Hereford betting with William Hill

Hereford racecourse looked to have been lost to National Hunt racing when it was closed in 2012. Fortunately it was re-opened in 2016 and Hereford betting now takes place between October and March. Notable Hereford winners include Mighty Man, Star de Mohaison and Paisley Park.

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Betting at Hereford – The Big Meetings

The track now stages jumps meetings between October and March. There is a themed Countryside Race Day in November which features displays of rural activities and animal shows.

Its popular Hereford Ladies’ Day takes place in March followed by the season finale at the end of the month. In 2019 Hereford staged a special charity race at the end of the card with trainer Kerry Lee riding one of the runners.

Hereford Betting – The Big Races

There are no major Hereford betting races, but there are a couple of valuable handicap chases in late January/early February. The Darren Linn Memorial Handicap Chase over three miles and a furlong was won by hot Hereford tip Another Venture in 2018.

There is also the Westons Cider Chase on the card, a novices’ limited handicap over two miles and five furlongs. Kerry Lee trained Town Parks to win in 2018, ridden by Jamie Moore. Unfortunately the 2019 meeting was abandoned due to the equine flu outbreak.

Hereford betting – course characteristics

Hereford is a right-handed course of nearly a mile and a half with nine fences to jump per circuit. There is a downhill run into the home straight so it is usually best to have a horse that races close to the pace for your Hereford bets.

It is not a difficult course, but there are issues for very inexperienced horses. The final fence can be tricky and one of the obstacles is taken on the turn.

The course widens after the last and there is a tendency for inexperienced horses to wander around. The ground can get very testing here in the winter months.

Hereford Betting Tips

Trainer Alan King is certainly a trainer to note for your Hereford bets in hurdle races. He has maintained a very high strike rate, while Warren Greatrex is another successful trainer here since the resumption of racing.

Venetia Williams often features in Hereford bets and hardly a meeting goes by without her saddling a fancied runner here.

Wayne Hutchinson is the jockey to follow over hurdles for your Hereford tips, the stable jockey to the powerful Alan King operation. Richard Johnson and Charlie Deutsch are regularly among the winners here over fences and hurdles.

On 10th March 2018 jockey Sean Bowen rode a sensational 699-1 Hereford four-timer. His winners were Colt Lightning (4-1), Misty Mai (7-1), Lord Bryan (4-1) and Beau Bay (5-2).

Those fortunate enough to combine all four winners were grateful for the help of the stewards who disqualified Kauto Riko in favour of Beau Bay following interference.

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Famous Hereford Races and Racehorses

Hereford has attracted some very promising novices over the years. Star de Mohaison won a novices’ hurdle for Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh on his UK debut when a strong Hereford tip in 2005. He went on to win the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2006.

Mighty Man was another high quality performer to learn his trade at Hereford. He won a novices’ hurdle here for Henry Daly and Richard Johnson.

His victories included The Liverpool Hurdle in 2006 and 2007 and the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot in 2006. He returned to Hereford in 2009 to win a novices’ chase as a popular Hereford bet, starting 4-6 favourite.

State Of Play won a Hereford Novices’ Hurdle and developed into a top-class handicapper. He won the 2006 Hennessy Gold Cup in 2006 and finished in the first four in three consecutive Aintree Grand Nationals. His best effort was finishing third to Don’t Push It in 2010.

There were 12 Hereford winners in action at the Cheltenham Festival in 2019. The star of the show was Paisley Park who crowned a memorable season by winning the Grade 1 Stayers’ Hurdle.

His Hereford success came in December 2017 when he upset the odds-on favourite Vision Des Flos, a £270,000 purchase.

Nicky Henderson’s Verdana Blue was out of luck in the Champion Hurdle but made amends in the Scottish Champion Hurdle where the faster ground was much more to her liking. She won here in January 2017.

Another useful performer to win at Hereford was Brewin'upastorm who won a bumper here in January 2018. He had cost £250,000 out of Irish point-to-point races and went on to finish fourth at Cheltenham and second at Aintree.

Hereford Horse Racing History

The racecourse was first opened as a flat racing track in 1771. The first Hereford race over hurdles took place in 1840 with flat racing ceasing in 1883. It underwent considerable modernisation in the 1960’s with a photo-finish camera being installed in 1966.

The number of fixtures was increased from 9 to 15 per year following the closure of Stockton racecourse in 1981. The course was purchased by Sir Stan Clarke for £3 million in 2000 and joined his Northern Racing Group. The group merged with Arena Leisure to form the Arena Racing Company in 2012.

The racecourse was closed in 2012 after the Arena Racing Company failed to obtain a new lease from Herefordshire Council. The final meeting took place on 16th December, although Arabian racing and point-to-point racing continued at the site.

Hereford betting finally resumed when the course re-opened on 6th October 2016 with 5,000 racegoers attending.

The track then suffered from a prolonged spell of dry weather which made the ground unsafe and two meetings were transferred to Worcester. A reservoir was constructed in the centre of the course in August 2018 to enable watering when necessary.

Paul Nicholls had his first winner as a trainer at Hereford with Olveston in December 1991.

Hereford-born jockey Richard Johnson also launched his career with a winner here aboard 25-1 outsider Rusty Bridge in April 1994. The horse was trained by his grandfather, Ivor Johnson. Rusty Bridge now has a restaurant named after him at the course.

Johnson also celebrated his 100th winner of the 2018/19 season at Hereford aboard Arty Campbell. He was awarded an OBE in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List and the front of the racecard for the 2nd January meeting was dedicated to him.

The champion jockey is always a popular Hereford bet when returning to his local course.

Hereford Racecourse - How to get there

Hereford racecourse is within easy walking distance of the town centre. The A49 is the main approach road from the North or the South.

The closest motorway is the M50 and the racecourse is around half an hour from either junction 2 or junction 3. If you are travelling by road from Worcester, follow the A4103 for Hereford.

Hereford Railway Station is a short taxi ride from the racecourse. It is well connected to major destinations such as Birmingham, Cardiff, London and Manchester.