Irish bookmaker Paddy Power have revealed that during 2021, almost half of all horse racing punters who placed a bet on horses placed a bet on one ridden by Rachael Blackmore.
To mark International Women’s Day, the betting firm investigated the impact the Tipperary born jockey has had on their business ahead of the debut of Paddy Power’s Cheltenham Fanzone at The Camden next week.
And they found that despite the male-dominated environs of the world of horse racing, 44% of all customers who had placed a bet on a horse backed one ridden by Blackmore.
The Irish bookmaker also found that 10% of their turnover in 2021 on Irish National Hunt Racing involved horses ridden by her.
Blackmore is well fancied at odds of 9/2 to be crowned Queen of the Cotswolds at the Cheltenham Festival again this year, with one in five betting she will be top jockey at the four-day festival.
And according to Paddy Power, 20% of bets are on the Tipperary native to repeat her fairytale week in 2021 when she triumphed in six of the 28 races across the four days – including the Champion Hurdle.
The Henry De Bromhead trained mare Honeysuckle, ridden by Blackmore, is currently the best backed horse for Cheltenham 2022 despite short odds of just 1/2 to win the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday, March 15.
And the belief in Blackmore extends further afield, too, with a majority (65%) of bets placed with Paddy Power coming from UK customers.
Commenting on the newly-revealed statstics, a Paddy Power spokesperson said:
“We’ve always said that Rachael Blackmore stood head and shoulders above the rest, that’s why we erected a 25-foot-tall ‘Fearless Jockey’ statue back in 2019 at Cheltenham.
"Obviously we grossly underestimated how much damage she would do to us bookies on behalf of punters in the meantime. According to the betting trends we’ve unearthed for 2022, if she repeats anything close to her success last year, we’ll be in big trouble."
The bookmaker shared the information ahead of the debut of Paddy Power’s Cheltenham Fanzone at The Camden, Dublin, taking place on Thursday March 17 & Friday March 18.
Paddy Power’s Cheltenham Fanzone at The Camden, Camden St, Dublin, takes place on Thursday March 17 & Friday March 18.
Tickets for Ireland’s first ever Cheltenham Fanzone can be purchased at €20 per day via TicketMaster and Universe. If you can’t be there, be here.
You’ll find all the latest odds with Paddy Power on Cheltenham here: https://www.paddypower.com/horse-racing?tab=cheltenham
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