Will a horse win out of sight and show its rivals a clean pair of heels? Or will there be many photo finishes and short margin victories in the Cheltenham Races?
Wagering money on the Biggest Race Winning Distance is a bet type that keeps punters interested in all 28 races of the 4 day Cheltenham Festival.
Are the bankers for Cheltenham 2023 going to win comfortably by wide margin successes or on the bridle cheekily?
In the Biggest Race Winning Distance Guide, we will show the latest betting odds, predictions and previous stats on horse racing winning distances:
Which Race will have the Biggest Race-winning Distance Tips?
From previous years and horse racing tipsters, the predictions of what race will yield the longest distance winner is suggesting the following:
It will NOT be a handicap race
It is more like to be a chase over the larger obstacles
The pundits and betting tipsters are thinking the best two chances of the race with the longest margin winner will be either the Cross Country Chase or the Foxhunters Chase.
What Factors Influence The Winning Distances?
Here are some factors that directly can influence the winning distances of race meetings:
Ground Conditions
The ground conditions or horse racing going, can directly impact the average winning distances with the softer ground providing wider margin victories.
If the Cheltenham Festival is heavy ground the horses can get strung out and the winners put more daylight between themselves and their rivals.
Quality in-depth of Runners
Handicaps that have strength-in-depth on who can win the races generally provide smaller margin winning distances.
If the field of horses lacks quality in abundance you can find if the second fav falls then the favourite could win with a large winning margin.
Distance of Race
The distance of the race directly affects the winning margin with betting events like the Cross Country Chase providing more daylight between the winners and placed horses.
The longer races can be more eventful and cause the pack to spread out in distance with some horses easily winning with over 20 lengths in hand.
Weather conditions
The weather conditions can play a huge bearing in the outcome of the winning margin in a horse race.
Strong winds can affect the positioning of the runners with horses getting cover getting the aerodynamics advantage to bring them into the reckoning.
Weight
In handicaps, the weight of the top-weighted horses can directly affect their positioning and winning distances in horse racing results.
In heavy conditions, some top weight horses can struggle to get through the mud to challenge the winners.
Handling the Course
The handling of the course is very important for racehorses.
The famous quote “horses for courses” applies here, with some racehorses not liking the uphill finish at Cheltenham.
Jockey
The horse racing jockeys who saddles the horse is a huge factor in the winning distances in horse racing results.
Some jockeys play it cool and like to win on the bridle so will never stretch clear to win by large winning margins.
Trainer form
The horse racing trainers recent form is important to how well the fancied horses will run at the Cheltenham Festival.
Punters selecting the Cheltenham Top Trainer betting event look closely at the current form of the yard.
A horse racing yard in form can get their fancied horses securing wide-margin victories.
Not Making Errors
National Hunt Racing is important to make sure you make very few errors of the jumps.
If you get the run of the race and do not make any errors of the hurdles or chase jumps you could find long-distance winning distances if the other fancied horses make some blunders or even worse fall.
Not Going Too Soon Up the Hill
The Cheltenham finish is a long uphill straight and not kicking for home too early is important to staying out the trip.
Some horses turning the final bend kick too soon and jumping the last are running on empty which can cause massive winning distances.
The spread betting maximum winning distance for a Flat race is set at 12 lengths for the bumpers, while for a National Hunt race it is 30 lengths.
Here are the recorded distances for under a length:
Nose = 0.05 of a length
Short head = 0.1 of a length
Head = 0.2 of a length
Neck = 0.3 of a length
Half a length = 0.5 of a length
Three-quarters of a length = 0.75 of a length
Online bookmakers like Sporting Index or Spreadex might offer a spread on total winning distances of 50-54 at the Cheltenham 2023 Festival.
That means you can lay the horse racing winning margins at 50 points or back the horse racing winning margins at 54 points.
At the end of the 28 races if the total winning margins aggregated together was 70 lengths then if you had backed the winning distances at 54 you would get 16x your stake wagered in profit.
Widest-Margin Cheltenham Festival winners
Here are horses who put the most daylight between themselves and their rivals:
24 lengths winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2021 by Appreciate It
24 lengths winner of the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase in 2011 by Junior
22 lengths winner of the Cross Country Chase in 2019 by Tiger Roll
20 lengths winner of the Foxhunter Chase in 2013 by Salsify
19 lengths winner of the Champion Chase in 2013 by Sprinter Sacre
19 lengths winner of the Champion Chase in 2008 by Master Minded
18 lengths winner of the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle in 2018 by Laurina
18 lengths winner of the Cross Country Chase in 2021 by Tiger Roll
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How do you find out how many lengths a horse won by?
A freeze-frame can show how many lengths a horse won by for the winning distance.
If the distance is a wide margin victory the winning distance is calculated by measuring the time it takes second place to cross the winning line.
The running time of the next horse is calculated through a formula known as the lengths-per-second scale.
What is the maximum 'official' winning distance?
The maximum official winning distance is 30 lengths.
Any winning margins beyond 30 lengths are recorded as “a distance”.
What are the winning distances in horse racing?
The winning distance in horse racing is the margin the horse has finished in front of the next racehorse.
When checking the horse racing results the winning distance is displayed to show the length of how far the next horse finished behind.
Summary of Winning Distance Bets at Cheltenham
Over the years the Cheltenham Racecourse has been blessed to witness some of the most exceptional performances by the best National Hunt racehorses in the world.
Is the Cheltenham Racing Festival going to be won with some astonishing large distance wins or battles in photo finishes?
Have you managed to get your early bets on your well-fancied selections in the ante-post markets?
The horse racing fans and pundits have voiced their opinions, tips and predictions with their bankers for the 4-day meeting and now it is down the jockeys, trainers and racehorses to take centre stage.
You May Also Like These Cheltenham Races Articles
If you have enjoyed this Cheltenham Winning Distance specials page, here are some other articles related to Cheltenham you may also like:
Subjects covered – National hunt chase winning distance, feature race coverage and analysis including Gold Cup and Champion Chase, jump racing at Cheltenham racecourse the highlight of the national hunt calendar.
As the Founder of British Racecourses, I have a life-long passion for horse racing and have loved the sport as long as I can remember. I am also a keen racehorse owner and have worked in the gambling industry for several years. I set up British Racecourses with the desire to share my passion for racing with other like-minded people.
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