The Betfair Chase is now established as one of the biggest National Hunt races of the entire season and thousands of fans flock to Haydock Racecourse every November to watch it.

Established in 2005, the Betfair Chase continually attracts some of the best chasers in the training from the UK, Ireland and on some occasions, even France.

The Betfair Chase used to form the first leg of the £1m Jockey Club sponsored Triple Crown, which was awarded to any horse that could win the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park, the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup at The Festival next March.

Unfortunately that bonus was withdrawn in 2020/21 but that triumvirate of chases, to some degree, still forms the backbone to the road to Cheltenham. Some punters still follow the outcome of these first two races before they bet on Cheltenham.

Now in its 17th year, the Betfair Chase has produced a highly esteemed roll of honour.

The people’s favourite Kauto Star won the race four times (2006, 2007, 2009, and 2011) with his last win lifting the roof off the Haydock stands. A statue was even erected in his honour at the track.

As well as saddling Kauto Star to win this race on more than one occasion, Paul Nicholls also trained Silviniaco Conti to win the highly coveted Lancashire Chase (registered name) twice.

The Colin Tizzard-trained Cue Card almost pulled off the hat-trick of wins required to land the Triple Crown bonus but he fell when holding every chance in the Gold Cup. He managed to win the Betfair Chase a total of three times in his glittering career.

This year the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained grey, Bristol De Mai, will attempt to continue his love affair with the Merseyside track by capturing his fourth Betfair Chase.

Betfair Chase Winners

• 2020 – (7:03.63) Bristol De Mai 9-y-o 11-7 9/4 (Daryl Jacob/Nigel Twiston-Davies)

• 2019 – (6:43.50) Lostintranslation 7-y-o 11-7 5/4F (Robbie Power/Colin Tizzard)

• 2018 – (6:28.60) Bristol De Mai 7-y-o 11-7 13/2 (Daryl Jacob/Nigel Twiston-Davies)

• 2017 – (7:01.00) Bristol De Mai 6-y-o 11-7 11/10F (Daryl Jacob/Nigel Twiston-Davies)

• 2016 – (6:22.00) Cue Card 10-y-o 11-7 15/8F (Paddy Brennan /Colin Tizzard)

• 2015 – (6:14.70) Cue Card 9-y-o 11-7 7/4 (Paddy Brennan /Colin Tizzard)

• 2014 – (6:10.70) Silviniaco Conti 8-y-o 11-7 100/30 (Noel Fehily/Paul Nicholls)

• 2013 – (6:10.10) Cue Card 7-y-o 11-7 9/1 (Joe Tizzard/Colin Tizzard)

• 2012 – (6:23.30) Silviniaco Conti 6yo 11-7 7/4 (Ruby Walsh/Paul Nicholls)

• 2011 – (5:54.30) Kauto Star 11-y-o 11-7 6/1 (Ruby Walsh/Paul Nicholls)

*KEY - year, time, horse name, age, weight, odds, jockey, trainer*

Key Betfair Chase Statistics

• Age: 8 of the last 10 winners were aged between 6 and 9.

• Price: Surprisingly only 3 of the last 10 winners were won by the favourite, however 9/10 winners came from the top 3 in the horse race odds.

• Last Run: 4/10 winners won on their last run before the Betfair Chase, 8/10 winners had their last run within the last 27 days. 6/10 winners ran in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.

• Rating: 8/10 winners had a rating of 167 or higher.

• Grade 1 Wins: 10/10 winners had at least one win in a Grade 1 race.

• Season Form: 8/10 winners had at least one run that season, 4/10 winners had at least one win that season.

Leading Trainers

The leading trainer in the Betfair Chase over the last 16 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race an impressive six times in all.

Those six victories came from two of his major stable stars - Kauto Star in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011, plus Silviniaco Conti in 2012 and 2014.

Other trainers with multiple wins in the Betfair Chase are Nigel Twiston-Davies (4 wins) & Colin Tizzard (4 wins).

The only two trainers to break the sixteen year monopoly of Nicholls, Tizzard and Twiston-Davies in this have been Robert Alner, with the inaugural winner in 2005 - Kingscliff, and Peter Bowen in 2008 with the surprise winner – Snoopy Loopy.

Big name trainers such as Nicky Henderson, Jonjo O'Neill and Alan King have all failed to land a blow thus far in this 3m1½f Grade One contest.

Leading Jockeys

The last 16 renewals of the Betfair Chase have seen Daryl Jacob and Paddy Brennan come out with three winners apiece.

Daryl Jacob’s winners have all been aboard Bristol De Mai (2017, 2018, 2020), while Paddy Brennan’s winners have been with Imperial Commander (2010), and Cue Card (2015, 2016).

The only “non-retired” jockey to win this Haydock feature in recent years is Robbie Power, who steered the Colin Tizzard-trained Lostintranslation home in 2019.

Prominent jockeys who have been unsuccessful in this event, despite having had a number of rides in it, are: Tom Scudamore (6), Sam Twiston-Davies (4) and Brian Hughes (2).

