Punters' pick: Cheltenham Festival way out in front in betting shop turnover

The rise and rise of the Cheltenham Festival is once again reflected in the figures published for Coral’s top 40 betting races based on shop turnover in Britain last year.

Half of the races listed take place at the festival, and some of those have become increasingly popular betting mediums in recent years.

The Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle, which was only 12th in 2015, rose to number seven in 2017, while the Neptune (now Ballymore) Hurdle, only 39th in 2015, reached number 17 last year.

All seven races staged on Gold Cup day last year, including the two non-terrestrially televised races, the Grand Annual Handicap Chase and Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, were in the top 25 betting races.

The top four continued to be the Randox Health Grand National, Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup, Investec Derby and Coral Scottish Grand National, with the most spectacular rise being the Coral-Eclipse. Only the 31st biggest betting race in 2015, it soared to number 15 in 2016 and last year made number six.

The figures reflect the importance of competitiveness in top-class races to the general punting public. The William Hill St Leger, Eclipse and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes all made huge strides in 2017.

“The Grand National, with its unique mass-market appeal, is the undisputed champion when it comes to betting turnover on a single race, but the Cheltenham Festival is without doubt the most popular four days of betting in the horseracing calendar,” said Simon Clare, Coral PR director.

“The midsummer Group 1s performed really well in 2017 with the Coral-Eclipse, King George, July Cup and Nunthorpe all showing improved performances, while the Lockinge and St Leger also proved more popular than in previous years, proof once again that the combination of star quality and competitiveness is the perfect betting cocktail.”

Top 40 betting races in Britain in 2017 (figures based on Coral betting shop turnover)

1 Grand National
2 Cheltenham Gold Cup
3 Derby
4 Scottish Grand National
5 King George VI Chase
6 Coral-Eclipse
7 Stayers' Hurdle
8 2,000 Guineas
9 Champion Hurdle
10 Albert Bartlett Hurdle
11 Oaks
12 Triumph Hurdle
13 Foxhunter Chase
14 St Leger
15 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes
16 Grand Annual
17 Neptune Hurdle
18 Mares Hurdle
19 Ascot Gold Cup
20 Coral Cup
21 JLT Novices' Chase
22 County Hurdle
23 July Cup
24 Commonwealth Cup
25 Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle
26 Nunthorpe Stakes
27 Supreme Novices' Hurdle
28 Diamond Jubilee Stakes
29 1,000 Guineas
30 Lockinge
31 Brown Advisory Plate
32 RSA Chase
33 Ladbroke Trophy
34 Cesarewitch
35 Wokingham
36 Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase
37 Pertemps Hurdle
38 Stewards' Cup
39 Ryanair Chase
40 Champion Bumper

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