Sky Bet Chase 2025 Betting Odds – Doncaster Racing Tips

Doncaster Racecourse hosts the Great Yorkshire Chase Weekend which includes the Sky Bet Chase among other races. That encounter has been in place since 1948 and some of the recent winners include Ok Corral, Takingrisks and Windsor Avenue. Day One of the meeting includes this headline encounter, with the action taking place on Saturday 27 January and Sunday 28 January.

In addition to the Great Yorkshire Chase, the Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle, River Don Novices’ Hurdle and Lightning Novices’ Chase are all prominent races in this meeting, with these all Grade Two encounters which are popular betting heats. There are lots of horse racing betting odds available at Racing-Odds.com when it comes to the meeting at Doncaster.

Date Race

Great Yorkshire Chase Weekend Tips

The Great Yorkshire Chase Weekend will take place at the end of January, with there being a Doncaster racecard on Saturday 27 January and Sunday 28 January. This includes the Sky Bet Chase which is run over three miles and the going is generally soft due to the weather conditions. Previous winners of this encounter includes Ok Corral, Takingrisks and Windsor Avenue.

Ziga Boy was also a double winner of the race in 2015 and 2016, with racegoers enjoying the chance to bet on a number of high-profile races during the course of the two days. The Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle, River Don Novices’ Hurdle and Lightning Novices’ Chase are all quality affairs, with Epatante having been a recent winner of the former.

The Cob, Mahler Mission and Maximilian are horses that have achieved victory in the River Don Novices’ Hurdle, with runners such as Shishkin, Third Time Lucki and Tommy’s Oscar having all been in the winners’ enclosure when it comes to the Lightning Novices’ Chase. The Grade Two races are all high-profile and there are lots of betting odds available.

Beyond the headline races, there’s also the chance to get extra places for each-way bets on many of the Great Yorkshire Chase meeting. There can be price boosts for some of the favourites that are running, with customers able access live streams in order to watch high-definition coverage of the action.


The Sky Bet Handicap Chase will take place on Saturday 28 January, with the runners and riders looking to follow in the footsteps of recent winners. OK Corral landed the spoils in 2020, while Takingrisks was able to oblige in 2021 and it was Windsor Avenue that tasted success twelve months ago.

It’s usually a wide open betting race, with the Sky Bet Chase taking place at 3.20pm, with seven races on the card for each day. Preceding the big race is the Yorkshire Rose Mares Hurdle and Albert Bartlett River Don Novices’ Hurdle, with seven notable races taking place on Friday 27 January.

The Sky Bet Chase was formerly known as the Yorkshire Chase and it’s a stamina sapping three mile encounter, with the ground usually being heavy at this time of year. It’s often a case of judging the weights and aiming to establish which runners have been the most favourably handicapped.


The two-day Sky Bet Chase meeting at Doncaster in January is one of just a few high quality events between the Welsh National and the Cheltenham Festival. It essentially revolves around the eponymous feature race, the Sky Bet Handicap Chase, which was once entitled the Great Yorkshire Chase.

Taking place over a Friday and a Saturday towards the end of January, this Doncaster meeting has a number of other intriguing looking races on its cards aside from the biggest race, including a trio of usually competitive Grade 2 races on the Saturday.

This time of year in South Yorkshire is not known for its clement weather, so taking account of potentially challenging conditions could be prudent for those looking to bet on any of these races. It will also pay dividends to study our Sky Bet Chase odds comparison, as ever, for the best betting odds from top bookmakers, whether on the day of the race or for ante post bets.

Racing Betting Highlights

While this meeting is spread over two days, it has to be said that the opening day doesn’t have all that much to get overly excited about. Of course, there are still plenty of races on the card from which to make a tidy profit if you do your homework, including two handicap chases and two handicap hurdles. But it is really the Saturday on which the best of the action occurs. Here are the most enticing races.

All these races take place on the jam-packed Saturday of the meeting, and each has its own appeal for punters and racing aficionados. The Sky Bet Handicap Chase – or just the Sky Bet Chase to many fans – attracts the most attention, especially since the sponsorship deal with Sky Bet boosted its prestige.

Run over a distance of three miles with 18 fences to clear, the race is open to runners aged five years and older. Given the time of year at which the race runs, it should come as no surprise that it has been abandoned on various occasions due to frost and/or snow. Notable winners in recent years include double winner Ziga Boy (2016, 2017) and Big Fella Thanks (2009).

