Betfair Chase 2026: Haydock Betting Guide

When Is The Betfair Chase 2026?

The Betfair Chase 2026 is at 15:00 on Saturday 21 November at Haydock Park. Gates open at 10:05. The first race is at 12:05 and the last is at 15:35 (The Jockey Club). The course says timings are subject to change.

Haydock Park is in Merseyside, near Newton-le-Willows. All seven races carry Betfair’s name. The card below is from the course page, checked on 1 November 2026.

The course card rounds the trip to 3m 1f. The exact distance is 3 miles 1 furlong and 125 yards.

What Kind Of Race Is The Betfair Chase?

The Betfair Chase is a Grade 1 steeplechase, the top level of jumps racing in Britain. It’s run over 3 miles 1 furlong and 125 yards. It’s open to horses aged five and over.

There’s no handicap mark in play. Every horse carries 11st 10lb, and mares get a 7lb allowance. So the weights don’t try to level things up, and the best horse on the day should win. Our guide to race types and classes shows where Grade 1 sits above Grade 2, Listed races and handicaps.

The race was first run in 2005, and the Jockey Club says it was set up as a Grade 1. Betfair is the sponsor, which is where the name comes from. Its official registered title is the Lancashire Chase, a name that goes back to a race first run at Manchester in 1884.

The 2025 race was worth £200,000, with £112,540 to the winner. The 2026 prize money wasn’t on the course page when we checked.

Who Has Won The Betfair Chase?

Grey Dawning won the 2025 Betfair Chase for trainer Dan Skelton and jockey Harry Skelton. He ended a two-year run for Royale Pagaille, trained by Venetia Williams. Every winner since the first running in 2005 is in the table below.

Winners, trainers and jockeys are from the Jockey Club’s past winners list. Paul Nicholls has trained six winners, more than anyone else. Ruby Walsh rode four of them.

Good chasers keep coming back to Haydock. Five horses have won the race more than once, and between them they account for 14 of the 21 runnings.

Past winners are a guide to the type of horse the race suits. But a horse that won here at seven may be a different horse at ten, and the ground changes from year to year.

Where Does The Betfair Chase Fit In The Season?

The Betfair Chase is the first Grade 1 chase of the British jumps season, according to the Jockey Club. It comes a week after the Cheltenham November Meeting, which runs from 13 to 15 November. Our Paddy Power Gold Cup and November Meeting guide covers that weekend.

After Haydock, the next big date for staying chasers is the King George VI Chase at Kempton. That’s a Grade 1 over 3 miles on Boxing Day, which is Saturday 26 December 2026, and our King George and Kempton Christmas Festival guide has the full card. The Cheltenham Gold Cup in March is the last of the three big tests.

For another big staying chase this winter, see our Coral Gold Cup betting guide.

What Is The Chase Triple Crown?

The Chase Triple Crown is the name for winning the Betfair Chase, the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season. The Jockey Club has offered a £1 million bonus for it in some seasons, including 2019 to 2020 (The Jockey Club, 9 September 2019).

Kauto Star is the only horse to have done it, in 2006 to 2007. That win landed him the first bonus on offer, the Betfair Million. The bonus came back as the Chase Triple Crown in 2015. Since 2016, the owner of a horse that completes it also gets the Kauto Star Trophy.

The Haydock race page made no mention of the bonus when we checked on 1 November 2026. So treat it as unconfirmed for the 2026 to 2027 season until the Jockey Club announces it.

We checked every Betfair Chase winner against the King George and Gold Cup results that followed it. In 20 seasons from 2005 to 2006 through 2024 to 2025, seven Haydock winners went on to win at least one of the other two.

We checked each result against the official winners lists for the King George and the Gold Cup. “Lost” means the horse didn’t win that race. Cue Card came closest to the bonus, falling when in contention at Cheltenham in 2016.

So the double with the King George has come off six times. The Gold Cup has proved much harder. Only two Betfair Chase winners have gone on to win it in the same season.

What Is Haydock Like For The Betfair Chase?

Haydock Park is a left-handed, mostly flat oval of about 1 mile 5 furlongs. The Jockey Club calls it a flat, galloping chase course. There are ten stiff drop fences, and the run-in from the last fence to the line is 440 yards (Jockey Club course guide).

A galloping track has long straights and wide, easy bends. That tends to suit a big, long-striding horse that stays well. A drop fence is one where the ground on the landing side sits lower than on the take-off side. Stiff fences on a flat track still test a horse’s jumping.

Kempton runs the other way. It’s a right-handed track, so a horse that likes Haydock may not show the same form on Boxing Day. When you read a horse’s form, look for which way round it races best. Our guide on how to read racing form shows where to find that.

The ground in late November can be anything from good to heavy. The 2017 race was run on heavy ground, while the 2019 race was on good to soft. Our guide to the going explains each description and why it matters over three miles.

What Are The Each-Way Terms For The Betfair Chase?

Standard each-way terms for the Betfair Chase depend on how many horses run. It isn’t a handicap, so 5 to 7 runners pay 1/4 odds for two places. Eight or more runners pay 1/5 odds for three places. With fewer than five runners, bookmakers don’t usually offer each-way at all.

Small fields are normal in this race. Five horses were declared in 2025, and six ran in 2017. With fields that size, two places is the standard deal. An each-way bet is two bets of the same stake, one for the horse to win and one for it to place. Our each-way betting guide covers the basics.

That’s the settlement catch in a small field. The number of runners at the off decides the place terms, unless your bookmaker fixes them when you bet. A late non-runner can also bring a Rule 4 deduction on your winnings. Our each-way calculator works out any price and place terms. Backing four horses across the Saturday cards? Our Lucky 15 calculator shows the return for every mix of winners.

How Do You Bet On The Betfair Chase?

You bet on the Betfair Chase the same way as any UK race. The two choices are when you bet and which terms you take.

• Ante-post. You can bet weeks ahead, often at a bigger price. If your horse doesn’t run, you usually lose your stake. Our ante-post guide explains the rules, and non-runner no bet shows the one deal that changes them.
• On the day. You know the final field and the going. You also know how many places you’re betting on, which matters in a race this small.
• Best odds guaranteed. If you take a price and the starting price is bigger, BOG pays you at the bigger price. See our list of BOG betting sites.
• Non-runners. If a horse is withdrawn after you bet, your winnings may be cut under Rule 4. Our Rule 4 guide shows how the deduction works.

Set your stake before the card starts, not race by race. Seven races in three and a half hours is a lot of betting for one afternoon.

Betfair Chase FAQs