Horse racing is one of the world’s most famous pastimes, with many of the biggest events on the calendar being watched by millions throughout recent history.
Many of the sport’s biggest races have retained their popularity over the last five years, with the prominence increasing if anything due to the sheer number of betting markets that are now available with the leading sportsbooks.
Betting on the sport is constantly evolving, but that has enabled the action to reach new demographics across the world, with a younger average age of bettor now being common for major events such as the Kentucky Derby, Breeders’ Cup and Cheltenham Festival. But, just how popular is betting on horse racing?
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Racing’s Popularity
According to TwinSpires, horse racing action has been staged around the world for over two centuries, with the popularity of the sport ranging across the codes depending on the nation. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the popularity of jumps racing far outweighs the success that is enjoyed by the flat stars, while it is the opposite in the United States and Canada. Meanwhile, harness racing is most popular in nations such as Sweden.
The popularity of the sport hasn’t exactly diminished throughout recent history, with stats between 2017 and 2021 showing that over 49,000 meetings were held in the United Kingdom, with only football ranking higher in terms of average attendances throughout the year.
Across the world, this popularity is also evident, with 1.45 billion watching the sport or betting on the action annually in 2020. That illustrates a major increase based on the stats from 2019, which showed that racing had 365 million bettors and viewers over the 12-month period.
Growth In Betting Popularity Post COVID
Unlike many other sports, horse racing continued behind closed doors during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the financial pain of fans of the sport was still felt, as betting on the action dropped to their lowest in over ten years in the United Kingdom.
Between April 2008 and March 2009, it was found that there was a turn over of just under £5.74 billion when betting on the sport, which was considerably lower than the £1.5 billion that was turned over between April 2020 and March 2021. However, the latest figures show that betting is becoming increasingly popular in the sport once again.
Between April 2021 and March 2022, there was a turn over of just over £3 billion, marking that the trajectory of betting on the sport is heading back in the right direction following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most Popular Betting Events In Racing
Horse racing action takes place throughout the year at courses across the world. However, it is the major events on the schedule that attract the biggest wagers, with even novice bettors getting involved in the action in the hope of winning major returns on their selections. But, what are some of the most popular betting events in the sport?
Kentucky Derby
The biggest horse racing event on the schedule in the United States is staged annually at the start of May, as the Triple Crown series kicks off at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Derby is one of the world’s most famous races, as horses aged three compete over 1 ¼ miles on the dirt. There have been some legendary winners of the race throughout history, with victors such as Secretariat, Whirlaway, and American Pharoah becoming household names.
This year’s Derby showed that the popularity of betting on racing is as prominent as ever, as $310.5 million was wagered on the Saturday card at Churchill Downs. The Derby was the most popular race on the card, with a record $210.7 million staked on the Triple Crown race. That includes a sportsbook record of $92.1 million taken by TwinSpires.
Cheltenham Festival
While Royal Ascot and the Grand National Meeting are prominent fixtures on the United Kingdom racing schedule, no event gets close to the popularity that is enjoyed by the Cheltenham Festival. The four-day jumps spectacular sees championship races over hurdles and fences, with the best horses on the planet in action in the Cotswolds. The feature of the week comes in the form of the Gold Cup, which has been won by some of the legends of National Hunt racing, including Galopin Des Champs, Best Mate, and Arkle.
Records show that the Cheltenham Festival is the most wagered horse racing event in the UK on annual basis, with just over £500 million staked during the four-day meet in 2024. The Grand National is arguably the biggest betting race on the jumps schedule, with £300 million wagered annually. But, few events on the schedule come close to the success enjoyed by the Cheltenham Festival, as the local area surrounding the track enjoys the economic boom aside from betting for good measure.
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