Busy Saturday doing punters no favours say Coral

Ahead of what is widely regarded as the most crowded Saturday in the racing calendar, leading bookmaker Coral says the fixture clash between Ascot, Chester, Newmarket and York is doing punters few favours.

“It’s been well documented now that this Saturday is one of the most crowded in the racing calendar, on many other weekend’s any of the Darley July Cup, John Smith’s Cup or Bunbury Cup would be the betting highlight, and that’s before Ascot and Chester are taken into account, but as things stand, there’s only a finite amount of punters’ money to go around and as a result some of these races will not punch their weight in terms of turnover,” said Coral’s David Stevens.

“That fact is illustrated by the turnover figures in our shops last year, with none of Saturday’s races making the top 40, and we firmly believe that if Newmarket and York raced on different days both the July Cup and John Smith’s Cup would stand a good chance of being in that list,” added Stevens.

“If the benefits of all these tracks racing on the same day outweigh the negatives then fair enough, but as far as we’re concerned, any change to what we have now can only be an improvement,” concluded Stevens.

*Top 40 races by turnover in Coral shops in 2013

1              Crabbie’s Grand National

2              Cheltenham Gold Cup

3              Investec Derby

4              Coral Scottish Grand National

5              King George VI Chase

6              Champion Hurdle

7              2,000 Guineas

8              Coral Welsh National

9              Investec Oaks

10           Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

11           Hennessy Gold Cup

12           Coral Welsh National (rearranged 2012 running)

13           Cesarewitch

14           St James’s Palace Stakes

15           World Hurdle

16           Coral Cup

17           1,000 Guineas

18           St Leger

19           Coral-Eclipse

20           Ayr Gold Cup

21           Grand Annual

22           Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle

23           King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes

24           Cambridgeshire

25           Cheltenham Foxhunters Chase

26           Prince Of Wales’s Stakes

27           Ryanair Chase

28           Triumph Hurdle

29           Golden Jubilee Stakes

30           Jewson Novices’ Chase

31           Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Hurdle

32           Betfair Hurdle

33           Sussex Stakes

34           Ladbroke Hurdle

35           Neptune Novices’ Hurdle

36           Ascot Gold Cup

37           Betfair Chase

38           Paddy Power Gold Cup

39           Kim Muir

40           County Hurdle

**Darley July Cup

3 Slade Power, 4 Due Diligence, 9-2 Noozhoh Canarias, 7 Aljamaheer, 10 Sole Power, 14 Hot Streak, 20 Astaire, Cougar Mountain, Rex Imperator, 25 Moviesta, Undrafted, Justice Day, 33 Gregorian, Jack Dexter, 40 Fountain Of Youth, Tropics

**Bunbury Cup

6 Abseil, Horsted Keynes, 8 Ayaar, 10 Professor, Field Of Dream, 12 Absolutely So, Ertijaal, 14 Glen Moss, Louis The Pious, 16 Hoodna, Don’t Bother Me, 20 Sirius Prospect, Georgian Bay, Redvers, 33 Heaven’s Guest, Loving Spirit, Mezzotint, Best Of Order, Zanetto, Fort Bastion,

**John Smith’s Cup

6 Bold Sniper, 8 Clever Cookie, Farraaj, Nabucco, 10 Chancery, Tarikhi, 12 Tahira, 14 Queensberry Rules, Two For Two, Zain Eagle, 16 Saxo Jack, 25 Tres Coronas, Sennockian Star, Pacific Heights, Red Avenger, 33 Energia Davos, Ingleby Angel, 50 Macbeth, Starboard, *Reserves 25 Hi There, 10 Salutation

ENDS

Further Information Contact:

David Stevens 07720 400438