Navan betting with William Hill

Navan stages top-quality flat and National Hunt racing in County Meath, Ireland. The top Navan betting races include the Navan Novice Hurdle, Vintage Crop Stakes and the Ballysax Stakes.

There are always plenty of Navan tips for the competitive Troytown Chase and the Fortria Chase.

Famous past winners here include Arkle, Dawn Run, Yeats and Moscow Flyer.

Check William Hill promotions for the best Navan odds, special offers and ante-post prices.

Betting at Navan – The Big Meetings

Navan is best known for its high-quality jumps racing. The Grade 2 Navan Novice Hurdle takes place in December, when the supporting card also features the valuable Tara Hurdle.

The Fortria Chase is one of four Graded races in November, along with the For Auction Novice Hurdle, Monksfield Novice Hurdle and Lismullen Hurdle.

There are three graded races in February; The Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle and Ten Up Novice Chase as well, as the Grade 3 Flyingbolt Novice Chase.

There’s another Grade 2 in March with the Webster Cup Chase.

Navan hosts two Ladies’ Day meetings, one in June and another on Troytown Chase day in November. The top flat race for Navan bets is the Group 3 Vintage Crop Stakes in May.

Navan Betting – The Big Races

The Vintage Crop Stakes is the first big staying race of the turf season and is named after the 1993 Melbourne Cup winner. It was first run in 2003 and is now considered one of the best Irish trials for the Ascot Gold Cup.

Other popular Navan betting races include the Fortria Chase and the Troytown Chase.

The Fortria Chase used to be a handicap, but was changed to a conditions race for five-year-olds and upwards in 2000. It was awarded Grade 3 status in 2003 with Moscow Flyer winning for Jessica Harrington and Barry Geraghty.

The Troytown Chase is named in honour of the 1920 Aintree Grand National winner and is a handicap over 3m.

The Navan Novice Hurdle is a Grade 2 race over 2m4f. It held Grade 1 status between 2004 and 2014 and is a key trial for the top novice hurdle races at Cheltenham, Liverpool and Punchestown.

Willie Mullins has dominated the Navan betting in this race with seven victories between 2008 and 2018.

The Lismullen Hurdle was promoted from Grade 3 to Grade 2 status in 1997 and is also over 2m4f. This race regularly attracts leading contenders for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Webster Cup Chase is a Grade 2 event over 2m and was first run in 2000. It was run over 2m4f until 2017.

Navan Betting Tips

Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins are both prolific winners here and frequently dominate the Navan betting. Elliott has a lot of runners at this venue and trained six of the seven Navan winners on 27th November 2016 at accumulative odds of 41,276/1.

Elliott’s best strike rate has been in National Hunt flat races here in recent seasons.

Sean Flanagan and Paul Townend are among the leading jockeys for your Navan tips and Rachael Blackmore also returns a healthy percentage of winners.

The powerful Ballydoyle stable of Aidan O’Brien top the flat racing statistics along with Ger Lyons and Jim Bolger. Colin Keane and Donnacha O’Brien are the jockeys to follow on the flat at Navan.

Visit news.williamhill.com for all the horse racing news and the latest Navan odds.

Navan Course Characteristics

Navan is left-handed track of 1m4f with wide sweeping bends and an uphill finish. The home straight is around 4f long. The course has a reputation as being one of the fairest in Ireland and has attracted top-quality horses under both codes.

The ground can get very deep during the jumps season and you should always consider stamina when assessing your Navan tips. There’s a straight 6f course for sprint races, where a low draw is considered favourable.

Famous Navan Races and Racehorses

The legendary Arkle made his hurdling debut here for Tom Dreaper in January 1962. He was neglected in the Navan betting at 20/1, with his stable companion Kerforo starting favourite.

Arkle cruised past Kerforo to win easily, the first of 27 career wins which included three Cheltenham Gold Cups.

The Vintage Crop Stakes has been won by several of Ireland’s greatest stayers. The best of them was undoubtedly Yeats, who won this in 2007 and 2008. He won the Ascot Gold Cup on a record four occasions for Aidan O’Brien.

Other notable winners include Fame And Glory (2011 and 2012), Leading Light (2014) and Order Of St George (2018).

Leading Light had won the St Leger in 2013 and was a hot Navan tip at even money. He beat Royal Diamond by three lengths and followed up in the Ascot Gold Cup the following season.

Fame And Glory also won the big staying race at Royal Ascot and Order Of St George had been successful in 2016.

Gordon Elliott trained the winner of the Troytown Chase for four successive seasons between 2014 and 2017. Magic Of Light finished third in the 2018 renewal and later finished runner-up in the 2019 Aintree Grand National at 66/1.

The Fortria Chase was won twice by Moscow Flyer (2003 and 2004) and three times by popular Navan bet Big Zeb (2009, 2010, 2011). Moscow Flyer went on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2003, with Big Zeb taking the 2m crown in 2010.

Other famous Navan winners include Champion Hurdle winners Monksfield (1978, 1979), Hardy Eustace (2004, 2005), Brave Inca (2006) and Grand National winner L’Escargot (1975).

Navan Horse Racing History

Navan was opened in 1920 after a group of local farmers got together to level the ground. This was mostly done by horse and cart and manual labour.

The centre of the track was used for grazing stock until the foot and mouth epidemic of 1967. The course was taken over by the Horse Racing Board in the 1980’s and is now established as one of the top venues for steeplechasing in Ireland.

Navan hit the headlines in November 2018 when a young jockey chose to go jogging on the track wearing headphones. Evan Daly was oblivious to the fact that a race was taking place and narrowly avoided being trampled.

Navan Racecourse - How to get there

The racecourse is on the R162 Proudstown Road near Navan, around 30 miles from Dublin. Take the M3 from Dublin city centre, leaving at junction 8 onto R147. Turn right at the third set of traffic lights onto Flower Hill and follow signs to Navan Races.

If arriving by car from the North, exit the M1 at junction 12 onto the R169 and continue to Slane. Turn right at the traffic lights onto the N51 and take the R162, third exit at the Navan roundabout.

Free car parking is available to all racegoers. There’s an hourly bus service from Dublin Central Bus Station to the racecourse.

The nearest railway station to the racecourse is in Drogheda, about 15 miles east of Navan. From there, take a bus and/or taxi to the track.