Doncaster Tips

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 same day is the Spring Mile.

The Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes (Group 1), formally known as the Racing Post Trophy run in October over a mile for 2-year-olds is a valuable guide to the classics for the following season. Also run on the same day or the day prior is the Doncaster Stakes and a couple of competitive class two handicaps, a 6f Handicap and a 5f Handicap.

In total Doncaster has 9 Group races on the flat.

NH Highlights:

Several feature races adorn the programme, with possibly the best known being the Great Yorkshire Chase (January) and the Grimthorpe Chase (March) which is normally held just before the Cheltenham Festival.

TV Channel: Sky Sports Racing

If you are attending Doncaster races today then why not download the OLBG App for all the latest Doncaster tips at the course?

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

Doncaster Outright Favourite Statistics

• Flat Handicaps: 147-499 (29%) -26.85
• Flat Non-Handicaps: 66-155 (43%) -10.71
• Handicap Chases: 32-125 (26%) -27.36
• Handicap Hurdles: 21-119 (18%) -48.57
• Non-Handicap Chases: 11-17 (65%) +4.83
• Non-Handicap Hurdles: 43-113 (38%) -28.81

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

Doncaster Racecourse Telephone: 01302 304200

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

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 favour horses using either side rather than the centre.

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. Check going and weather updates from the clerk of the Doncaster course.

In September each year, Doncaster hosts the St Leger festival, a four-day meeting showcasing some of the best flat horses. We have plenty of the races covered in race blogs, links to those can be found below.

✅ 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 4 over a trip of 6f which has, over the last five years produced an LSP of +86.06.

❌ For the least profitable stall at Doncaster you need to look at races over 7f and focus on stall 11 as this has produced an LSP of -90.00 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 +6.20. When looking at trainers and looking for some eachway value at Doncaster then the trainer who shows the best eachway profit is M Botti, that LSP is +29.24 which has been accumulated by a total of twenty-five placings which includes ten winners. The trainer with the worst record at Doncaster based on LSP is T D Easterby who has only a 4% strike rate with eleven winners from two hundred fifty-seven runners who have returned an LSP of -106.50.

William Buick has produced a total of thirty-four winners at the Doncaster racecourse and with an LSP of +6.86, they top the winner's list for jockeys who also show a profit. With an eachway LSP of +26.07 at Doncaster, Rowan Scott leads the jockeys in profit for backing eachway which has been helped by their twenty-five placings which include a total of eleven winners. Jason Hart does not have a great record at Doncaster, their LSP of -82.43 has them stone dead bottom of the jockeys' list, which has come from nine winners from one hundred thirty-one rides which is a 7% strike rate.

Doncaster Picks & Hints

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

• 5-9 (56%) +49.50 - Backing A M Balding runners when horses are aged 5yo
• 12-29 (41%) +30.95 - Backing L Dettori rides when in a Non-Handicap race
• 5-8 (63%) +29.08 - Backing L Dettori rides when over a trip of 7f

Doncaster Top Jockey and Trainer Combinations

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

• 16 Wins: J H M Gosden & Robert Havlin
• 15 Wins: Charlie Appleby & William Buick
• 9 Wins: W J Haggas & Tom Marquand
• 9 Wins: J H M Gosden & L Dettori
• 8 Wins: D O'Meara & Daniel Tudhope

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 +106.18 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-four winners but shows an overall loss. D McCain Jnr is the trainer to follow at Doncaster if you are backing eachway as they show the best LSP of all the trainers in the eachway markets, that is +64.41 which is courtesy of their forty-six placings (twenty winners). The trainer with the worst record at Doncaster based on LSP is A M Hales who has only a 5% strike rate with two winners from forty-two runners who have returned an LSP of -35.87.

Whilst Brian Hughes is the most successful jockey at Doncaster with a total of twenty-four winners, if you backed all of their rides you would be showing a loss. P J Brennan is the most successful jockey at Doncaster for those who show a profit if backing all their rides thanks to a total of fifteen winners and an LSP of +55.86. With an eachway LSP of +79.80 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. K K Woods does not have a great record at Doncaster, their LSP of -57.62 has them stone dead bottom of the jockeys' list, which has come from five winners from eighty rides which is a 6% strike rate.

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
• 5-10 (50%) +21.00 - Backing Henry Brooke rides when on horses aged 7yo
• 6-10 (60%) +18.36 - Backing P J Brennan rides when over a trip of 2m½f
• 5-7 (71%) +17.25 - Backing O / Guerriero Greenall runners when horses are aged 7yo

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: Fergal O'Brien & P J Brennan
• 11 Wins: D McCain Jnr & Brian Hughes
• 11 Wins: N J Henderson & Nico Boinville
• 7 Wins: O / Guerriero Greenall & Henry Brooke
• 6 Wins: Daniel Skelton & Harry Skelton

Doncaster Top Trainers By Most Winners and a Level Stakes Profit

Doncaster 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 Doncaster Racecourse which includes the favourite statistics, draw bias 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.