Doncaster Picks

Doncaster is one of the major courses in the north of England, the 'turf' flat season just about starts and ends here. 

The host of the St. Leger first run in 1776, which is the oldest of the five English 'classic' races and is the final one of the flat season (run in September).

Type of Racing: Flat and NH.

Flat Highlights: The St. Leger is the main feature, being the last Classic of the season. Run over 1 mile 6 furlongs it is the final leg of the Triple Crown after the Guineas and Derby. The last horse to win the three races was the great Nijinsky in 1970.

The Lincoln Handicap (March) traditionally kicks off the beginning of the 'turf' flat season with horses from that race worth following in April and May, as they tend to be horses who are “ready” fitness-wise.

The Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes (Group 1), formally known as the Racing Post Trophy run in October over a mile for 2 Year old's is a valuable guide to the classics for the following season.

In total Doncaster has 9 Group races on the flat.

NH Highlights: Several feature races adorn the program, with possibly the best known being the Yorkshire Chase (January) and the Grimthorpe Chase (March) which is normally held just prior to the Cheltenham Festival.

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

Doncaster Outright Favorite Statistics

• Flat Handicaps: 141-472 (30%) -25.11
• Flat Non-Handicaps: 76-158 (48%) +2.91
• Handicap Chases: 30-114 (26%) -18.72
• Handicap Hurdles: 24-115 (21%) -35.86
• Non-Handicap Chases: 16-23 (70%) +6.38
• Non-Handicap Hurdles: 38-108 (35%) -31.80

Flat & National Hunt: Left-handed track, Rose Hill is the highest point on the track and is situated about 10 furlongs from the winning post. There is a slight uphill stretch before and downhill stretch after Rose Hill, but neither is steep nor prolonged. The rest of the course is basically level and has good drainage.

Doncaster Racetrack Address: The Grandstand, Leger Way, Doncaster DN2 6BB

Doncaster Racetrack Telephone: 01302 304200

Knowing that the Doncaster racecourse is a true test of a horse’s speed and quality means you can bet with confidence at the track. 

During times when there is no racing scheduled at Doncaster, head over to the racing predictions page to see what the tipsters are backing elsewhere today.

Doncaster is regarded as a very fair course with no excuses, and if the horse is good enough, it will win. The home straight is very wide but tends to favor horses using either side rather than the center.

The effect of the draw varies but in general, it pays to be where the pace is in big fields. The placing of the stalls at different meetings needs to be checked.

Avoiding trouble turning into the long straight is of paramount importance rather than the draw itself. This bend is about 5f from home on the round course so affects races over 8f on the round course. The Lincoln and other major 8f handicaps are run over the straight mile so are not affected.

Races over 16.5f have a very tight bend after just a furlong, but this probably has little effect except in the case of a very big field. Visit the OLBG tips pages to view the tips and comments by the top horse racing tipsters. Check the OLBG tips pages for detailed comments on individual horses.

Read the daily horse racing discussion on the forum. Check going and weather updates from the clerk of the Doncaster course.

When breaking Doncaster down into trips then you can look at which stall and trip combination has produced the best LSP, that would be stall 2 over a trip of 5f which has, over the last five years produced an LSP of +84.34. For the least profitable stall at Doncaster, you need to look at races over 7f and focus on stall 3 as this has produced an LSP of -82.25 over the last five years.

Here we have the draw bias for Doncaster taken into consideration races with ten or more runners, we will break down the figures by race distance, draws can be much more important over the shorter trips in which runners do not have time to find their position during the race meaning the draw is probably more important than the races over longer distances.

• Sprints (5f to 7½f)
• Mile (1m to 1m1½f)
• Middle Distance (1m2f to 1m5½f)

The following table shows a breakdown over a group of trips and shows how each position of the draw does, for example in a twelve-runner race would be Low (Stalls 1-4), Mid (Stalls 5-8) and High (Stalls 9-12), the positions will always be lowest stall number to highest.

Who are the best flat jockeys and trainers to bet on at Doncaster?