Betfair Chase 'Trial' Races

There have been a total number of seven winners of this race who ran at Wetherby last time out, namely in the Charlie Hall Chase.

The second most is Aintree, where four winners of the Betfair Chase raced at Haydock’s sister racecourse last time out.

Starting Prices

Over the last 16 renewals, the biggest priced winner was Snoopy Loopy in 2008 who scored at odds of 33/1 under Seamus Durack for Peter Bowen. Over the same period of time, seven winning favourites have obliged.

At the time of writing, the first five in our online betting market are: A Plus Tard (9/4), Bristol De Mai (7/2), Royale Pagaille (4/1), Next Destination (6/1), Waiting Patiently (8/1).

Our antepost NAP of the day is the Venetia Williams-trained Royale Pagaille.

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• As sports betting is legalised across the US, NBA player props are increasing in popularity 

• Player props can vary from points scored to blocks or a triple-double

• Read below for a full explanation of NBA player props

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Scrolling through the latest NBA odds, it’s likely you’ll find a wide array of player props.

Basketball betting is growing in popularity, particularly as sports wagering is legalised across the United States of America.

It’s still early days, but we are seeing betting become part of the wider NBA conversation, a central point of debate, marketing and analysis.

Player props are a big chunk of that. While online betting might be a relatively newfound thing to many NBA fans, it’s crucial to get a grasp of player props.

It’s an area of sports gambling which can have excellent returns, and props can keep your bets alive deep into games.

Where picks against the spread can be all but lost by half-time, there’s almost always a chance with player props.

What Is An NBA Player Prop?

NBA player props are a bet on an individual player’s statistics. These can be one specific game or for the length of a season.

A season-long bet, for instance, could be wagering that James Harden will average over 28 points for the campaign. A single-game bet is usually an over/under on a line set by the bookies.

These bets can be parlayed with other player prop selections, wagers on the game as a whole or put into a combination for a specific player.

Taking Harden as an example, books will also offer bets on Harden’s totals for points and rebounds, points and assists or a combination of all three.

Types Of NBA Player Props

The number of different player props available depends on the bookmaker and the player involved. The standard options are points, rebounds, assists and threes made.

Of course, threes made isn’t relevant for some players like Rudy Gobert or Jarrett Allen, while assists are not always available either.

The combos on offer will also vary by each bookie. These can be a fun thing to dive into as it’s a bit different and will often provide some surprise value.

Betting on Luka Doncic’s total for points, rebounds and assists also works as a way of giving yourself an extra chance to cash the bet if his teammates aren’t hitting open shots or he’s not getting the free throw he usually does.

Players like Doncic will also sometimes have a price to record a double-double or a triple-double.

These are a longer price than most other player props. Bettors can also find longer or shorter odds by delving into alternate lines.

As an example, if Doncic’s assist line is set at 7.5, the over and under odds will be close to evens.

You could boost the odds by wagering on him to record over 8.5 assists or get some shorter odds by placing a bet on over 6.5 dimes.

With delayed injury reports and uncertainty over rotations, bookies will sometimes hold back releasing their player props odds until just a couple of hours before tip-off.

Don’t be surprised if only a few players from a game have props available, too. It’s not unusual for bookies to only offer props for the top five or six guys on a team.

Betting On NBA Player Props

Where weighing up NBA predictions for the total, moneyline or spread requires consideration of the coaches and the entire rotations, it should be more straight forward when pondering your player prop bets.

The minutes to be played and the opponent’s defence is obviously a factor when weighing up your prop wagers, but if it’s a question of how many threes a player makes, there are fewer variables to throw into the equation.

Get your hands on some standard team-wide numbers and the player’s game log and you’ve got what you need to make a well-informed player prop decision.

You don’t need to be an expert on the best NBA draft classes. Nor do you need to know everything the team does schematically.

A first glance at NBA player props can be daunting. It can seem like a lot of numbers to take in and you’re spoilt for choice.

Yet, this is an accessible way to get into NBA betting, a means of doing your own background work and making your own decision.

NBA Player Prop Advice

Bettors can do a very deep dive with NBA player props. Perhaps you’ve spotted a defensive weakness which a certain player will exploit.

Maybe a coach favours throwing doubles at a star, opening up assist opportunities and threes for his teammates.

First and foremost, bettors must look at how the player in focus has been performing. If they’ve gone under 24.5 points in their last six, it’s going to take something very convincing to back the over.

Pace of play is vital, too. Not only do teams who play quickly open up a lot of transition looks, it also results in extra possessions for both teams and often higher scoring games.

Facing one of the league’s quickest teams could help justify backing overs that would usually look like good unders.

Like any betting, there’s no sure-fire path to success on player props. Bettors will have their preferred methods of making decisions.

Some will like following a hunch. Others will dive deep into game tape and advanced analytics.

Find what works for you. Identify the sites that are easiest to use and have the most useful information available and most of all, enjoy it.

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