St Leger Betting Tips

The oldest of the three-year-old Classics is the St Leger, run at Doncaster at the end of every flat season. It was first run way back in 1776, so is closing in on its 250th anniversary. That makes it one of the longest ongoing sporting events in the world, ensuring inaugural winner Allabaculia has a unique place in racing history within this country.

For the 2025 St Leger renewal, yet another brand new crop of three-year-old colts and fillies do battle in the one Classic where the sexes combine year after year. Below are our experts’ tips for the race.

Who are This Year’s St Leger Favourites?

The favourites for the St Leger will only be known to greatest effect closer to the off of the race, but we already know about some likely contenders to run in September.

Who are This Year’s St Leger Underdogs?

Any number of horses could still step up before the race, with stamina likely to be prominent in the majority of the runners’ pedigrees.

St Leger Racecourse 

Doncaster has been home to the St Leger for the entirety of the race’s storied existence. For the first 37 runnings of the race though, it was run over a full two miles, ensuring it was even more of a stamina test than it has been since 1813, when the race was reduced to the modern distance of 1m6f, making it the longest English Classic after the 1m4f Oaks and Derby.

The track makes use of a long straight before a gradual, gentle left-handed bend, a brief straightening up down the side, then a sharper turn towards a long home stretch to conclude. It can get incredibly testing when the ground soaks up any wet weather, so this is a true test, especially for younger horses, most of whom will still be at the start of longer careers.

Are There Any Specific St Leger Betting Offers?

The St Leger’s Classic status means lots of attention will be drawn to the race. There will not be many betting offers attributed to the race ahead of time, but by the off, many bookmakers will be offering out free bets on the contest.

St Leger Trends & Historic Data

Despite nearly 250 years worth of history, the chances of anyone surpassing the leading trainer in the St Leger feels unlikely in the short term. Victorian era handler John Scott managed to send out the winner on no fewer than 16 occasions between 1827-1862, a truly staggering number.

For more recent betting related purposes, it has paid to remain towards the head of the market, as only Harbour Law at 22/1 in 2016 has gone off at a double-figure price among the winners in the last decade. Four favourites, including two at odds-on, have gone in in this period too.

St Leger Horse Entries & Selections

Although the 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby are also open to both colts and fillies, those races have a fillies’ only equivalent in the 1000 Guineas and Epsom Oaks respectively. Conversely, the St Leger has no race in direct competition, so often feels like the only Classic in which the best colts and fillies compete against each other towards the end of the flat season.

Like the other Classics, it is open only to three-year-olds, with its position in the calendar intended to allow as much time for its competitors to mature as possible.

Here is how our experts see this year’s contest, with Andrew Mount and Matty Sutcliffe providing their selections here.

Which Trainers Have Historically Had the Most Success in the St Leger?

John Scott is comfortably the most successful trainer in the history of the race, and nobody is likely to get anywhere near his tally in the near future. He recorded 16 wins during the 19th Century, so even Aidan O’Brien on six wins has a lot of work to do to get remotely close to that particular haul.

From a jockeys’ perspective, Bill Scott was the brother of John and rode the St Leger winner on nine occasions. 

St Leger Past Winners

Year	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
2015	Simple Verse	Ralph Beckett	Andrea Atzeni	8/1
2016	Harbour Law	Laura Mongan	George Baker	22/1
2017	Capri	Aidan O’Brien	Ryan Moore	3/1F
2018	Kew Gardens	Aidan O’Brien	Ryan Moore	3/1
2019	Logician	John Gosden	Frankie Dettori	5/6F
2020	Galileo Chrome	Joseph O’Brien	Tom Marquand	4/1
2021	Hurricane Lane	Charlie Appleby	William Buick	8/11F
2022	Eldar Eldarov	Roger Varian	David Egan	9/2
2023	Continuous	Aidan O’Brien	Ryan Moore	3/1
2024	Jan Breughel	Aidan O’Brien	Sean Levey	11/4