Not only is J H M Gosden the most successful trainer at Doncaster in terms of the number of winners but they have also returned a profit if back all of their runners, J H M Gosden has notched up a total of thirty-seven winners for an LSP of +10.70. When looking at trainers and looking for some eachway value at Doncaster then the trainer who shows the best eachway profit is S R Bowring, that LSP is +24.49 which has been accumulated by a total of eleven placings which includes three winners. R A Fahey does not have a great record at Doncaster, their LSP of -100.30 has them stone dead bottom of the trainers' list, which has come from nineteen winners from two hundred fifty-nine runners which is a 7% strike rate.

William Buick is the leading jockey here at Doncaster with thirty-two winners but you would have recorded a loss if you backed all of their rides whilst following Rossa Ryan would have returned the most winners (twenty-one) from a profitable jockey. If you are more of an eachway player then you may want to know which jockey is best to follow at Doncaster and that would be Connor Planas who shows the best eachway LSP which is +23.61 thanks to their seven placings (five winners). At the other end of the spectrum is Jason Hart who has a terrible record at Doncaster, of all the jockeys their LSP of -89.43 is the worse, they have a 6% strike rate with seven winners from one hundred twenty-five rides.

Doncaster Picks & Hints

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

• 5-12 (42%) +72.00 - Backing Rowan Scott rides when over a trip of 5f
• 5-10 (50%) +48.50 - Backing A M Balding runners when horses are aged 5yo
• 15-37 (41%) +28.39 - Backing L Dettori rides when in a Non-Handicap race
• 5-11 (45%) +15.08 - Backing Tom Marquand rides when in a Novices race
• 5-12 (42%) +13.48 - Backing Charlie Appleby runners when in a Handicap race

Doncaster Top Jockey and Trainer Combinations

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

• 13 Wins: Charlie Appleby & William Buick
• 12 Wins: J H M Gosden & Robert Havlin
• 12 Wins: J H M Gosden & L Dettori
• 11 Wins: D O'Meara & Daniel Tudhope
• 10 Wins: T D Easterby & David Allan

Doncaster Top Trainers By Most Winners and a Level Stakes Profit

Doncaster Top Jockeys By Most Winners and a Level Stakes Profit

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

Following D McCain Jnr would have returned a profit here at Doncaster with an LSP of +108.01 and their twenty winners have them at the head of the profitable trainers' list. N J Henderson does lead the trainers' list overall with twenty-three winners but shows an overall loss. When looking at trainers and looking for some eachway value at Doncaster then the trainer who shows the best eachway profit is D McCain Jnr, that LSP is +63.88 which has been accumulated by a total of forty-three placings which includes twenty winners. P A Kirby does not have a great record at Doncaster, their LSP of -36.02 has them stone dead bottom of the trainers' list, which has come from seven winners from sixty-six runners which is an 11% strike rate.

Whilst Brian Hughes is the most successful jockey at Doncaster with a total of twenty-three winners, if you backed all of their rides you would be showing a loss. Sean Quinlan is the most successful jockey at Doncaster for those who show a profit if backing all their rides thanks to a total of fourteen winners and an LSP of +83.38. With an eachway LSP of +83.80 at Doncaster, Mr T Gillard leads the jockeys in profit for backing eachway which has been helped by their sixteen placings which include a total of eight winners. At the other end of the spectrum is Tom Bellamy who has a terrible record at Doncaster, of all the jockeys their LSP of -52.00 is the worst, they have a 6% strike rate with five winners from eighty rides.

Doncaster Picks & Hints

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

• 5-10 (50%) +51.66 - Backing Miss G Boanas runners when over a trip of 3m½f
• 5-9 (56%) +18.25 - Backing P J Brennan rides when over a trip of 2m½f

Doncaster Top Jockey and Trainer Combinations

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

• 12 Wins: D McCain Jnr & Brian Hughes
• 12 Wins: N J Henderson & Nico Boinville
• 11 Wins: Fergal O'Brien & P J Brennan
• 8 Wins: Daniel Skelton & Harry Skelton
• 6 Wins: K C Bailey & David Bass

Doncaster Top Trainers By Most Winners and a Level Stakes Profit

Doncaster Top Jockeys By Most Winners and a Level Stakes Profit