Storm Dennis is having its say in the UK and the racing on Monday might not survive. As such, it is a good opportunity to look at two special markets for the 2020 Cheltenham Festival: leading jockey and leading trainer. There are 28 races over four days for which all trainers can enter runners. Three of the races are confined to amateur jockeys, which means there are 25 up for grabs for the pros. In addition to these markets, the Prestbury Cup is the team competition for horses from the UK and Ireland.
The three markets are settled on the number of winners, not prize money, and dead-heat rules apply for the leading jockey and trainer. The stake is divided by the number of options in the dead heat. If there are two jockeys or trainers with the same number of winners, the return is half what it would be if there was an outright winner alone. This market is usually win-only, but any each-way bets will be settled at one-fifth the odds for three places. The markets will be updated at the end of racing each day. The Prestbury Cup market includes the tie.
Here are some key 10-year trends for leading jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival:
- Average number of winners: 4.2
- Most winners: seven
- Fewest winners: three
- Most common number of winners: four
- Most prolific jockey: Ruby Walsh – 30 wins
- Born in Ireland: nine
- Born in UK: one
The jockeys below are expected to ride multiple favourites over the course of the 28 races this year:
- Paul Townend – five
- Rachael Blackmore – three
- Barry Geraghty – three
- Nico de Boinville – two
In terms of quality, Paul Townend and Nico de Boinville have the best book of rides. Townend looks like being on more favourites, so he is the option to back at +200 with Bovada to be the leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival.
Here are some 10-year trends for leading trainers at the jumps meet that matters most:
- Average number of winners: 5.2
- Most winners: eight
- Fewest winners: three
- Most common number of winners: four
- Most prolific trainer: Willie Mullins – 30 wins
- Based in Ireland: eight
- Based in UK: two
The trainers below have multiple ante-post betting favourites over the 28 races:
- Willie Mullins – five
- Gordon Elliott – five
- Nicky Henderson – four
- Henry de Bromhead – three
- Kim Bailey – two
- Harry Fry – two
- Gavin Cromwell – two
The three leading trainers could split their winners, so Henry de Bromhead could be a good outside bet at +800 with online bookmakers to be the leading trainer at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival.
For those considering a bet on the Prestbury Cup, here is a breakdown of the current favourites:
- Trained in UK – 12
- Trained in Ireland – 16
This is a three-way market including the tie, so Ireland are the bet at anywhere near even money.