Betfair Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

2025 Betfair Hurdle Preview

Scheduled to take place in February of each year at the Newbury racecourse is the Betfair Hurdle, Britain's most valuable Handicap Hurdle, this Premier Handicap race is steeped in history and was first run in 1963 (at Aintree) and was known as the 'Schweppes Gold Trophy' until the Tote took over sponsorship in 1986 when it became the 'Tote Gold Trophy Hurdle' and then the Totesport Trophy until current sponsors Betfair took over in 2012 to the current day.

Betfair Hurdle Information:

• Betfair Hurdle Past Winners
• Betfair Hurdle Trainer Statistics
• Betfair Hurdle Jockey Statistics

Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Newbury tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Newbury Racecourse section for links to these.

How competitive is the Betfair Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2023 when the race had an over-round of 121%. The race in 2018 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 139%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Betfair Hurdle, the over-round has been 131%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £131 which is bet.

Betfair Hurdle Trends:

• 2025 Betfair Hurdle Trends
• Betfair Hurdle Trend Analysis

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Betfair Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -8.00. Whilst we wait for the 2025 Betfair Hurdle remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2013 renewal when My Tent Or Yours from Nicky Henderson under the guidance of A P McCoy, won in a time of 4:10.70, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Aucunrisque, trained by Chris Gordon and ridden by Nick Scholfield set the quickest time of 3:41.40 in the 2023 renewal.

These are the top three quickest-run Betfair Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:

1. Aucunrisque (3:41.40) in 2023
2. Al Dancer (3:44.60) in 2019
3. Pic DOrhy (3:48.00) in 2020

Betfair Hurdle Past Winners

Here are the Betfair Hurdle past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Betfair Hurdle as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Betfair Hurdle have been based:

• GB: 18 winners with an additional 52 placings from 373 runners
• IRE: 2 winners with an additional 5 placings from 43 runners
• FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

Betfair Hurdle Trainer Statistics

There are multiple leading trainers in the Betfair Hurdle over the last 20 renewals with Nicky Henderson, Gary Moore and Nigel Twiston-Davies having all won the race three times. Nicky Henderson's winners have been with Geos (2004), My Tent Or Yours (2013) and Iberico Lord (2024). Gary Moore winners have been with Heathcote (2007), Wingman (2008) and Violet Dancer (2015). Nigel Twiston-Davies winners have been with Splash Of Ginge (2014), Ballyandy (2017) and Al Dancer (2019). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Betfair Hurdle are Paul Nicholls (2 wins) and Jonjo O'Neill (2 wins). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Betfair Hurdle, Philip Hobbs (0-24), Alan King (0-22), W P Mullins (0-20) and David Pipe (0-19) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.

Here are some of the top Betfair Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

Betfair Hurdle Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Betfair Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Sam Twiston-Davies who has won the race two times with those two winners coming from Ballyandy (2017) and Al Dancer (2019). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Betfair Hurdle, Paddy Brennan has ridden a total of 10 runners to the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Betfair Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

2025 Betfair Hurdle Trends

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 2, 1, 15, 7, 4, 11, 1, 1, 3, 4, 9, 1, (1, 12, 16), 1, 2, 12, 7, 2, 8

The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.

• 20 / 20 (80%) - No bigger than 40/1 (Career)
• 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran over 1m7f - 2m2f (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Highest Run is not G3/Cl4
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Made 3 - 10 starts (1 Year)
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Furthest Won 2m - 2m3½f
• 20 / 20 (87%) - No bigger than 8/1 (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (88%) - Fewer than 3 wins (Hcps)
• 20 / 20 (88%) - Made 4 - 31 starts (Career)
• 20 / 20 (89%) - Fewer than 11 starts (Hcps)
• 19 / 20 (76%) - Achieved an RPR of 124+ (LTO)
• 19 / 20 (79%) - No bigger than 33/1
• 19 / 20 (80%) - No more than +2yrs (Vs Min Age)
• 19 / 20 (81%) - No older than a 7yo
• 19 / 20 (83%) - No bigger than 100/1 (Debut)
• 19 / 20 (87%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Career Win)

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Newbury racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Betfair Hurdle. You may want to do your research into the race, there are times when there are several runners who pass the trends so you need to do your research to find a bet, we have a Horse Racing Form Reading Made Easy & What to Look For article to help you do just this in the OLBG Betting School section.

Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Betfair Hurdle by adding a tip on the race here.

Betfair Hurdle Trend Analysis

The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +31.25 is when runners ran in a Non Handicap when last winning. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 place in the past year, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-69.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Betfair Hurdle is Sandown, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Sandown last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Ascot, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Ascot last time out.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 19 winners from a total of 402 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 15 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Betfair Hurdle, that stallion Fame And Glory has produced 2 winners (2022,2021).

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Betfair Hurdle despite multiple attempts:

• Authorized (0 Wins from 8 runners)
• Galileo (0 Wins from 6 runners)
• Montjeu (0 Wins from 6 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Heathcote in 2007, winning for Gary Moore at odds of 50/1 under the guidance of Jamie Moore. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 6 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2025 Betfair Hurdle.

Other Principal races at Newbury racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Newbury racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in February

• Denman Chase
• Game Spirit Chase

Races in March

• Greatwood Gold Cup

Races in April (Spring Trials)

• Fred Darling Stakes
• Greenham Stakes
• John Porter Stakes
• Newbury Spring Cup

Races in May

• Lockinge Stakes
• London Gold Cup Heritage Handicap

Races in July

• Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes

Races in November

• Berkshire Novices Chase
• Coral Gold Cup
• Gerry Feilden Hurdle
• Long Distance Hurdle

Races in December

• Challow Novices Hurdle