Chepstow betting with William Hill

Chepstow Racecourse is home to the Welsh Grand National, a Grade 3 handicap chase over three miles and five furlongs in late December. Chepstow betting at the Welsh Grand National is one of the biggest ante-post betting races of the jump racing season.

Chepstow stages flat racing in the summer and top quality National Hunt racing during the winter. Check William Hill promotions for the latest Chepstow odds with special offers and price boosts.

Chepstow betting – the big meetings

There are over 30 meetings held annually at Chepstow with a mixture of flat and jump racing. The Welsh Grand National meeting takes place on 27th December and is the biggest Chepstow betting race of the year.

The meeting also features the Grade 1 Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle, an important trial for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The National Hunt season at Chepstow begins in October with a two-day meeting which features the Grade 2 Persian War Novices’ Hurdle and the Grade 3 Silver Trophy. The Persian War Novices’ Hurdle is named after the three times champion hurdler who was trained nearby.

Chepstow betting – the big races

The Welsh Grand National is the most valuable race run in Wales and one of the most prestigious staying handicap chases of the season. The race is often a target for the top stayers and can have a big influence on the Grand National betting.

The Welsh National was first run in 1895 at Ely in Cardiff before being transferred to Caerleon in 1948. The following year it was held at Chepstow for the first time with Dick Francis winning on Fighting Line.

The two-mile Finale Juvenile Hurdle was introduced at the Welsh Grand National meeting in 1971. It is one of only three Grade 1 races for four-year-old hurdlers, the others being the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Anniversary Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.

The inaugural Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle took place in 1988 and was won by Richard Dunwoody on Buckskin’s Best. The two miles and three and a half furlongs race was given Grade 3 status in 2011.

The Persian War Novices’ Hurdle was introduced in the same season with the inaugural victory going to David Elsworth’s Sir Blake, ridden by Colin Brown.

Chepstow betting tips

The form of the top Chepstow races can be followed with confidence. Silviniaco Conti won the Persian War Novices’ Hurdle in 2010 and went on to win the King George VI Chase twice.

Grand National winner Don’t Push It won the Silver Trophy here in 2007. They are just two from a host of future Gold Cup and Grand National horses to win at Chepstow earlier in their careers.

Trainer Colin Tizzard is always worth looking out for in the Chepstow odds. He does particularly well with his chasers here.

Evan Williams is a trainer worth following over hurdles and Philip Hobbs has an excellent record with his novice hurdlers at this venue. Another useful Chepstow tip is to follow trainer Paul Nicholls in National Hunt Flat races.

Richard Johnson rides Chepstow superbly and has won all the course’s major jump races. Johnson rode his second Welsh Grand National winner when steering home Native River in 2016.

He had previously won on Edmond in 1999. Tom Scudamore and Adam Wedge are other jump jockeys to note at Chepstow.

On the flat, Richard Hannon regularly trains winners here and is certainly a trainer to consider in your Chepstow bets. Eve Johnson Houghton and Ed de Giles also enjoy plenty of success along with jockeys Callum Shepherd and John Fahy.

Visit news.williamhill.com for all the latest horse racing news and Chepstow tips.

Chepstow course characteristics

Chepstow is a left handed oval track of almost two miles on undulating terrain. Although the fences are not severe, the ground can get extremely heavy and the emphasis should be on stamina for your Chepstow bets.

There are five fences in a long home straight and horses can get tired very quickly when conditions are testing.

There is a straight mile for flat races and a high draw can be an advantage, especially on fast ground. The undulations and long home straight make Chepstow quite a test on the flat, particularly for inexperienced horses.

Chepstow horse racing history

Chepstow Racecourse was opened in 1926 with a two-day flat racing meeting. The opening race was won by 7-4 favourite Conca D’Oro. Sir Gordon Richards rode eleven consecutive Chepstow winners over the course of two days here in 1933.

The 26 times champion jockey was beaten into second place in the final race to thwart an incredible clean sweep of the meeting.

Chepstow once played host to the Welsh Derby, Oaks and St Leger but none of these races exist today. Jump racing was introduced at Chepstow in 1927 and Welsh Grand National has become the flagship event at the racecourse.

Chepstow is one of only three racecourses operating in Wales. Bangor-on-Dee stages only stages jumps racing while Ffos Las was opened in 2009 and hosts race meetings under both codes.

Famous Chepstow races and racehorses

Welsh Grand National betting features some of the top staying horses in training. There were plenty of Chepstow betting tips for Burrough Hill Lad (1983), Cool Ground (1990), Master Oats (1994), Synchronized (2010) and Native River (2016).

All five horses went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup later in their racing careers.

Native River carried 11st 12lbs to victory at Chepstow, equalling the modern weight carrying record of Carvill’s Hill (1991). The latter was a red hot Chepstow tip and was expected to win the Gold Cup after his 20 lengths victory but the gelding was well beaten at Cheltenham.

Popular winning Chepstow bets over the years include the Jenny Pitman trained Corbiere in 1982. He went on to win the 1983 Grand National.

Other horses to win both races in recent times include Earth Summit (1997), Bindaree (2003) and Silver Birch (2004). Rhyme ‘n’ Reason was runner-up to Playschool in the 1987 Welsh National and won at Aintree in 1988.

Bonanza Boy was a popular Welsh Grand National bet, winning in 1988 and 1989. He was trained by Martin Pipe who won the race five times in six years between 1988 and 1993.

Mountainous won the race twice, trained by Richard Lee in 2013 and by his daughter Kerry in 2015. Jockey David Nicholson rode three consecutive Welsh National winners between 1959 and 1961.

The Finale Juvenile Hurdle was won by subsequent Triumph Hurdle winners Mysliv (1993) and Defi Du Seuil (2016).

Other notable winners include Broadsword (1980), Out of The Gloom (1984), High Knowl (1986) and Bristol De Mai (2014). Court Minstrel set a record winning weight of 11st 12lbs in the Silver Trophy in 2015 and became the oldest winner of the race at 10 years of age in 2017.

Chepstow Racecourse - how to get there

Chepstow is situated in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. The racecourse is close to the Severn Bridge on the A466. Road users should take the exit at Junction 2 on the M48 and follow the racecourse signs.

For rail travellers, there are regular services to Chepstow from Birmingham, Cardiff, Newport and Gloucester. There are connections at Newport Train Station for services from London Paddington, Manchester and Bristol.

A bus shuttle service direct to the racecourse operates on race days from Chepstow and Newport.