The Lightning Novices’ Chase, meanwhile, has just 12 fences to jump over a distance of two miles and half a furlong. It was first run back in 1979 but at Ascot and over two miles, rather than the current distance. After various venue switches over the years it finally found a permanent home at Doncaster for this meeting in 2010.

Another Grade 2 race on the card, the River Don Novices' Hurdle, is a mile further in distance than the Lightning, and has 11 hurdles to clear. Named after the river that runs through Doncaster, this race is relatively new having only been inaugurated in 1991.

The Yorkshire Rose Mares' Hurdle, often referred to as simply the Doncaster Mares' Hurdle, is another Grade 2 race run over two miles and half a furlong. There are some very capable winners in this race’s short history (it was first run in 2008), including the Willie Mullins pair of Annie Power and Vroum Vroum Mag, both of whom have gone on to success at the Cheltenham Festival, the latter in the Mares’ Hurdle and the former in the 2016 Champion Hurdle.

Betting Strategies and Pointers

Focussing on the Sky Bet Chase itself, and though it is open to runners aged five and older, there has never been a five year old winner. Three six year olds have done the business (in 1951, 1993 and 2001), with eight seven year old winners, 15 aged eight, 17 aged nine, four 10 year olds and a solitary 11 year old (ESB in 1957).

When betting on this race, or indeed any at this often wintry Doncaster meeting, it usually makes sense to not go over the top on early bets, that is to say before you are aware of the weather forecast. In late January in Yorkshire, there could be heavy rain, snow, hail or, occasionally, a bit of sunshine. Taking into account the conditions and how each of the runners is likely to adapt will certainly prove a fruitful course of action here.

Sky Bet Chase – A Brief History

The history of the Sky Bet Chase Meeting is for all intents and purposes a history of the big race itself. As mentioned it was first run back in 1948 when a nine year old called Cool Customer won despite carrying a whopping 12 stone and seven pounds of weight, which is still the heaviest winner weight to this day.

The race has been abandoned 16 times for snow or frost over the years, and once – in 1952 – due to the death of King George VI. Given its Listed status and relatively modest prize money (compared to the biggest handicap chases on the National Hunt calendar) it is perhaps not surprising that the list of past winners is not littered with familiar names.

The list of winning jockeys and trainers is a little more familiar though, with the likes of Alan King, Paul Nicholls, David Pipe and Nigel Twiston-Davies all saddling winners and Tony McCoy, Paul Carberry and Adrian Maguire all having ridden to victory in this one.

Sky Bet Chase FAQ

The Great Yorkshire Chase Weekend runs between Saturday 25 January 2025 and Sunday 26 January 2025. It’s an action-packed schedule at Doncaster Racecourse, with customers able to bet on the National Hunt action over two days and there are some great odds available.
The Great Yorkshire Chase Weekend takes place at Doncaster Racecourse every year, with this Yorkshire race track hosting the Sky Bet Chase along with other notable races. This is one of the biggest northern tracks which also hosts the St Leger meeting.
There are several sponsors of the various races at the Great Yorkshire Chase Weekend, with Sky Bet putting their name to the Great Yorkshire Chase. You will find a number of bookmakers also looking to sponsor at Doncaster along with some local companies.
There are some massive crowds in attendance at the Great Yorkshire Chase Weekend, with racegoers flocking to Doncaster to enjoy the action. It’s likely that both days of the meeting will be sold out, with spectators able to place bets with an on-course bookmaker.
The Great Yorkshire Chase takes pride of place and this has been known as the Sky Bet Chase due to the sponsorship of the encounter. In addition, there is also the Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle, River Don Novices’ Hurdle and Lightning Novices’ Chase which are all attractive encounters which attract star quality.
There have been several high-profile winners of the Great Yorkshire Chase which is also known as the Sky Bet Chase. Run over three miles, this now has Premier Handicap classification and we’ve seen Go Conquer, Ok Corral and Takingrisks among the recent winners.
For those customers wanting to watch the Great Yorkshire Chase racing, there is the opportunity to access live streaming through the top betting sites. Customers who want to watch any UK race can log into their betting account and place a bet before accessing the stream.
The bookmakers will price up all the Great Yorkshire Chase races and you will be able to get antepost betting odds when it comes to some of the high-profile encounters such as the Sky Bet Chase. Compare the latest prices at Racing-Odds.com with the top operators.
The best bookies can be accessed through Racing-Odds.com when it comes to the betting odds for the Great Yorkshire Chase. You will see all the popular brands and it’s possible to claim a sign-up offer when you sign up with a particular bookmaker.