The best of Saturday’s horse racing comes to us from Epsom but there’s also plenty of lively action working in support. Meetings are scheduled to take place at Musselburgh, Doncaster, Hexham, Lingfield, Stratford, Worcester, Navan and Tramore, meaning you’ll never be short of an interest on the highlight of the sporting week. Here are our top June 1 Horse Racing betting tips.
There’s plenty to keep sports fans entertained on Saturday with the Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham the standout of the day. There’s more than enough on the racing front to keep us ticking over until kick-off and bookmakers offer up a range of ways to get your money down on the outcome. Bet race-by-race or add a few selections together to create a big priced multiples, such as a Lucky 15 or accumulator.
Best in the Business Aim to Shine
Epsom stages a seven-race card which takes us from a 2.00pm handicap through to another at 5.50pm. There’s real quality included in the day and we have a couple of Group 3 races as well as the Group 1 Derby Stakes, the latter due to post at 4.30pm. A field of the highest class will be in attendance as the biggest names in the sport lay claim to a winner’s cheque of more than £920,000. 1m 4f lies between the starting pack and a champion and we’re set for a thrilling renewal of one of the year’s best races.
You can watch the show live on ITV and Racing TV or through the mobile app of a major bookmaker such as bet365 who offer an HD quality stream of the race. If you place a bet of £1 or more on the outcome you can watch the build-up and race live on your desktop, mobile or tablet for no extra charge, meaning no one has to miss out on the thrill of the 2019 Derby. Backing blind and trawling through results services to check how your selection got on is, thankfully, a thing of the past. Bet on a number of markets, including race winner, each-way, without the favourite, matched bets, Tote and plenty more besides.
Sir Dragonet Dominated the Antepost Betting
Masar won this contest 12 months ago for William Buick and Charlie Appleby but there will be no defence of that title, meaning we’re set for a new king. Who will that be? Bookmakers went up early with their antepost market and the bulk of the early money came in support of Sir Dragonet who was favourite with all major firms. Ladbrokes were offering 3/1 before the final decs and that’s not expected to change too much before the off. Late money will come for the market leader, but this race is so competitive, traders can afford to keep things open.
It’ll come as no surprise to followers of this Irish bred colt to see him out in front with bookmakers as it was obvious he was being aimed at this year’s Derby for quite some time. He certainly has the ability to live up to expectations and join an exclusive list of horses that have won this title over the years but if he does get the prize, he’ll be made to work for it every step of the way by a fierce field. A strong case could be made for most of the leading names in the betting and that’s what makes this race to appealing to value hunters.
Favourite Unbeaten in Two
Sir Dragonet arrives at Epsom with career stats reading two wins from two outings. Not the most experienced runner in the field, granted, but he’s a classy runner who looked a Derby horse since winning on debut at Tipperary in April. He claimed a 1m 4f maiden that evening by a sizeable advantage and backers in the know got him at upwards of 3/1. Bookmakers had their fingers burnt that day, but they didn’t learn their lesson and Sir Dragonet went on to score next time out at 13/2 when beating Norway by eight lengths in the Group 3 Chester Vase early last month.
Those who missed him first time out and weren’t shrewd enough to back him when stepping up in class to win at Chester immediately jotted to write the name Sir Dragonet in their notepads as one to keep on the right side of in future. A Derby entry is another leap up in standard from what he is used to, but his breeding suggests he’ll deal with the challenges presented by this race and the fact traders have scrambled to support him shows just how well respected he is in the industry. The money men aren’t put off by his lack of experience, but we’d rather take him on for that reason.
Broome Chasing Down a Treble
The runner to carry our stake money in the 2019 Group 1 Investec Derby Stakes is stablemate Broome who is currently valued at 9/2 with William Hill. Aidan O’Brien has trained four of the last seven Derby champion and has a strong hand again this year. Broome is considered to be one of his better chances of landing another title and the three-year-old colt goes in search of a hat-trick, having won at Leopardstown in each of his last two goes.
The selection picked up the Group 3 Ballysax Stakes in April and followed that with success in the Group 3 Derby Trial Stakes over 1m 2f. The latter saw him impress when beating Blenheim Palace by 2 ½ lengths when sent off a 2/5 shot with bookies. The fact he was such cramped odds that day proves how good he is and we’ll take our chances on him upsetting an inexperienced favourite. Broome has finished in the top two in each of his last four starts and he is more than good enough to feature again here in front of the watching world.