on the inner. Switching before the last, the grey mare responded to her rider’s urgings to win by 3/4l. 

Dawson continued, “I was hoping the race would pan out in her favour. If we were travelling coming down the hill, we’d be galloping at the top.”

Sine Nomine has been lightly campaigned since winning the novice hunter championship at Stratford last June, but with this target in mind. A 3l second in an Alnwick Open last December, her only other run at Wetherby in early February, where a bloodless victory over Bennys King brought race fitness without really finding anything more detailed, have been a product of the abysmal weather which has forced the abandonment of half the first half of the Pointing season. 

But the back-to-back victories of English-trained winners in Pointing’s showcase race offer encouragement to those growing the sport as a nursery for young horses and riders, even if john would agree that epithet no longer describes him. This is one race where home-trained horses have largely kept the Irish at bay, and gives a massive fillip to pointing in Yorkshire, whose 11 fixtures provide plenty of stirring entertainment. 

Snowden double a primer for Festival week

The wettest winter in living memory has played havoc with the launch of a new season’s racing at Stratford, and the drama wasn’t finished when Clerk of Course Nessie Chanter was forced to call a 7am inspection after yesterday’s heavy rain. However, the skies cleared, nerves held and another season of 15 fixtures got underway under overcast conditions in heavy ground, with two fences omitted.

Forty-five runners faced the starter in the seven races, with several withdrawals on ground, despite declaring on soft. Most affected were the two chases for professionals which attracted just 10 runners between them. The course had good reason to thank the 7 amateurs who nearly doubled the chase runners in the novice hunters’ chase.

It was, perhaps, an inauspicious start to Festival week, but one where organisers 25 miles further south will welcome, given that soft ground will moderate the pace of the races.

Not entirely surprisingly, the testing conditions allowed only one favourite to win; a tonic for Dan Skelton, for whom a long-running BHA case against him was finally put to bed with a £6,000 fine, announced during the day – a light punishment considering what might have prevailed in other circumstances. It was something of an irony that the only favourite should prevail in the one race of the season underwritten by on-course layers, when Doyouknowwhatimean under Harry Skelton had the upper hand over Force de Frap, who has been laying the foundation of a reputation for Naunton’s latest trainer prodigy, Emma-Jane Bishop in the 2m handicap chase.

Big race pairing Jamie Snowden and Gavin Sheehan enjoyed a double to set them up for the week ahead, although Sheehan had already bagged the first for Bourton-on-the-Water Richard Hobson by then. Snowden has a select team of 6 headed Cheltenham – bound, including GA Law, a 20/1 chance in Thursday’s Ryanair Chase.

This was more bread and butter fare however. French – bred Milldam opened the day’s account with a neck victory over favourite Playful Saint in the 2m handicap hurdle, denying the Skeltons a double, whilst a rather less heart-stopping 5 1/2l separated debutante Hollygrove Cha Cha in the concluding bumper from runner – up As Legends Have It, from another in-form team in Ben Pauling.

Snowden’s 40 winners keep him on course for a seasonal best. He is less than £100k short of last winter’s milestone haul, and just 6 winners shy of his best ever numerical tally in 2019-20.

One man seeking a change in fortune is Kielan Woods, who recently returned from a lengthy suspension for repeated whip infringements. He paired up with David Jeffreys to continue the magical start to 2024 by 8 year old gelding Goguenard in winning the Alderminster Novices Limited Handicap Hurdle, his third visit to the winner’s berth since the end of January for owners Les Petits Coquins.

Michael Hawker’s runners under Rules are few and far between recently, but in 12 year old Mortens Leam, he appears to have found the winning thread again. Off the track from December ’22 for a full 12 months, the seasoned chaser showed some of the talent that won him 5 other races at Taunton last month, when a 2l runner – up in a low grade handicap. He went one better here in similar grade under Harry Reed.

