Experienced journalist and editor covering the sports and betting industry. A football, NFL and rugby specialist, he is a FWA member and judge at the Football Content Awards.
We speak to Trevor Harris, Trading Manager at Star Sports, ahead of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
As one of the country's leading independent bookmakers, Star Sports has been taking punters bets on course and off for over 25 years. In an industry full of faceless brands and web chats, they pride themselves on high-end customers service, with direct lines to experienced traders, as well as accommodating some of the biggest bets in the UK.
We speak to Trevor about Star Sports' approach to this year's Cheltenham Festival, the biggest changes to the festival over the last decade and what the future may hold going forward.
OLBG: What does the run up to a big festival look like for you guys usually?
TH: The challenge for us is to embrace the hype and excitement that the festival generates without getting ourselves in positions that we are uncomfortable with. Antepost betting presents its own problems: We can be staring down huge liabilities that we can't offset, or we might have great positions which involve some of our best clients doing their money without getting a run. Neither position is great for business.
OLBG: Are things any different for an independent bookie like yourselves, compared to other bookies in the industry?
TH: The main difference for us, and I suspect most independent bookmakers, is that horse racing is a high percentage of our overall take and as such we need to make it pay. It isn't terribly efficient to make a lot of your profit on horse racing with all the fees, levy, streaming, taxes and so on. The big firms have realised that if they can recruit clients through racing, then those same racing punters will bet on other sports and it’s these sports which represent a much better and more efficient way to make and keep profits. As such, there is almost a loss-leading element to the bigger firms when it comes to racing. This allows them to be aggressive and if we feel compelled to follow, we get taken into a very uncomfortable place.
OLBG: What are the biggest differences for yourselves at Cheltenham now, compared to 10 years ago?
TH: Right now I feel Cheltenham is slightly coming down from its exalted position as the only show in town. The hype is slightly less intense as the industry remembers that National Hunt racing is far from the Cheltenham Festival alone, and you can't put all your eggs in one basket. We haven't really changed our position that Cheltenham represents a great opportunity to recruit and retain clients, offer industry leading hospitality, and lay the biggest bets throughout the four days. That said, the massive caveat is that we want to play big on the betting show and not hours, days, or weeks before.
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OLBG: And what about for punters?
TH: It’s still an incredible sporting week, but it comes with serious expenses. Spending the five days at Cheltenham is fast becoming a rich person's game only. I've lost count of the number of clients who say that they used to go but don't anymore. Last year there were lots of stories of groups going to Spain or Tenerife to take in the festival with some early spring sunshine at a fraction of the cost. However, it is still four days of high class sport, set in an amazing theatre, with fantastic stories and achievements. There will be lots of short price favourites to back or oppose, but the festival still provides serious turnover.
OLBG: How did Cheltenham go for you guys from a business perspective last year?
TH: Last year was a decent festival for us without the usual story of being tailed off after two days and gradually winning it back as the week went on. We got in front early and stayed in front with one or two bumps on the way. We did, however, have a bad result on the pre festival antepost business, which took the shine off the whole week.
OLBG: Is there anything that you're doing this year ahead of the festival that differs from normal proceedings?
TH: No, we are trying to navigate our way to the 12th of March with manageable liabilities, all while trying to keep our clients happy, and that’s a very tough balancing act. We are very conscious as a small firm that we can't make a noise during Cheltenham with our marketing budgets being a fraction compared to those of the big firms, so we try and make a noise when affordable opportunities present themselves. For example, we recently sponsored the National Spirit card at Fontwell and the supporting meeting at Hereford. For one day only we were the biggest show in town. As for Cheltenham itself, we are concentrating more on retention and rewarding our loyal customers this year rather than trying to make a big splash in the recruiting jungle where we will be seriously outspent.
OLBG: What will you guys have coming out in the way of tipping and preview content?
TH: We are planning our usual wide range of Cheltenham Festival content with the most extensive offering yet, including previews and videos from our brand ambassadors Harry Skelton and Davy Russell. We’ll also be running the third consecutive Knockout Tipping challenge which pits together 32 of the top media pundits in FA Cup style format with a charitable element to the prizes.
Simon Nott's popular betting ring blogs will run for all four days of the Festival, capturing all the big bets, race by race,direct from the Star Sports pitches in the ring. And we are running a YES/NO tipping challenge with free bets with Star Sports up for grabs, spaces live broadcasts on X looking ahead to the festival and a downloadable PDF stats guide to all four days, with key stats and pointers.
OLBG: How do you see the festival evolving over the next five or ten years? If at all?
TH: It's hard to see other meetings challenging Cheltenham and I'm sure it will remain the big ticket, but I do feel that if it becomes purely a rich man's game only, then the racing fans that get priced out won’t jump back in. I would like to see it revert to three days with the best of the best only – that said, the Ryanair is once again one of the races of the week. The handicaps could be a win and you're in a system which will create competitive races throughout the season. Five or ten years from now, provided the Cheltenham experience is affordable and embraces modern media, it will almost certainly still reign supreme.
OLBG: Finally, which horse are you looking forward to seeing the most?
In the end it comes down to money, so to justify antepost support, I’ll go for Gavin Cromwell's Sixandahalf in the Mares Novices Hurdle on Wednesday. That’s the big one.
Get a full rundown and guide on every race for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
