![\"Jockey](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/jockey-trophy-bigstock-800px.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For most of us, horse racing involves betting on individual races – selecting the nag we think will be first to the finishing post and crossing our fingers.<\/p>\n
This is not your only option when it comes to making your wagers though as trainer and jockey betting is available throughout the season as well as during the big festivals.<\/p>\n
Here we\u2019ll explain just how these bets work, what markets are available, as well as well giving you a general guide as to what names you might want to consider.<\/p>\n
At the end of every National Hunt and Flat racing season, the most successful jockey and the most successful trainer are crowned kings of the year. For the British flat\/jump racing Champion Jockey, the number of victories secured on British soil determines the award.<\/p>\n
As for the trainers, it is not the number of winners saddled but rather the total amount of prize money secured. As a result, it\u2019s theoretically, although not in any way realistically possibly, for a trainer not to win a single race but to still end up as Champion Trainer.<\/p>\n
There are entirely separate awards given to the leading Irish jockey and trainer. The criteria for deciding the winner is just the same as with the British awards, the only difference being of course that only wins or prize money recorded in Ireland count.<\/p>\n
![\"Goodwood](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/goodwood-racecourse-geograph-janine-forbes-800px.jpg\")
When weighing up your bets for the trainer or jockey championship, it\u2019s important to know which races fall within the qualifying period. It could be that a well-known jockey is starting the season late due to a broken arm so knowing exactly how much time they\u2019ll miss could prove useful.<\/p>\n
Traditionally the British Flat racing Jockey Championship ran for a 32 week period, stretching from the Lincoln Handicap to the November Meeting, but controversial changes have seen the time-frame cut down.<\/p>\n
The decision, made in 2015, produced much outrage among racing circles with one commentator calling it \u201ctotal garbage\u201d and another saying it demonstrated \u201cno respect for tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s never been a situation in which two trainers have ended the season level on prize money to the very last pound or Euro but jockeys have sometimes ended with the same number of wins. It\u2019s an uncommon occurrence for sure, but one we saw in 2007 as Seb Sanders and Jamie Spencer both ended with 190 Flat wins on British soil.<\/p>\n
Rules dictated that the jockeys share the award between themselves, just as they had done the previous three times this situation occurred. While perhaps an unsatisfying conclusion for some, Spencer called it \u201cthe best result that could have happened for racing as no one deserved to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"AP](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ap-mccoy-flickr-vegaseddie-800px.jpg\")
Often, these awards don\u2019t feature the most diverse list of winners, with a select few names tending to feature on multiple occasions. Jockeys and trainers can fluke a few races here and there but ultimately over the course of a season it\u2019s very rarely the case that the most deserving name misses out.<\/p>\n
![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/richard-johnson-jockey-flickr-carine06-400px.jpg\")
Willie Mullins and Aidan O\u2019Brien have ruled Ireland for so long that other names have found it impossible to break through, although Mullins\u2019 reign of superiority almost came to an end in 2018. He trailed Gordon Elliot by \u20ac521,413 coming into the season finale at Punchestown but a massively successful festival, including six winners on Wednesday alone, saw his long winning streak continue.<\/p>\n
Another long-reigning champion was AP McCoy, but following his retirement 16-time runner up Richard Johnson is now deserving some well-earned time in the spotlight and there should be more to come.Other markets are a little more unpredictable such as the battle to become Ireland\u2019s top Flat jockey. Donnacha O\u2019Brien and Colin Keane have made this something of a two-horse race in recent times, but no one has held the top spot more than six years in a row and that has only happened once back in the 80s, so there is more opportunity for upset here.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an even fiercer rivalry between Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls for the British jump racing Trainers Championship. The pair have often gone head to head for the big prize and frequently the duel isn\u2019t decided until the final few days of the season. Paul Nicholls is the most successful of the two by quite some distance, but Henderson has been batting strongly in recent times.<\/p>\n
![\"Franki](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Frankie_Dettori-250px.jpg\")
When it comes to predicting the champion jockey, it\u2019s important to remember that it\u2019s not a true measure of quality. Take Frankie Dettori for instance, regarded by many as one of the greatest flat riders of the current era, but he was last crowned Champion Jockey back in 2004.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the Italian has won the award as many times as Silvestre de Sousa, a jockey who as of October 2019 had only scored three Group 1 wins in Britain. The key to the Brazilian\u2019s success on the championship front was riding frequency, as over the last five years, he\u2019s ridden three times more often than Dettori.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a different story when it comes to the trainers championships as these are based on prize money not wins. Not only does this mean that second and third place finishes can prove decisive but it also means big race performances have a much bigger impact.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no good winning lots of lower standard events as 100 Class 5 wins can be cancelled out by just one Group 1 triumph. With flat racing, proportionally more of the big money events are won by three-year-olds so any trainer with a promising crop of horses of that age is one to watch out for.<\/p>\n
When it comes to betting on jockeys and trainers, you don\u2019t have to do it based on the overall championship race. Bookies regularly offer a variety of specials throughout the season regarding many of the big names.<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t get anything resembling big odds on Aidan O\u2019Brien to be named Irish Flat racing Champion Trainer but you can get much longer odds on related specials markets. For an example of the kind of bets possible, let\u2019s take a look at some of the bookies\u2019 previous offerings:<\/p>\n
![\"Royal](\"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/royal-ascot-flickr-sjdunphy-800px.jpg\")
![Paul Friel from Guildford, UK<\/a> \/](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Frankie_Dettori.jpg\"){kind=link}