Richard Hobson has earned a reputation for seeking out unexposed French – breds and looks to have unearthed another in juvenile hurdle winner Roger, 1 25/1 winner of the opener. He had to travel a lot further then the Aulde Enemy to find Roger however, transferred from Jaroslav Hanacek in Slovakia this month after campaigning at Bratislava. He’ll need to brush up his jumping to progress, but there was no doubting his turn of foot.

Phil Rowley is no mug when it comes to the hunter chase scene, and he shares plenty on common with Stratford. Both his and the Stratford premises have been under water in this interminably wet winter. Happily, this wasn’t enough to prevent Darren Andrews and Forest Chimes from winning the Service With A Smile Novices Hunters Chase. the half length at the line didn’t tell the full story of a victory with a fair bit in hand.

Skelton Preparing Protektorat for Ryanair Chase

Midlands-based trainer Dan Skelton had two winners at the Cheltenham Festival in 2023, and he will be hoping to better that success at this year’s meeting after pocketing a double yesterday with Coral Cup winner Langer Dan and Libberty Hunter in the Grand Annual . He has some strong chances in the Grade I races, particularly the Ryanair Chase, where he is set to saddle Protektorat.

The top-class chaser did have an entry in the Cheltenham Gold Cup earlier in the season, but his connections have opted to aim for the Day Three Championship race over the shorter distance of 2m5f.

Grade I winner aiming for first success of the season

For the first time in his career, Protektorat goes into the Cheltenham Festival without a success earlier in the campaign. He is 12/1 in the Ryanair Chase betting for those looking to place Cheltenham Festival bets on the Lodge Hill runner ending his losing run at the meeting.

With last year’s winner Galopin Des Champs a warm favourite at evens in the Gold Cup betting, the Protektorat team feels the Ryanair Chase is a more realistic target for their horse. The race does not include two-time winner Allaho, as he has been ruled out through injury for the second straight year.

Protektorat finished second in the Fleur De Lys Chase back in January in what was an improvement in form. He chased home L’Homme Presse in the 2m6f contest at Lingfield. On his most recent outing, he was third in the Denman Chase at Newbury behind Shishkin and Hitman respectively.

The former Lancashire Chase winner was third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2022, his best finish in the Blue Riband event in the sport. He now has an official rating of 165, which is the second-highest mark of any runner in this year’s Ryanair Chase field.

Irish challengers set to be biggest competition

If he is to be successful in the Ryanair Chase, Protektorat will need to beat last year’s winner Envoi Allen. Henry De Bromhead is one of several strong Irish trainers set to make the trip across for the race, and already has two on the board following success with Slade Steel in the Supreme Novices and Captain Guinness in the Champion Chase, putting the lie to the charge of domination of the meeting by Willie Mullins.

Envoi Allen pushed Gold Cup contender Gerri Colombe hard in the Champion Chase at Down Royal back in November, finishing a neck behind his rival. The 10-year-old is bidding for his fourth Cheltenham Festival success this year, as he also won the Champion Bumper in 2019 and the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle in 2020 (now Gallagher).

Former Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle winner Banbridge will make a return to the Cheltenham Festival in the Ryanair Chase after missing the meeting in 2023. Joseph O’Brien’s runner has won his last two starts on the track, with wins coming in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase and Silviniaco Conti Chase.

The eight-year-old has a 100% record at Cheltenham as he also prevailed in the Arkle Trial at the November Meeting in 2022. Connections of the Irish horse will be hoping the rain stays away ahead of the Festival, as the majority of his best form has come on fast ground. 

This year’s Ryanair Chase is the 20th renewal in its short history and the winner scoops his share of £375,000 in prize money.

Harry Cobden Closes Gap to Set Up Thrilling Jockeys’ Championship

After getting off to a flying start to 2024, Harry Cobden has closed the gap on leader Sean Bowen in the 2023/24 Jockeys’ Championship to set up what could be a thrilling finish to the Jumps season.

Cobden, a jockey who is no stranger to riding winners at Stratford, trailed Bowen by 42 at one point this season, but the two riders are now level-pegging at 121 each after yesterday’s racing at Exeter.

