Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 Devon National Preview
Scheduled to take place in February of each year at the Exeter racecourse is the class three Devon National, a race that is open to runners who are aged five or older and are rated no higher than 135.
The race is run over a distance of three miles, six and a half furlongs during which the runners will face a total of twenty-one fences.
Devon National Information:
To see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are tipping throughout the card that includes this race, head over to the Exeter tips on the day of the race, do they agree with the runners on the trend shortlist or are they predicting other runners?
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Devon National market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2006 when the race had an over-round of 111%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 131%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Devon National, the over-round has been 121%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £121 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Devon National Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the Devon National Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Devon National over the last 20 renewals:
- Gwencily Berbas (7:40.03) in 2023
- Ammunition (7:49.70) in 2011
- Toulouse-Lautrec (7:51.20) in 2005
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 Devon National 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 -14.00. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Devon National 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 2025 renewal when Art Decco from Robert Walford under the guidance of Harry Kimber, won in a time of 8:56.07, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Gwencily Berbas, trained by David Pipe and ridden by Philip Armson set the quickest time of 7:40.03 in the 2023 renewal.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Devon National Past Winners
Here are the Devon National 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 horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Devon National are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 8:56.07 | Art Decco (GB) 9yo 11-13 9/2 | Harry Kimber Robert Walford (GB) |
| 2024 8:43.20 | Mr Vango (IRE) 8yo 11-7 11/4F | Ben Jones Mark Bradstock (GB) |
| 2023 7:40.03 | Gwencily Berbas (FR) 12yo 10-11 13/2 | Philip Armson (3lbs) David Pipe (GB) |
| 2022 8:09.38 | Captain Drake (IRE) 9yo 11-2 20/1 | Bryan Carver (3lbs) Harry Fry (GB) |
| 2021 8:27.00 | Samuel Jackson (GB) 9yo 11-0 4/1F | Micheal Nolan Richard Mitford-Slade (GB) |
| 2020 8:26.30 | Christmas In April (FR) 8yo 11-6 8/1 | Harry Cobden Colin Tizzard (GB) |
| 2019 7:52.60 | Dawson City (GB) 10yo 11-10 6/1 | Tom Bellamy Polly Gundry (GB) |
| 2018 8:32.20 | Dawson City (GB) 9yo 11-6 8/1 | Andrew Thornton Polly Gundry (GB) |
| 2017 7:51.40 | Kingswell Theatre (GB) 8yo 11-6 20/1 | Ben Poste (3lbs) Michael Scudamore (GB) |
| 2016 8:50.40 | Fourovakind (GB) 11yo 11-5 9/2F | Gavin Sheehan Harry Whittington (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Devon National have been based:
- GB: 20 winners with an additional 40 placings from 239 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
Devon National Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Devon National over the last 20 renewals is Jonjo O'Neill who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Teeming Rain (2009 & 2010) and Catching On (2015). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Devon National is Polly Gundry (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Devon National 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):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonjo O'Neill | 11-3-4 | +26.50 | +14.51 |
| Polly Gundry | 5-2-4 | +11.00 | +8.93 |
| David Pipe | 12-1-1 | -4.50 | -7.10 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 11-1-6 | +6.00 | +9.30 |
| Jeremy Scott | 5-1-1 | +3.00 | +0.38 |
| Henry Daly | 5-1-1 | +3.00 | +0.20 |
| Tom George | 3-1-1 | +7.00 | +3.63 |
| Sue Gardner | 3-1-3 | +2.50 | +3.56 |
| Robert Walford | 3-1-2 | +2.50 | +1.70 |
| Richard Mitford-Slade | 3-1-1 | +2.00 | +0.50 |
Devon National Jockey Statistics
Here are some of the top Devon National 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):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micheal Nolan | 6-1-2 | -1.00 | -0.80 |
| Harry Cobden | 5-1-2 | +4.00 | +3.75 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 5-1-3 | +0.50 | +0.86 |
| Nick Scholfield | 3-1-1 | +5.00 | +2.38 |
| Tom Bellamy | 3-1-1 | +4.00 | +1.75 |
| Ben Jones | 3-1-2 | +0.75 | +0.59 |
| Bryan Carver | 2-1-1 | +19.00 | +11.50 |
| Richie McLernon | 2-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.63 |
| Philip Armson | 2-1-1 | +5.50 | +2.90 |
| Lucy Gardner | 2-1-2 | +3.50 | +3.06 |
2026 Devon National Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 4, PU, 2, 5, PU, 9, 3, 6, (3, 4), PU, (1, PU), 3, 4, 6, 3, 1, (PU, PU), 6, 1, 3
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 (69%) - Ran in 2 - 6 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Fewer than 3 wins (Class)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Won within last 9 starts
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Fewer than 4 races (90 Days)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Highest Run is not LST/Cl4
- 20 / 20 (89%) - No more than -22lbs (Vs Max Weight)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Ran over 2m5½f - 3m5½f (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - No bigger than 22/1
- 19 / 20 (77%) - Held an OR of 109+ (LTO)
- 19 / 20 (83%) - Furthest Won 2m7½f - 3m6½f
- 19 / 20 (83%) - Held an OR of 109+ (Class)
- 19 / 20 (85%) - No more than +4yrs (Vs Min Age)
- 19 / 20 (86%) - Ran over 2m5½f - 3m6½f (Last Win)
- 18 / 20 (73%) - Achieved a TS of 76+ (Last 3)
- 18 / 20 (82%) - No bigger than 16/1 (LTO)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Exeter racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Devon National. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
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 Devon National by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Devon National Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +42.00 is when runners ran on Soft ground last time out.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a biggest odds run of 50/1, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-33.
The courses that have produced the most winners of the Devon National are Wincanton and Chepstow, there has been a total number of 3 winners from each of those courses.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 226 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 15 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Devon National:
- Midnight Legend (2 Wins)
- Supreme Leader (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Devon National despite multiple attempts:
- Presenting (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Alderbrook (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Westerner (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Old Vic (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Winged Love (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was The Clyda Rover in 2013, winning for Helen Nelmes at odds of 22/1 under the guidance of Paul Moloney. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2026 Devon National why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today? If you are interested in other races at the Exeter racecourse, then why not read our blog for the Haldon Gold Cup?
Route to the Devon National
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Devon National, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Art Decco Windsor - 5th of 11 (12/1) | Fitzdares Windsor Stayers Handicap Chase |
| 2024 - Mr Vango Wincanton - 3rd of 7 (9/2) | Rodney Francis Chinnock Memorial Lord Stalbridge Cup Handicap Chase |
| 2023 - Gwencily Berbas Market Rasen - 5th of 6 (10/1) | Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Handicap Chase |
| 2022 - Captain Drake Wincanton - 6th of 8 (23/1) | Watch RacingTV With Free Trial Now Handicap Hurdle |
| 2021 - Samuel Jackson Exeter - 2nd of 12 (10/1) | MansionBet Bet 10 Get 20 Handicap Chase |
| 2020 - Christmas In April Plumpton - 3rd of 4 (4/5) | New Plumpton History Book Available Chase |
| 2019 - Dawson City Chepstow - 7th of 20 (16/1) | Welsh Grand National |
| 2018 - Dawson City Wincanton - 3rd of 9 (11/2) | Higos Insurance Services Somerset National Handicap Chase |
| 2017 - Kingswell Theatre Warwick - 11th of 20 (33/1) | Classic Chase |
| 2016 - Fourovakind Chepstow - PU of 20 (16/1) | Welsh Grand National |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Devon National Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
