The Betting Guide to the Galway Summer Festival
The Galway Racing Festival kicks off today, Monday 31st July and promises to be an unforgettable week of high-class jumps and flat racing from one of Ireland’s most iconic racetracks at Ballybrit Racecourse in Galway.
If you want to know a little bit more about the history of the Festival, including when it began, and who made a very special appearance at it back in 1979, you can check out our special dedicated Galway Festival betting guide for all you need to know ahead of it.
That includes what else you can look forward to if you make a trip to Galway this week (beyond the actual racing). Such as musical entertainment, themed days and big cash prizes up for grabs if you get your outfit and hats as spot on as your racing selections!
You can also find out what times the first and last races of the day go off at on each given day and which two races of the week are the ones gaining the most attention on the sports betting front.
Top tips for the Galway Racing Festival
Choose wisely and manage your bank- A total of 53 races will be taking place between Monday and Friday and you certainly don’t need to have a betting interest in all of them. Lasting a week, this is the longest festival in Ireland racing, meaning you have plenty of time and races to decide which to bet on and which to sit out, if you don’t have a strong fancy. Sometimes, less is more.
Use a betting points system- A common mistake punters make is placing the same stake on all their bets. If in Race 1 you somewhat fancy a 5.0 selection, have a small bet on it. If in Race 2 you think your selection has a great chance, have a bigger bet on it. Decide for yourself on a scale of 1-5 how much of a chance you think your selection and adjust your stakes accordingly. And don’t be afraid to have a decent bet on a selection at odds of say 20.0. Many punters keep stakes to a minimum on bigger-priced selections but there’s no reason why that should be the case. If you’re betting on that horse at 20.0 it’s because you have good reasons to. And if it’s a confident selection, you should try and make the most of it should it go on to win.
Check out our race previews- The two stand-out races of the Festival are the Galway Plate(Wednesday) and the Galway Hurdle Handicap (Thursday). Read about the history of the races, the jockeys and trainers who have stand-out records in them and a brief guide as to how the favourites might perform.
Make the most of the Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) promise
First up, let’s recall how this promo works. Say you place a bet on Brown Bear at odds of 5.0 on the morning of the race. Brown Bear’s starting price (the odds it goes off at) are 6.0 and it goes on to win.
You’ll be paid out at odds of 6.0 which in this case was its Starting Price. However, if the reverse had been true – you backed it at 6.0 a few hours before and its Starting Price was 5.0- you’d still be paid out at 6.0. That’s because the BOG offer guarantees that you’re always paid out at the bigger of the two prices, the one you backed it at or the one it went off at (SP).
However, this only applies to bets placed at 9am or later on the day of the race. If you’d backed it at 5.0 the day before, that’s the price you’re stuck with. And if it went off at 6.0 the the BOG offer won’t kick in.
So, it’s pretty simple: place your bet on the day of the race anytime after 9 am, to make sure you always get the bigger payout.
Best Tips for Days 1 and 2 at the Galway Festival
We’ve already said you can find in-depth previews of the two biggest races of the week right here on this blog later on in the week.
But if you don’t want to wait till Wednesday and Thursday to have a Galway Festival bet, then here are a couple to consider on the opening day.
Monday July 31 – 2m Novice Hurdle 16:10
Hypotenus – Odds of around 3.5
The very first race of the festival presents a good opportunity to take on the favourite (Mystical Power at around evens) by backing second-favourite Hypotenus, who should be available at around the 3.5 mark. Hypotenus won 3/8 of its races on the flat, most of which were in France, and though it’s yet to win over hurdles in three attempts, it did come second in two of those three.
The favourite Annie Power deserves respect of course, and why wouldn’t it? It’s the son of the great Annie Power.
But at two and a half times the price, Hypotenus should give the favourite a really good run for its money and is the smart choice.
Monday July 31- 2m 1f Handicap- 17:40
Teed Up – Odds of around 4.5
An hour and a half later and the strategy for this race is different: back the favourite. Teed Up should be available at around the 4.5 mark and though there are dangers in the field, Teed Up looks very much the one to beat.
It’s certainly the epitome of consistency with three wins out of 11 starts on the flat to go with a further five finishes in the place positions.
After a lengthy break of 248 days, it ran pretty well last time out at Tramore, beaten only by a very impressive run by Lord Erskine and showed both good pace and temperament.
It actually won over hurdles last year at the Galway Festival, always a good indication this is a course it’s comfortable on, and that’s a positive.
Trainer Emmett Mullins is quickly becoming a name to respect and that’s yet another positive, so it could well justify its status as favourite at very decent odds.