Cobden has support of Champion Nicholls

The leading trainer Cobden rides for in the sport is reigning Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls. Cobden is set to partner some of Nicholls’ leading hopes at the Cheltenham Festival, including Stage Star, who is 11/2 in today’s horse racing betting for the 2024 Ryanair Chase.

The biggest race of the week at the Cheltenham Festival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup on day four of the meeting, and Cobden will be on board Bravemansgame for Nicholls. The number one Ditcheat rider was runner-up in the race in 2023 on the same horse as they chased home Galopin Des Champs. Those two chasers are set to renew their rivalry in the Blue Riband event.

Cobden has already ridden 18 Grade One winners in his career, but he has yet to become Champion Jockey. In what now looks to be a two-way battle for the title, he will be desperate to get as many extra rides as possible until the campaign concludes in April.

Whatever happens this season, Cobden is on course for his best-ever tally for a season. His previous best came in the 2020/21 campaign when he rode 123 winners. He was third in the Jockeys’ Championship that year behind Harry Skelton and Brian Hughes respectively.

Injury kept Bowen out for 6 weeks

The early pace in this year’s Jockeys’ Championship was set by Bowen. He rode lots of winners through the summer months, including several victories at Stratford. The Welsh rider was the first to reach 100 winners, a milestone he hit in November with the assistance of trainer father Peter.

Unfortunately for Bowen, his title dreams were almost derailed on Boxing Day at Aintree as a fall put him out of action for six weeks. He has had to work hard on his rehabilitation in early 2024 to get himself back in the saddle.

Bowen made his return to action on February 8th at Huntingdon where he almost made a winning return. He had to settle for second place on board Roccovango, who was beaten by just a neck.

Like Cobden, Bowen also has the support of a major trainer as he predominantly rides for Olly Murphy as well as his father. The Jockeys’ Championship leader will be hoping that partnership can work well over the final few months of the campaign to give him the winners he needs for a maiden title.

The final Jumps meeting on the 2023/24 UK calendar comes at Sandown on Saturday, April 27th. The Esher-based racecourse will host a seven-race card which includes the Celebration Chase.

How to host the Greatest Show on Turf

Racing at Stratford gets underway on March 11 this year and, just like years past, a lot of work goes into organising each event, not least after the recent flooding affected our grandstands and track. From rebuilding fences or replacing carpets ruined by floodwater, plus the basic racing tasks to do with the runners and riders and liaising with transport officers, we have to cover a variety of bases each time we put on a show. The same goes for every racecourse up and down the country. From big to small venues, the amount of effort that goes into hosting a meet can be mind-blowing.

One of the best examples of how much goes into a racing event is the Cheltenham Festival. Known as the “greatest show on turf,” our opening fixture is a precursor to the annual festival, a day after we open our racing season. Why is it the greatest show on turf? Aside from hosting some of the sport’s best talent, Cheltenham is a spectacle. In 2023, a total of 68,500 people per day poured into Cheltenham Racecourse.

Many more would have attended, but the venue can only hold so many people, and numbers have been capped to improve the racegoer experience. Those who can’t attend in person watch on TV and online. In fact, almost as many people have a flutter on the Cheltenham Festival. Various prominent bookmaking firms estimated that, in 2023, around £1 billion was wagered during the festival. Around £1,000,000 was bet by punters at the course on each race, which means many millions were wagered online.

Such is the interest in Cheltenham that oddsmakers put up their odds way ahead of time. Ante-post markets for the 2024 Cheltenham Festival already have Galopin Des Champs as an even-money standout for the Gold Cup, and Constitution Hill as the strong 1/4 favourite in the Champion Hurdle. So, to say there’s a swell of anticipation and interest in Cheltenham is an understatement. 

What Goes into a Racing Event?

By these measures alone, it’s a spectacle that, rightly, dominates the British racing calendar. Creating the greatest show on turf doesn’t happen overnight. Here are just some of the things organisers will be working on ahead of the first race on March 12.

