Irish Derby 2024 - Horse Racing Betting in Ireland

First run in 1866, it is a race that every breeder, trainer, jockey, and owner dreams of winning, and this year's edition will be no different. The current market leader at the time of writing is the Ralph Beckett-trained Westover who ran a fine race to be third in the Epsom Derby. 

Although the Frankel colt was no match for the impressive winner Desert Crown, he closed all the way to the line having been denied a clean run. The British raider won't be without some stiff opposition though, with Aidan O'Brien likely to run a small battalion of horses.

When And Where Is it On?

This year's Dubai Duty-Free Irish Derby will take place at the Curragh Racecourse on Sunday 30th June. It is part of a three-day Festival that begins on Friday 28th June and ends on Sunday 30th June, with the Derby the highlight. The Curragh is the home of Irish flat racing and is situated between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. It first held the Derby in 1866 but all five Irish classics are also run on the course: the 1,000 Guineas, the 2,000 Guineas, the Derby, the Oaks, and the Irish St. Leger. The course itself is a right-handed turf track with a stiff uphill track. Due to its wide nature it is a fair and safe track that is widely respected in the horse racing world.

Which Horses Can Enter the Race?

The race is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. However, it is rare nowadays to have fillies run in the race. Instead they will likely run in the Irish Oaks, which is confined to three-year-old fillies. The last filly to win the Irish Derby was back in 1994 when Frankie Dettori steered Balanchine to victory. This followed Salsabil reigning supreme in 1990. Previous to that, it had been 90 years since Gallinaria won the race for the girls. In recent years the field size of the Irish Derby has varied quite considerably. 2021 saw 11 runners, 2020 saw 14 runners, and 2019 saw just 8 runners. 

Betting Advice

Although recent winners of the race have taken some unorthodox routes to the Curragh, the Epsom Derby still remains the key piece of form. It is worth keeping in mind though that Epsom form doesn't always translate to the Kildare venue. The undulating nature of Epsom Downs can be an overwhelming test for young horses who often prove to better appreciate the flatter test the Curragh provides. The advice is not to be hasty in ruling out horses who run poorly at Epsom.

Ante-post tip

You can always forgive young horses for not enjoying the unique challenge of Epsom Racecourse, so PIZ BADILE deserves another chance. His trainer Donnacha O'Brien has revealed that his horse hated the track when nearly pulled up in the hands of Frankie Dettori. Previous to that race, he belied his relative inexperience to rally well to take a hot-looking Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown. That is some of the best form on offer and the suspicion is that the Curragh will be much to the liking of the son of Ulysses. The 10/1 on offer at the time of the writing looks a fair each-way price with this race the target. 

The Odds

Simply put: the odds are the expected probability of something happening. If a bookmaker prices a horse at 3/1, it means that they think that 1 in 4 times it will win the horse race. If the horse is 5/1, they think it will win 1 in 6 times. The odds tell punters how much they will make if their horse wins the race. So, for example, let's say we stake a €10 bet on a horse with odds of 6/1. These odds tell the punter that for every €1 they stake on this horse, if it wins the race, they will win €6. So, if they put €10 on this winning horse, they will win €60 (€10 x 6) while they will also get their stake back. 

If someone exclaims that they had a 50/1 winner, it means that for every €1 they put on the horse, they won €50! The odds can look more complicated sometimes. For example, if the horse is 7/4 it is not as straightforward to calculate. It means though that if you stake the denominator (4) you will win the numerator (7) if your horse wins the race i.e. stake €4 on this horse and you will win €7. If you stake €8, for example, you will win €14, and so on. 

This is the fractional odds format that is the most commonly used in Irish horse racing. There is also the Decimal and American format, which present the odds differently but use the same principles. 

Betting Types

The win bet

This is the most simple and common betting type used in horse racing. It is all-or-nothing. You are betting on your horse to finish 1st in the race, but if the horse doesn't win, you lose your stake. Whether the horse finished second or last is irrelevant to your bet as they didn't win the race. 

The each-way bet 

Oftentimes people want to hedge their bets and have more chance of winning money or getting their stake back. The each-way bet is used for this reason. 

Here are the three different scenarios for the bet:

Lucky Jim wins the race: The €5 'win bet' you placed means your profit from this part of the bet is €40 (€5 @8/1). You also won the 'placed bet' of the bet as your horse finished in top three. However, there was a greater probability of Lucky Jim finishing in the top three than there is of him winning the race, so you get shorter odds for the place part of the bet. In this case you get a quarter of 8/1 which is 2/1. Therefore, for the place part of the bet your profit is €10 (€5 @ 2/1). In total then, for the each-way bet, your profit is €50 (€40 from the 'win bet' and €10 from the 'place bet'). Plus, you are also given your stake back of €10. 

As above, you get a quarter of 8/1, which is 2/1. Therefore, for the place part of the bet your profit is €10 (€5 @ 2/1). It breaks down as follows:

• Win Bet: - €5

• Place Bet: +€10

• Your total profit is €5.

Lucky Jim finishes 2nd or 3rd: 

The bad news is that you lose the stake from your €5 'win bet' as the horse failed to win the race. The good news is that you won the €5 'place bet' as Lucky Jim was placed i.e. he finished in the top three.

Lucky Jim finishes outside the top three: 

This is the worst result. You have lost both the 'win bet' and 'place bet'. You have lost the 'win bet' because Lucky Jim didn't win the race, and you have lost the 'place bet' because Lucky Jim did not finish in 1st, 2nd or 3rd. In total, you have lost €10 on the bet.