Jumps or Flat? Our survey reveals a clear winner in punters' affections

Which is better, Flat or jumps? The age-old debate among racing fans will be given fresh impetus by the findings of our latest Big Punting Survey, which shows that punters are twice as likely to prefer jump racing to the obstacle-free version of the sport.

That's if they express a preference at all. Most people, amounting to a shade over 54 per cent, said they were equally comfortable betting on both. For what it's worth, that figure is down from 57 per cent when we asked the same question two years ago – perhaps punters are slowly becoming more polarised.

A quarter of all those who took part (26.18 per cent) said they mostly bet on jump racing, while another 4.69 per cent said they bet only on the jumps. The equivalent figures for the summer game were 12.81 per cent who bet 'mostly' on the Flat and just 2.13 per cent who did so exclusively.

That boils down to a jumps-focused constituency of more than 30 per cent of racing bettors, while the Flat-facing mob doesn't quite reach 15 per cent. Those on social media who complain there's nothing to bet on between the Breeders' Cup and the Craven meeting are evidently in the minority.

"It just shows that people enjoy following the jumpers and perhaps it's the longevity of the horses," says 14-time champion jumps trainer Paul Nicholls, who reckons his own betting habit is limited to about one a month. 

His insight appears to be on the mark. When we asked, 'What makes a race an interesting betting experience to you?' more than 55 per cent replied the involvement of familiar horses was quite important or highly important. With Galopin Des Champs about to appear at his fifth Cheltenham Festival, jump racing can claim to be good at continuity.

• How do young people feel about racing and betting? The results might surprise you 

"I think people fall in love with the stars like Tiger Roll and Red Rum going on for so many years," says Sean Trivass, a longstanding punter who just happens to be serving as chair of the Horseracing Bettors Forum. He stressed his comments here are his own thoughts and not expressed on behalf of the HBF.

"On the Flat, you can get a good two-year-old, he runs in the Classics at three and disappears to stud six weeks later. You haven't got time to fall in love with them.

"I like the speed of the Flat, but it's good to witness horses progress from bumpers to hurdles and then fences. You see them improve."

Trivass notes that the known quantities of jump racing can also be appealing to punters. "When you're looking at a nine-year-old who's raced 47 times, if you can't work out what distance he wants by then, you shouldn't be betting. You can get a better handle on the conditions a horse likes."

Is there something here for Flat racing to worry about? Top trainers William Haggas and John Gosden believe that any concern would be better directed elsewhere. 

"If you put the same question to all these people in the summer, you might get a different answer," says Haggas. "If you had Plumpton on the first day of the royal meeting, I would think the majority of your readers would be supporting Flat racing. 

"But the all-weather stuff at this time of year is pretty bland. It's opportunities for connections, which is nice, but it's not really punting opportunities. There's so much dross, so many boring 0-50 and 0-55 races, who wants to bet on that?"

His point chimes with another finding of our survey, that the presence of top-class horses is the thing most likely to make our readers consider a race as a betting prospect. More than 59 per cent of those surveyed said the involvement of such horses was quite important or highly important, while only nine per cent said it didn't matter to them.

Runners with lots of potential was also a key factor, described as important by 47 per cent. Familiarity with the trainers or jockeys was close behind on 45 per cent and was slightly more important than a race being competitive or having a large field (38 per cent). 

The race being on ITV was important for 27 per cent. Betting-related factors, like the presence of a strong favourite (11 per cent), showed up less strongly.

Racing's ability to produce star horses was described as "essential" by Gosden, responding to the findings of our survey. "Very well-known horses have remained in training on the Flat at the ages of four, five and six and that's great," he said.

"Unfortunately, we are served endless 0-55s and 0-60s and that'll turn anyone off. That is, sadly, the way that the fixture list turns a lot of our Flat racing into greyhound-style Bags racing and we'll end up going down that same fateful line. 

"I've long held the view we should consider two days per week with no racing – what they call dark days in the theatre. So you can pump up the weekend racing and then you need a day, Monday or Tuesday, when there is no racing." 

