Bath betting with William Hill

Bath is a flat racing track, two miles to the north east of the city centre. Top Bath betting races include the Listed Lansdown Fillies’ Stakes and Beckford Stakes. Some top-class fillies have won here, such as Lochangel, Cassandra Go and Gilt Edge Girl.

The Bath Cup Festival in August is the highlight of the season. Check William Hill promotions for the latest price boosts, special offers and Bath odds.

Bath betting – the big meetings

Bath stages flat racing meetings between March and October. The Listed Lansdown Fillies’ Stakes takes place in April. The highlight of the Bath betting season is the Bath Cup Festival over a weekend in mid-September.

The festival is a celebration of the city of Bath and the achievements of the local people. There is also a popular Ladies’ Day and a Bank Holiday Family Fun Day.

Bath betting – the big races

The Bath Cup was originally run as the Somerset Stakes. It was the most prestigious race for Bath betting in the early years and is now enjoying a revival under its new title. The Somerset Stakes used to be regarded as a trial for the Classic races and was first run in 1832.

Sir Gordon Richards won the Somerset Stakes on Tudor Minstrel in 1947 before winning the 2000 Guineas by eight lengths. It was the biggest winning margin in the race in the 20th Century.

He started odds-on favourite for the Epsom Derby, but did not stay a mile and a half. He returned to a mile to win the St James’s Palace Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

The Lansdown Fillies’ Stakes is another popular race for Bath tips over the minimum trip of five furlongs. The Listed Beckford Stakes is confined to fillies and mares aged three years and upwards and is over a mile and three-quarters. It was first run in 2016 with victory going to Twitch.

The following year it was run at Yarmouth due to damage caused by chafer grubs on parts of the track. Luca Cumani and Frankie Dettori won the race with Aljezeera, a daughter of Frankel. Willie Mullins won the race in 2018 with True Self, ridden by Colin Keane.

Bath betting tips

Malcolm Saunders and Mick Channon are among the most prolific winning trainers at Bath. Mick Channon won four races on the same day here in April 2018. Runners from the Lambourn stables of Clive Cox and Charles Hills are also worth noting for your Bath betting tips.

Silvestre de Sousa has topped the jockey statistics at Bath in recent seasons and Adam Kirby has a good strike rate here. It’s also paid to follow Franny Norton in Bath bets. In March 2018, he won all four races on the card before the rest of the meeting was abandoned due to safety concerns.

Norton won on Dan’s Dream (11-4), Izzer (5-4), Under The Covers (4-1) and The Daley Express (7-2) at accumulated odds of 189-1. Dan’s Dream won the Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury next time to and was supplemented for the 1000 Guineas.

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Bath betting - course characteristics

Bath is a left handed oval track of just over a mile and a half. There is a long home straight of half a mile with a steady climb up to the winning post.

Bath is 238m above sea level, making it the highest flat racing track in the UK. The high altitude can be a contributory factor towards some very fast ground during the summer.

Horses are continually on the turn at Bath races and the course generally suits front runners. You should take the draw into account for your Bath tips. High numbers have a slight advantage in all races up to a mile.

Famous Bath races and racehorses

Lochangel won the Somerset Stakes in 1998 for Ian Balding. She had been part of Frankie Dettori’s Magnificent Seven at Ascot on 28th September 1996.

The mare went on to win the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York. Ian’s son, Andrew, won the race with Desert Law in 2011 and Night Carnation in 2012.

Some very high class fillies have won the Lansdown Fillies’ Stakes. Indian Maiden became the first horse to win the race twice when successful in 2005 and 2006. In third place in 2005 was a filly called Kind who would be the dam of champion racehorse Frankel.

Cassandra Go (2000) won the Group 2 Temple Stakes and the King’s Stand Stakes, trained by Geoff Wragg and ridden by Michael Roberts.

Enticing, the 2007 winner, was trained by William Haggas and won the Group 3 King George Stakes at Goodwood in 2008.

Clive Cox won with Gilt Edge Girl (2010) who won the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp. Cox also won the Lansdown Stakes with Place In My Heart (2013) and Priceless (2017).

Priceless was a popular Bath tip at 13-8 favourite and won impressively by five lengths from Futoon. She won the Group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock Park later in the season.

Barry Hills won the race with Full Flow (2000) and Brindisi (2004). Duck Row featured in plenty of Bath betting tips when winning in 2001. She started a heavily backed 11-10 favourite and won by two and a half lengths.

Duck Row later finished third in the Cambridgeshire carrying 9st 10lbs. She also won a listed race at the Curragh and the Group 3 Park Stakes at Doncaster. Sajjhaa won the Dick Hern Stakes in 2010 and won two Group 1 races in Dubai in 2013 for Godolphin.

Bath racecourse - how to get there

Bath racecourse is situated on Lansdown Hill between Bath and Bristol in Somerset. For road travellers, the track is six miles south of junction 18 of the M4 and is clearly sign posted on all major routes.

Bath Spa Railway Station is on the main London Paddington and South Wales lines. There are frequent connections from Cardiff and Birmingham and it is just over ten minutes from Bristol Temple Meads. A regular shuttle bus runs from the station direct to the racecourse on all race days.

Bath horse racing history

Racing was first recorded at Bath in 1728 but the first official meeting was not held until 1811. The course was the scene of an attempted betting coup in 1953 in the Spa Selling Plate. A horse named Francasal was substituted by the almost identical Santa Amaro.

Power was cut to the racecourse, preventing bookmakers from being able to change the odds. Around £6,000 was placed on the horse but the large number of Bath bets on the 10-1 shot aroused suspicion and the plot was discovered.

Four gang members were eventually convicted for conspiracy to defraud the Bath Racecourse Company.

Bath benefitted from a big redevelopment after being purchased by Arena Racing in 2015. The Langridge Grandstand was opened along with the Beckford Bar while the parade ring was upgraded. Bath racecourse is now used as a wedding venue and stages music concerts and corporate events.