Across ten British and Irish race types, favourites have won between 28.2% (handicap hurdles) and 48.7% (novice hurdles) of their runs over the last ten seasons.Sample: 10 race types · Window: 2016/17 to 2025/26 jumps, 2016 to 2025 Flat · Source: RaceWatch results database (British and Irish results since May 2014, starting prices) and declared cards
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Favourite win %
Race types at a glance
| Handicap hurdles | 1,673 | 9.90 | 19 | 5.50 | Dan Skelton | 212 | 635 | Jumps | |
| Handicap chases | 1,320 | 7.90 | 17 | 4.50 | Dan Skelton | 223 | 417 | Jumps | |
| Novice hurdles | 455 | 7.90 | 7 | 2.75 | Dan Skelton | 153 | 111 | Jumps | |
| Bumpers | 399 | 9.30 | 4 | 4.00 | Willie Mullins | 231 | 134 | Jumps | |
| Novice chases | 230 | 6.70 | 3 | 3.00 | Willie Mullins | 229 | 74 | Jumps | |
| Hunter chases | 75 | 8.20 | 0 | 3.50 | D M Christie | 22 | 19 | Jumps | |
| Sellers and claimers (jumps) | 24 | 7.10 | - | 4.00 | Olly Murphy | 19 | 11 | Jumps | |
| Two-year-old races | 1,382 | 8.70 | 29 | 4.00 | Aidan O'Brien | 374 | 1,065 | Flat | |
| Flat maidens | 1,032 | 9.50 | 15 | 3.75 | Aidan O'Brien | 360 | 849 | Flat | |
| Nurseries | 314 | 7.70 | 11 | 5.00 | George Boughey | 56 | 179 | Flat | |
| Sellers and claimers (Flat) | 74 | 9.10 | 0 | 4.33 | Denis Gerard Hogan | 31 | 68 | Flat |
British and Irish races. Jumps seasons follow the official British and Irish dates, Flat seasons are calendar years. Last season = 2025/26 jumps and 2025 Flat. Favourite figures cover ten seasons with joint favourites each counted; median winner SP and top trainer cover the last five. Each race type has its own page with the rule used to identify its races; a race can belong to more than one type (a nursery is also a two-year-old race).
Additional research statistics and historical returns are in the RaceWatch app.
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Every race type on today's cards
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In which race types do favourites win most often?
Novice hurdles lead at 48.7% over ten seasons, followed by novice chases on 45.1% and hunter chases on 42.2%. Races for unexposed or lightly raced horses tend to have clearer favourites than handicaps.
Why do favourites win fewer handicaps?
Handicaps weight runners to bring them together, so favourites won 28.2% of handicap hurdle runs and 29.7% of handicap chase runs, well below the 48.7% in novice hurdles.
Which race types have the most races?
Handicap hurdles and handicap chases are the biggest jumps race types, with 1,673 and 1,320 races in 2025/26, while two-year-old races numbered 1,382 on the Flat in 2025.
How are the race types defined?
Each race type page states the rule used to pick its races from the race name, race code and runners' ages. A race can belong to more than one type, as every nursery is also a two-year-old race.
Questions people ask
Which race type has the best favourite record?
Novice hurdles have the best favourite record of the ten race types, with favourites winning 48.7% of their runs over ten seasons. Handicap hurdles have the lowest at 28.2%.
What is the difference between a novice race and a handicap?
Novice races are for horses early in their careers, on the Flat or over a type of obstacle, and runners carry similar weights apart from penalties for wins and any age or sex allowances. In a handicap each runner carries a weight set from its official rating to even out their chances.
Are bumpers counted as Flat or jumps races?
Bumpers are National Hunt Flat races and are counted with jumps racing here, including Irish bumpers that are coded as Flat races in the source data. The bumpers page explains the rule used to find them.
How often is the race types page updated?
The race types table refreshes every morning after the previous day's results, so this season's race counts move after every racing day. The next seven days column is rebuilt from the declared and entered cards at the same time.
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