The Course

Grounds people have their work cut out in winter. Keeping the track in the best condition possible is the most important thing for any racecourse in attracting the endorsement of the trade professionals. Without something to race on, the whole event can’t happen. That’s why grounds people will be out tending to the track and, in turn, delivering reports on its condition (the going) weeks before the first race.

With three courses to manage (Old, New and Cross Country), there’s a substantial acreage to manage over the four days.

Runners, Riders & Officials

The quality of a race hinges on its participants. That doesn’t mean every horse has to be elite, it simply means that you need to have fair and competitive races. Organisers need to work in conjunction with the racing authority and stables to create the best races possible. Of course, the prestige of winning at Cheltenham, coupled with prize money topping £1 million per day, makes it easier to assemble the best runners, riders, and officials.

Time was when the roar greeted 20 runners in the Supreme Novices Hurdle but nowadays, even the top graded races face competition from alternative races. The phones will be hot in the Cheltenham office ensuring the fields fill well and fancied runners do not take easier options elsewhere.

Pic Steve Davies

Hospitality & Entertainment

Modern racing is more than what happens on the track. Racecourses have teams dedicated to hospitality and entertainment, and Cheltenham’s tented village is the largest at any sporting event in the UK bar none. People who attend any event, particularly the majors like Cheltenham, expect a day out. They want access to food, drink, and, in most situations, entertainment.

Many of the semi-permanent structures comprising the tented village remain in place from the autumn’s big fixture, but they are joined by more. An army of contractors from marquee suppliers, electricians, temporary kitchen suppliers and other facility providers, is on site throughout January and February building and preparing the structures before they are handed over to the racecourse.

Pic Steve Davies

Did you know over 250,000 pints of Ireland’s national drink – Guinness – are consumed during Cheltenham? Supplying bars with sufficient inventory to satisfy Gloucestershire’s thirsty punters is no small feat in itself.

Road & Rail

You can make sure everything inside the venue is set up for a great racing event, but all that effort will count for nothing if people can’t get in. Racecourses need to liaise with local traffic officers to ensure the road network can handle an influx of people. For events such as the Cheltenham Festival, the organisers also have to communicate with railway officials, as Cheltenham Station sees an influx of an extra 18,000 customers per day.

An increasingly popular route in is via the steam train that allows spectators to park at Toddington and take an old-fashioned steam locomotive to reach the racecourse station.

But for many living or staying in Cheltenham, the best form of transport is Shanks’ pony.

The Finished product

The finished product is always worth the effort. Cheltenham has become one of the most watched events in racing and the level of organisation is second to none. From the competitors to the post-race entertainment, nothing gets left to chance at these events, which is why British racing sets the global standard.

We’ve five weeks until the roar that greets that opening race at 1.30 on Tuesday March 12, and for many, that week will begin at Stratford the previous day.

Dan Skelton Could Be Set For A Big Cheltenham Festival

Warwickshire-based trainer Dan Skelton is on course for one of his best seasons as a trainer. He remains in contention for a maiden Trainers’ Championship, and he is set to go into the Cheltenham Festival with a strong team of horses.

Here is a look at some of his best chances of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival meeting.

Protektorat – Cheltenham Gold Cup

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the race at the Cheltenham Festival that all owners and trainers dream of winning. It is the feature race of the week, and also the most lucrative. As the assistant trainer to Paul Nicholls, Skelton was involved in the success both Kauto Star and Denman enjoyed in the race between 2007 and 2009.

Now with a licence of his own, Skelton’s best chance of Gold Cup success this year comes through Protektorat, a horse part-owned by former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. 

Skelton’s chaser finished third in the race in 2022, while last March, the British horse came home in fifth place. As of the 17th of January, he is 40/1 in the Cheltenham Festival odds to prevail in the latest renewal of the Blue Riband contest.

The nine-year-old won one of the leading Grade I races in his division at Haydock last season. If he reproduces that form at Cheltenham, he could be a major player in the business end of the contest again, especially if the racecourse going is ‘Soft’ during the week of the Festival, as his best form comes on ground with give in it, but he came out worst in a prep against l’Homme Pressé in the Fleur de Lys Chase at Lingfield this month, so there may be alternative options. 

