Ludlow betting with William Hill

Ludlow is a popular National Hunt course in Shropshire, which stages meetings throughout the winter.

Top trainer Nicky Henderson regularly features among Ludlow betting tips and has a good record here. He ran Champion Hurdler Punjabi here as a novice and other notable Ludlow winners include Taranis and Tamarinbleu.

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Betting at Ludlow – The Big Meetings

Ludlow betting runs throughout the winter, with the Forbra Gold Cup staged in late February or early March.

The race is named after the 1932 Grand National winner, who was owned by Ludlow town councillor Mr William Parsonage. He had been trying to win the National for many years and finally succeeded with Forbra at 50/1.

The horse was trained by Tom Rimell, father of the legendary Fred Rimell, who trained four Aintree Grand National winners in ESB (1956), Nicolaus Silver (1961), Gay Trip (1970) and Rag Trade (1976).

The Cup was run for the 65th time in 2019 and was attended by several descendants of Forbra’s winning connections. There is also a popular charity meeting in April and the Boyne Cup Handicap Chase over 2m.

Ludlow Betting – The Big Races

Paul Nicholls trained Tommy Silver to win the Forbra Gold Cup in 2019. It was his 100th winner of the season. The Ditcheat trainer also saddled his 3,000th winner in Britain at Ludlow when Dr Sanderson won a novice hurdle here in the same year.

In 2016 the race was won by Top Wood, who won the Foxhunters at Aintree in 2019.

In 2017 jockey Aidan Coleman rode his 100th winner of the season in the Forbra Gold Cup aboard Marcilhac. The winner was trained by Venetia Williams, for whom Coleman had been stable jockey earlier in his career.

Firebird Flyer was another notable winner in 2014, trained by Evan Williams and ridden by Adam Wedge. He returned to Ludlow the following season to win the Prince of Wales Challenge Trophy.

Firebird Flyer was runner-up in the 2016 Welsh Grand National and won the Midlands Grand National in the same year.

The Tanners Wines Handicap Chase in December is another popular race for Ludlow tips. Nigel Twiston-Davies won the 3m event with Tour Des Champs in 2012. He won by nine lengths, before going on to finish fourth in the Scottish Grand National.

Colin’s Brother won the race for consecutive seasons in 2016 and 2017. The previous year it had been won by Tom George’s Sir Valentino, a well-supported Ludlow tip at 9/4.

It was his third victory at the course. He won the valuable Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter in 2016.

The supporting card also features the Tanners Champagne Handicap Chase over 2m, won in 2012 by Drumshambo for Grand National-winning trainer Venetia Williams.

Ludlow Betting Tips

Nicky Henderson is an enthusiastic supporter of Ludlow races and regularly features among Ludlow betting tips. He maintains a healthy strike rate over both fences and hurdles and sends out plenty of bumper winners here too.

Trainer Henry Daly likes nothing better than to have a winner at his local course. Paul Nicholls and Philip Hobbs also do well here, while it’s a useful Ludlow betting tip to follow the Dan and Harry Skelton combination over hurdles.

Harry rode his 100th winner of the season at Ludlow in 2016. The following year he reached his ton at Fontwell Park, remarkably every single one of them trained by his brother. David Bass also rides plenty of winners here.

Champion jockey Richard Johnson is certainly a jockey to follow at Ludlow. He regularly tops the statistics at this venue and puts his vast experience to good use on this specialist track.

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Ludlow Course Characteristics

Ludlow is a sharp, right handed track of about 1m4f. The hurdles course is on the outside of the chase course, but the turns are still quite tight.

Ludlow is perfectly suited to former flat racers who may struggle on more testing tracks.

The fences are regarded as being among the easiest in the country, although a bit of care is needed at the first fence in the home straight. Top trainers like Nicky Henderson have no reservations about running a novice at Ludlow.

Famous Ludlow Races and Racehorses

2009 Champion Hurdle winner Punjabi won on his hurdling debut at Ludlow for Nicky Henderson. He had previously been a moderate handicapper on the flat when trained by Geraldine Rees and started at 10/1 in the Ludlow odds.

He beat the heavily-backed favourite Junior, another useful performer who won the Kim Muir Challenge Cup by 24 lengths in 2011 for David Pipe.

In 2011, Henderson sent out seven winners across the country in the space of just 95 minutes. He won the first four races at Kempton Park, the opening race at Ffos Las and the second and third races at Ludlow. His Ludlow winners were Owen Glendower and Foxbridge, both ridden by Andrew Tinkler.

Taranis won here for Paul Nicholls in 2006 and went on to win the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2007. He had unseated his rider on his previous start but made no mistake here under Tony McCoy.

Tamarinbleu was another popular Ludlow bet in 2006, who went on to win the Grade 1 Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot in 2008.

Ludlow Horse Racing History

Ludlow is one of the oldest racecourses in the country, with the first race taking place here in August 1729.

Ludlow betting was originally on flat racing, but hurdles were introduced in 1850 and the last flat racing here took place in 1868.

The Grandstand was built in the Edwardian style and was officially opened in 1904. Princess Diana and Camilla Parker-Bowles were both present at Ludlow in 1981 to see Prince Charles riding his own horse, Allibar. Charles finished second in the Clun Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase.

Grand National-winning jockey Bob Davies was clerk of the course at Ludlow for 30 years before retiring in 2019. He famously won the Aintree Grand National on Lucius for Gordon Richards in 1978.

He was champion jockey twice outright in 1969-70 and 1970-71 and shared the title with Terry Biddlecombe in 1968-69.

Davies also rode the winner of the Forbra Cup during his riding career. He handed the role as clerk of the course over to Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning rider Simon Sherwood, forever associated with the great Desert Orchid.

The racecourse has undergone some modernisation and redevelopment in recent times and now provides private viewing boxes and restaurants. It has remained faithful to the original Edwardian style and racing takes place in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Ludlow Racecourse - How to get there

Ludlow is situated just off the A49, between the small villages of Bromfield and Stanton Lacy.

It’s 24 miles from Hereford, 29 miles from Shrewsbury and just under 40 miles from Birmingham.

Trains run from Paddington to Newport, where passengers should change for Ludlow. A free shuttle bus to the racecourse from Ludlow Station is provided on race days.