Category: Horses

Notwithstanding lucrative contracts, or ‘retainers’, to ride for leading owners, such as Sheikh Mohammed or J.P. McManus, which can bolster earnings to hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of pounds a year, the vast majority of jockeys are self-employed. As such, they are not paid a fixed salary but, rather, on a ride-by-ride basis, with income stemming from riding fees, prize money and, if applicable, sponsorship.

Riding fees are negotiated annually by the Professional Jockeys’ Association (PJA) and the Rachorse Owners’ Association (ROA) and, as of April 1, 2022, stood at £142.90 and £194.63, respectively, for Flat and National Hunt jockeys. If a proposed mount is declared a non-runner after a jockey has been declared, that jockey receives 50% of the riding fee. Prize money is more complicated, but, according to the PJA, Flat jockeys typically receive 8.50% and 2.61%, respectively, of advertised win and place prize money, while National Hunt jockeys receive 11.03% and 3.44%, respectively.

Of course, jockeys’ earnings are subject to tax and a whole raft of deductions, including PJA, Weatherbys, agent and valet fees. Take-home pay varies widely but, on the whole, jockeys earn much less than other professional sportspeople, such as footballers, golfers and tennis players. An average jockey, under either code, can expect to earn in the region of £30,000 a year after tax and deductions, but an apprentice or conditional jockey could certainly earn less than half that amount.

The Chester Vase is a Group Three contest, run over an extended mile and a half at the Deeside venue during its May Festival. The race was established in 1907, but was restricted to three-year-old colts and geldings in 1959, since when it has been considered a Derby trial. Chester Racecourse does not feature a ‘Tattenham Corner’ per se, but is not wholly dissimilar to Epsom Downs insofar that there is a sharp, left-handed turn into the straight and crowds assemble on both sides of the track.

Undoubtedly the most famous winner in the history of the Chester Vase was Shergar who, in 1981, won by 12 lengths en route to his record-breaking 10-length win in the Derby. No Chester Vase won the Derby again until 2013, when Ruler Of The World, trained by Aidan O’Brien, easily justified odds-on favouritism on the Roodeye before following up at Epsom. The Galileo colt was the last horse to win both races but, in 2017, Wings Of Eagles finished runner-up to stable companion Venice Beach in the Chester Vase before springing a huge 40/1 surprise in the Derby.

In Britain, what qualifies as an ‘exotic’ bet varies slightly from bookmaker to bookmaker but, generally speaking, the term typically applies to a range of Tote bets, above and beyond standard win, place and each-way bets. In short, an exotic bet is a bet on multiple horses in one or more races. In common with all Tote bets, all the money staked on a particular ‘exotic’ market is pooled together and, after deductions, the remaining pool is divided by the number of winning tickets to arrive at a winning dividend.

Thus, after an unlikely result, or series of results, exotic bets can produce huge dividends for a small initial outlay, which increases their attraction. Of course, exotic bets are more difficult to win than standard win, place and each-way, but it is possible to perm multiple horses in a single race, or multiple races, where applicable, to increase the chances of doing so. Another type of bet worthy in mention is in-running, or live bets. Also known as in-play bets, those looking for live betting opportunities want to take advantage of bet odds during a live sporting events.

Single-race exotic bets include the Exacta and Trifecta, which are akin to traditional forecast and tricast bets, and the Swinger, in which the idea is to select two horses to be placed in the first three, in any order, in a race. Multiple-race exotic bets include the Scoop6, Jackpot, Placepot and Quadpot.

The Scoop6 operates only on Friday and Saturday and requires punters to pick the winners of six designated races, with a consolation fund for six placed horses and an additional bonus fund for winners to play for. The Jackpot operates on similar principles, but is a daily pool, with no consolation or bonus funds. The Placepot, too, is a daily pool, which can be won by picking six placed horses in the first six races of a British meeting, while the Quadpot is a consolation pool for punters who are eliminated from the Placepot after the first two legs.