Grey Dawning – Brown Advisory Chase

Novice chaser Grey Dawning took a big step forward last time out at Warwick when he won the Grade II Hampton Novices’ Chase. He was faultless in that race, scoring by 14 lengths to put himself in the picture for some of the leading novice chases at the Cheltenham Festival.

Grey Dawning has entries in both the Brown Advisory Novices’ and Turners Novices’ Chase, but given how well he fared over 3m, the former of those two options looks the most likely.
Skelton will be keeping a close eye on the fixture list over the weeks before the Cheltenham Festival. The seven-year-old could have his first shot at a Grade I chase in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown in February. Gerri Colombe won that race last season and is now a Cheltenham Gold Cup contender. Skelton will be hoping his horse can follow the same path. 

Langer Dan – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle

This year is set to be Langer Dan’s fifth appearance at the Cheltenham Festival. The hurdler has consistently fared well at the meeting. He finished second behind Galopin Des Champs in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle in 2021, while last season, he claimed his first success at the meeting.

Langer Dan is set to have multiple entries at this year’s Festival and Skelton will decide on which race he participates in closer to the meeting. The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle may represent his best chance of success this year. He is now racing off an official mark of 141, which is just 6lb higher than when he was second in the race.

Nube Negra – Queen Mother Champion Chase

In 2021, Nube Negra was less than a length away from winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase, one of the four Championship races at the Cheltenham Festival. In what was a close finish to the day two feature contest, he finished second behind Put The Kettle On.

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The two-time Shloer Chaser winner has an excellent record at Cheltenham and his connections will be encouraged by his latest performance on the track, as he was second behind Editeur Du Gite in the Desert Orchid Handicap Chase at Kempton.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase looks set to be one of the strongest races of the week this year, as last season’s Arkle winner El Fabiolo, leading British 2m chaser Jonbon and Dinoblue are all expected to feature. Skelton still believes his horse can be competitive in this race, as he bids to go one place better than he did in 2021.

Skelton has had four Cheltenham Festival winners to date in his career. With the runners he has this year, he will be very disappointed if he does not add to that tally across the four days.

Alex Hussain from Johnslots Talks About the Popularity of Online Horse Racing

In a little over 2 months on March 11th this year, race day will return to the Stratford Racecourse, provided the floods have abated. As a sport, a large part of the entertainment factor comes down to the atmosphere and spirit of the occasion, and the opening day is brimful, with extra crowds anticipating four days at the Cheltenham Festival starting the following day. Compared to many other sports, betting is also indelibly wed to racing, with numerous fans seeing betting as a must-do activity to make the most out of the event.

This is exemplified with televised events such as Royal Ascot, the Grand National, and Cheltenham Festival. In 2021, for instance, the Grand National set the record for UK online sports betting, drawing in bets from more than 13 million people – that amounts to around a third of the adult UK population! And aligned to this, ITV Racing will cover more days’ racing in 2023 than ever before.

Hunter chasers provide one day of action during a busy season’s Jump racing at Stratford. 2/6/2023 Pic Steve Davies

With online gambling more accessible than ever, horse racing has maintained its allure for both live and online fans alike. Wanting to find out why, we caught up with Alex Hussain, online gambling journalist focused on sports betting. Below is our chat with him about all things horses, online gambling, and why the 2024 season will be the most exciting yet.

Hi Alex, could you start off by telling us what you do for a living?

Hello there!  I’m an online gambling journalist with a particular love for all things sports. I cover a wide range of topics, but my main area is sports betting. I spend my time giving readers comprehensive news coverage on all the most bettable sports.

Speaking of bettable sports, we wanted to know what makes horse racing so popular online.

I think the main reason it’s so popular today is because the online gambling community is not all too different from the wider community. That is to say, when the online gambling industry got big 25 years ago, it wasn’t a whole load of new people finding gambling for the first time.