We asked about your motivation for betting and learned that the intellectual challenge matters most. Just over 78 per cent of you agreed with this statement: "I enjoy working out the puzzle a race presents," trumping even the 62 per cent who "bet for the thrill of winning".

Almost ten per cent said the thrill of winning meant nothing to them. You get some very cool customers reading the Racing Post.

"I particularly like the opportunity to figure the puzzle out," says pro punter Neil Channing. "I don't like playing in races where other people have an inherent advantage over me.

"If a race is dominated by two horses from the same stable or two horses who have been off for 300 days, I'm much less interested because someone else will know which one is fit and which one isn't, whereas I'm just guessing. 

"Handicaps, being full of exposed horses, have more appeal. I think it's underappreciated that punters are sophisticated enough to realise that, and they don't want to bet on guesswork."

When we asked what type of races you found most attractive, the cream rose to the top. Graded races over jumps were rated moderately attractive or very attractive by 78 per cent, while Group races on the Flat scored 69 per cent. 

Perhaps surprisingly, handicap chases polled somewhere between those two options on 74.14 per cent. Is the Ultima a better bet than the Guineas?

"Betting on the winner of a big race has always meant more to me in terms of getting my blood up," says Matt Williams, a pro punter who previously worked at the Racing Post. "Some people would say you get paid the same on a Wolverhampton seller, but a big race feels like more of an achievement and there's a buzz to it. You can talk about it for ever more."

Williams recalls landing some bets at a low-profile track last year. "I was thinking, it'll never mean as much to me as St Pirran winning at the Cheltenham Festival [in 2004].

"I'll always remember that. But any touch I've had at small meetings, you're just in and out. It's just a transaction."

Handicaps of all kind proved attractive to at least 60 per cent of those who took part. There was less enthusiasm for races confined to inexperienced runners, with novice chases and hurdles both creeping over 50 per cent. For Channing, the popularity of handicaps illuminates a key factor in racing's appeal. 

"People sometimes say it's too complicated as a sport, there's too much to learn, it's a barrier to entry. I think that's one of the positives. 

"It's a cerebral game and that's why it's rewarding to bet on the winner of the Cambridgeshire, because it's hard to do and there's lots to take into account when you're trying to make your selection. I don't think we should dumb it down."

Our survey once more shows that the average racing bettor is no longer in the first flush of youth. More than 71 per cent gave their ages as 55 or older, slightly down from 73 per cent last time. It's something to ponder for racing's marketers, who so often seem to aim at an imagined young audience. 

Asked about racing's older demographic, Simon Prout, a longstanding gambler who now owns Tommie Beau and other horses, says: "The sport should be proud of it. They just need to make sure the younger people get involved before the old farts drop off the perch.

"I've got a 21-year-old son and I'd love him to be really interested in it, but he can take it or leave it. Racing isn't really cool. He's gone to Salisbury races when there's a band and got steaming drunk and had a bit of fun, but if I said, 'Do you want to come to Fakenham with me', he'd say, 'Why on earth . . . ?' It's more of an old-timer's sport."

There's some reassurance to be had from our question about how often you bet. Bearing in mind the obstacles thrown in the way of punters these days, it's perhaps surprising to see such strong numbers for 'multiple times per week' (39 per cent), 'weekly' (24 per cent) and daily (20 per cent), all of which are within one per cent of the answers we had to that question two years ago.

Changing habits are reflected in our question about how you bet. Those who never go in a betting shop are now up to 30 per cent from 27.67 per cent the last time, while there has also been a small increase to 10.12 per cent in those who never bet at a racecourse.

Finally, our survey gives no comfort to the architects of the Premier Racing scheme. Less than two per cent said it had had any effect on their decisions about whether to watch or bet on a particular fixture. More than two-thirds of our 9,900 participants agreed with this statement: "Premier Racing makes no difference to my enjoyment of racing or betting".

The Big Punting Survey

Racing's crisis: 1 in 3 high-rollers turn to black market amid rising frustration for punters unable to bet with legal bookies 

We asked 10,000 punters about affordability checks and the black market. What you told us is alarming 

Betting account restrictions on the rise as two in five report being limited 

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