An Exciting Year of Horse Racing Isn’t Over Yet!

It’s been an exciting year for American horse racing. There’s been plenty of exciting betting opportunities and although the main races are over now, there is still lots to bet on in other countries.

Let’s have a quick look back at this year’s top American races. The  Belmont Stakes produced a win for the Danny Gargin trained runner Dornoch. It was held at the Saratoga Race Course due to the ongoing renovations at Belmont Park. One of the races of the year was the Kentucky Derby. That was won by Mystik Dan who won in a three-horse photo finish from Sierra Leone (more of in a moment) and Forever Young.

Racing fans are still recovering from all the excitement of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup meeting held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in California. It was one great (and very lucrative) race after another. Who will ever forget Thorpedo Anna winning the Distaff, her fifth Grade 1 success.

Sierra Leone had a great win in the Classic and won nearly $6 million this year. Those  behind the winner included the Epsom Derby winner City of Troy. The Aidan O’Brien trained turf classic winner just couldn’t cope with the dirt track and only finished eighth.

Betting on horse racing remains hugely popular in the US state of Connecticut. Online sports betting has seen massive growth in the US in recent years. A US Supreme Court judge ruling in 2018 allowed individual states to make the final decision on whether to legalize sports betting. It became legal to bet on sports online in Connecticut in 2021.

Sports betting has proved to be very profitable indeed. There was a record handle of $214.4 million in September. That beat the previous record of $212 million that was recorded last December. The September figure was 18.4% higher than that seen in the same period last year. Overall handle for the year has now gone through the $1.5 billion mark.

While the major horse races in the US are over for 2024, that’s not the case in the United Kingdom. The jumps season is underway and betting on the sport is popular in Connecticut and other US states where sports betting is now legal.

The US sports betting sites regularly have bonuses and odds on the top races. December is going to be a massive month for horse racing fans, particularly Boxing Day. The festive period just wouldn’t be the same without the major meeting that takes place at Kempton Park and this year (weather permitting as it is the UK after all), will be no exception to the rule.

On December 26, all eyes will be on Kempton for the King George VI Chase. This is one of the leading races of the season and a big pointer towards who may be successful at the Cheltenham Festival in March 2025.

Bookmakers currently have Gaelic Warrior as the favorite to land this three-mile Grade 1 Chase. Trained by Willie Mullins (who trained 2021 winner Tornado Flyer) won the Arkle Trophy at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

Mullins has a strong hand in this race. American bookmakers see another of his runners Galopin Des Champs as the second favorite in this race. March of this year saw the eight-year-old win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. That was his third successive victory but he could only finish second in his one outing so far this season.

His second came in the Punchestown Gold Cup and US bookmakers had made him the odds-on favorite to win that race. His jumping wasn’t as fluent as it has been in the past and he finished one-and-three-quarter lengths behind an eased down Factorslow. He is likely to come on for that first run and be a contender at Kempton.

Not since Clan Des Obeaux in 2019 has a horse won this race two years in a row. Attempting that feat this year will be 2023 winner Hewick. The nine-year-old has a tough task to repeat last year’s win. In five races since that triumph at Kempton last year, he hasn’t won but has had two second place finishes.

His last race was at Down Royal in Ireland over three miles and only just lost to Envoi Allen who is also due to be an opponent at Kempton. A place could be possible but bookmakers do not expect a second straight win.

Others to consider include Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning who was a winner at the Cheltenham Festival this year. Bravemansgame won this race for Paul Nicholls two years ago and second last year.

He may well have won in 2023 but for being hampered during the race. Bookmakers offer a big price on a win this year but he clearly loves Kempton and that’s always a factor to consider when betting on a big race.