It was traditional gamblers transitioning to a more streamlined, convenient, digital platform to gamble. That transition integrated all the popular gambling pastimes – the ones that had been popular for a hundred years or more beforehand – and that included horse racing. In the highly developed UK market, racing remains the second most televised sport behind football, and this is a key driver to its availability and continued spectator appeal.

With a wide range of sporting events to bet on, it was thought that horse racing might fall down the rankings of online popularity. But it never really did. Of course, people like to bet on football and basketball and so on, but there’s still a special place for horse racing in the heart of the online community.

I think that’s potentially due to the popularity of ‘fixed odds’. Unlike pari-mutuel gambling – where wagers are deposited into a single pot – odds can fluctuate based on the wagers, with winnings being paid from the total payout. This means that gamblers can bet much in the same way that they do with club sports. It wraps everything up in a neat bow!

Interesting. Are there any other reasons for the popularity of horse racing in the iGaming community?

I think the inclusion of alternative payment methods helps. In 2024, users can place wagers through a variety of means, including cryptocurrency. With the added security and convenience of multiple payment methods, horse racing betting has been opened up to a wider audience. With the growth of that audience in mind, the online gambling world has also drawn in new horse racing fans, especially among the younger Gen Z generation.

For instance, there are a load of horse racing-themed slots, and even simulated horse races that gamblers can wager on. This is important, because these ‘races’ are available at any time, on any day. Real horse racing, however, is constrained to a seasonal window. Because virtual races occur daily, there’s more chance to draw in new fans and new interest in the real thing. By appealing to gamers, racing can attract fans into real racing too.

That’s crazy. So virtual games and simulations are actually aiding the real sport?

Oh yes, definitely. Just think, in 2021, the overall wagering handle increased to $12.2 billion. This was a big increase over 2020, even though there were 30% fewer races in the huge US market. The only thing you can put that down to is the online-verse. New fans are arriving everyday, and horse racing is only getting more popular as a result. I think we can only expect it to get bigger in the future, too. It’s a very exciting time to be a horse racing fan and an online gambling fan, especially with all the options at your fingertips.

Alex, thank you for your insights.

Any time!

Protektorat has several Festival options this season

Dan Skelton’s gelding Protektorat has been one of the leading chasers in the UK and Ireland over the last couple of seasons. The highlight in that period was his Grade I success in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in 2022.

Skelton has given Protektorat two entries at the Cheltenham Festival in 2024, as he is in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Ryanair Chase, for which entries close in January. A decision on which of those races he lines up in will be made closer to the meeting.

Third shot at Gold Cup

Should he appear in the 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup in 3 months, Protektorat will be having his third start in the blue riband event of the Cheltenham Festival. He is 66/1 to win the 3m2f contest, and those looking to back Skelton’s runner should consider the leading horse racing betting offers on the meeting. They include bet365’s bet £10, get £30 in free bets promotion which is available to new customers.

The eight-year-old made his Gold Cup debut in 2022 and he finished a respectable third in the race which was won by A Plus Tard. A year later, he was fifth of 13 runners in the 2023 renewal that went the way of Irish star Galopin Des Champs.

Protektorat now has an official chase rating of 165, which is 5lb lower than when he featured in the 2023 Gold Cup. He is one of 27 horses that have entries for the feature race at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Ryanair trip may suit

The former Grade One winner has yet to show his best form in two runs so far this season. Both of those appearances have come over distances beyond 3m. With that in mind, Skelton may be leaning towards the Ryanair Chase, which is over the short trip of 2m5f.

Protektorat has been successful over 2m4f at Cheltenham, so he has shown he has the speed for the Ryanair Chase. That race would be seen as an easier assignment for the British horse, as the Gold Cup is set to feature several big players from Ireland this season, although the Irish will be well represented in the Ryanair too.

Next appearance set to be Lingfield

Skelton has revealed that he expects Protektorat’s next run to come in the Fleur de Lys Chase at Lingfield on January 21st. That valuable race is worth £165,000, and it is one of the feature contests at the three-day Winter Million meeting, a concept introduced in 2023.

