Cartmel Racing Tips

Just a mile in circumference, the left-handed course must be described as tight anyway, but the short turn into the ‘home’ straight accounts for about 75-80% of the transition from the ‘back’ straight to the ‘home’. The 2 fences down the back are close together with the latter being a ditch.

The chase course has just 6 fences, of which the 4 along the main straight also come close together and can cause issues for untidy jumpers on the last circuit when the pace tends to pick up.

The run from the last hurdle is nothing unusual but there is still about half a mile to run from the last fence on the chase course. That makes it the longest in Britain and can mean several changes in the lead in the closing stages.

Being up with the pace can be useful on such a tight track but beware any horse sent for home too soon on the chase course.

Type of Racing: National Hunt Only

Highlights: The feature races are the Cumbria Crystal, a valuable hurdle at the July meeting and the Grand Veterans Handicap Chase at the same time of year. The August meeting holds the other two important races, The Cavendish Cup Chase and the Cartmel Cup over hurdles.

TV Channel: Racing TV

Bookmaker Streaming Services are Available from Betfair and Bet 365.

* All statistics below are based on the previous five years at Cartmel

Cartmel Outright Favourite Statistics

• Handicap Chases: 30-89 (34%) -4.25
• Handicap Hurdles: 23-92 (25%) -20.82
• Non-Handicap Chases: 11-17 (65%) +7.33
• Non-Handicap Hurdles: 21-42 (50%) -1.57

National Hunt Only: Left handed, undulating, one very tight turn, with a slightly downhill finish including an extraordinarily long run from the last fence in chases.

Racecourse Address: Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria LA11 6QF

Racecourse Telephone Number: 015395 36004

To buy tickets for a race day at Cartmel, head over to their official ticket booking webpage

Cartmel is situated in the heart of the Lake District, in Cumbria. 

Before World War II, the track was basically the domain of amateurs but expanded during the second half of the century and was brought into the modern world when Lord Cavendish bought out the previous management team in 1998.

The earliest accounts of racing here date back to the mid-19^th century but racing had taken place for some time before that.  

The season is very short, with just 9 days of racing spread over 4 meetings each year, some of which now have live music afterwards. There is a 3-day meeting in May and a 2-day meeting in late June or early July.

The traditional 4-day meeting in August appears to have been split between late July and the end of August, with 2 days racing each.

These terms are slightly misleading as the course does not race on consecutive days but has a rest day between fixtures, the reason is two-fold.

It allows holidaymakers to spend time in the Lake District on the blank days, and as crowds tend to arrive early and leave very late, it gives the course a bit of time to prepare for the next influx. Crowds often exceed 20,000, a figure beat only by Aintree and Cheltenham on the National Hunt circuit.

We all know the song about the railway running through the middle of the house. Cartmel’s take on that is to have the finishing straight running through the middle of the spectators’ area which is located inside the track.

On one side of it is a large fairground; on the other, the parade ring. Although there is a small grandstand, in general, most structures are of a temporary nature.

Big, galloping types may struggle on this tight track, particularly any that jump to the right or prefer to race right-handed.

As with many similar courses, being up with the pace can be an advantage but the narrow track keeps field sizes down to manageable levels most of the time.

The fences are not in themselves too severe, but the grouping of them means a higher premium on jumping ability than would otherwise be the case.

Many horses travel some distance to the course and this should be noted, especially concerning occasional runners from the bigger stables.

Check the olbg horse racing tip pages, if visiting Cartmel download the latest olbg app for live tips.

Who are the best national hunt jockeys and trainers to bet on at Cartmel?

When looking at the leading trainers based on wins for those who are also showing a profit when backing all of their runners then it is James Moffatt who comes out at the top here at Cartmel With a total of thirty-five winners and an LSP of +35.39. If you are more of an eachway player then you may want to know which trainer is best to follow at Cartmel and that would be B M R Haslam who shows the best eachway LSP which is +81.58 thanks to their twenty-seven placings (sixteen winners). D McCain Jnr does not have a great record at Cartmel, their LSP of -53.23 has them stone dead bottom of the trainers' list, which has come from eighteen winners from one hundred seventeen runners which is a 15% strike rate.

Backing all of the Brian Hughes rides would have produced backing the most winners for a jockey here at Cartmel with twenty-seven but you would have returned a loss by doing so, Charlotte Jones leads the way for profitable jockey with an LSP of +3.98 from their twenty-five winners. When looking at jockeys and looking for some eachway value at Cartmel, the jockey who shows the best eachway profit is R P McLernon, whose LSP is +78.53 which has been accumulated by a total of twenty-four placings which includes fourteen winners. The jockey with the worst record at Cartmel based on LSP is Brian Hughes who has only an 18% strike rate with twenty-seven winners from one hundred fifty rides which have returned an LSP of -35.57.

Cartmel Picks & Hints

Here are some factors at Cartmel for certain trainers or jockeys which have been profitable:

• 5-11 (45%) +32.00 - Backing Sean Quinlan rides when on horses aged 8yo
• 9-22 (41%) +21.76 - Backing James Moffatt runners when in a Handicap Chase race
• 6-13 (46%) +10.00 - Backing Sam England runners when over a trip of 3m1½f
• 8-18 (44%) +10.76 - Backing Charlotte Jones rides when in a Handicap Chase race
• 6-12 (50%) +11.00 - Backing Jonathan England rides when over a trip of 3m1½f

Cartmel Top Jockey and Trainer Combinations

Here are the best trainer and jockey combinations here at Cartmel based on the number of winners:

• 25 Wins: James Moffatt & Charlotte Jones
• 17 Wins: D McCain Jnr & Brian Hughes
• 13 Wins: B M R Haslam & R P McLernon
• 12 Wins: Sam England & Jonathan England
• 7 Wins: Mrs Dianne Sayer & C O'Farrell

Cartmel Top Trainers By Most Winners and a Level Stakes Profit

Cartmel Top Jockeys By Most Winners and a Level Stakes Profit

With a huge combined experience of horse racing between them, this content has been created and is maintained by Darren Brett, James Banting and Andy Powell. All of the data for Cartmel Racecourse which includes the favourite statistics and the trainer and jockey statistics have been created using results from HorseRaceBase.

Darren Brett

Tipster competition manager

Darren has worked in the horse racing industry for decades bringing to OLBG for the last 20 years a wealth of knowledge, creating much of our content on these sports. Darren also manages our Grand National Guide and is the go-to font of knowledge for the world's greatest steeplechase.

James Banting

Tipster competition assistant

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Club provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.

Andy Powell

Content editor

Andy is a seasoned professional with more than 15 years of experience in the field of horse racing. He has a thorough understanding of the sport, from analyzing complex statistical data to being part of a winning syndicate at the Cheltenham Festival. Andy is responsible for managing the horse racing trend blogs on OLBG.