Although Protektorat was not able to score last time out in a handicap where he carried top weight, he did make the frame. It was a much better performance than his seasonal reappearance, so Skelton will be encouraged by that performance. The Lodge Hill trainer will be hoping to see his horse step up again on what is likely to be his final start before the Ryanair Chase or Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The 2024 Cheltenham Festival is scheduled for the 12-15th March 2024. The Ryanair Chase comes on the penultimate day of the meeting, while the Gold Cup is positioned on the final day.

When to come racing at Stratford again

The nights are drawing in and the winter winds are beginning to blow. While it is one of the best times of the year in Stratford-on-Avon as the Victorian Christmas Market comes to life and a festive glow falls on the town, there is a noticeable absence in the air: horse racing. At Stratford Racecourse there is a pause in proceedings over the winter months, with fixtures only resuming again in mid-March. Mark that date now – Monday March 11th.

Looking ahead to next Spring’s restart

People often ask what we do at the racecourse during the closed season. “I suppose you must be getting busy now,” they say as our first March fixture hoves into view. Certainly, the mid-winter period is one of some reflection on events past, but idle time is scarce. Creating a calendar of race fixtures, and delivering them is a full-time occupation!

The Spring is the same time that Jump racing around Britain generally comes into full view for folk who don’t follow racing on a daily basis, with some of the biggest festivals in the United Kingdom taking place in early spring. Indeed, the bulk of the year’s horse race bets are placed over this time as the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National fall within a month of each other.

To that end, all eyes will be on Corach Rambler who has been priced at 20/1 to defend the title he won at Aintree in mid-April. His first run this autumn proved him less than match-fit, but the key destination is Aintree, not Kelso in November, so trainer Lucinda Russell has left something to work on.

If you’re a horse racing enthusiast, however, then these opening events at Stratford, and the festivals at Cheltenham and Aintree might seem like an age away with the bulk of the winter still to come. The good news is that there is still plenty of top flight horse racing to savour over the chillier months.

The Season is now in full swing

In fact, jump racing – which is often referred to as ‘National Hunt’ racing, accelerates throughout the festive season and only recedes to a specialist cadre of tracks – Stratford included – during the warmer summer months. 

The reason for this is that the winter conditions make the ground softer which is more forgiving on horses as they land. And boy, has it rained already this autumn, allowing trainers like Venetia Williams, a traditionalist who needs mud on her riders’ breeches to run her horses, to get going earlier than usual.

This is why you’ll often hear terms used like heavy, soft, and good to soft when the surface is being described before a race in the colder months. This terminology is referred to as ‘the going’ and provides punters with a good idea of how the race might play out on account of the condition of the actual racecourse. In fact, ground conditions this autumn to date have been so dire that an abnormal number of fixtures have already hit the buffers.

Flat racing continues over the winter

Unlike jump racing, the majority of flat racing fixtures stop over the colder months as the neatly manicured turf needed for sprints is more susceptible to the winter elements. Essentially, this makes flat racing unsafe with frost and ice posing the biggest dangers to horses. The international calendar continues throughout for the elite, November having seen the Breeders’ Cup then Melbourne Cups, whilst February and March are dominated by high value races in Riyadh and Dubai.

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While very cold conditions can also affect jump racing, flat racing is more about blistering speed over shorter distances as opposed to stamina and endurance over a few miles. Overall, the elements are far harder to negotiate at high speed.

As a result, some 30 years ago, the innovative Muddle family introduced synthetic surfaces at Wolverhampton and Southwell so that the flat racing season could go ahead all year round. This has been a lifesaver for smaller trainers whose stock is not competitive enough to go close on turf, but in lower quality all-weather races, finds their winning place.

A la prochaine

So there you have it, while lovers of horse racing certainly won’t be starved of action, Stratford Racecourse will fall silent over the next few months. However, that famous roar that echoes around Warwickshire will soon return as another season of thrilling racing at Stratford begins again on March 11th 2024, precursor to a breath-taking week at the sport’s spiritual home of Cheltenham.

We’ll see you back here in no time.

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