Durban July: You had better know your Place

The humble Place bet, seen by high rollers as the poor cousin of the wagering family, has an indispensable place in the game.

For small-scale punters, returns on strategic Place bets often keep the show on the road. For the big boys and girls, the Place offers welcome “insurance” for any extravagant gamble.

Smart folk at Hollywoodbets, sponsors of the Durban July, appreciate this and are now offering Place betting in their recently opened ante-post market on South Africa’s premier race. They will pay out down to fifth place, which will surely draw in many a punter who fancies his long-range forecasting talent.

Experienced July players know that there is almost always a longshot or two in the first five placings on the first Saturday in July.

It’s a risky game

Ante-post betting is risky, especially more than three months before the actual race. There are no refunds on non-runners and the chances of horses even getting into the final line-up must be weighed up before you put any money down.

But the longer fixed odds struck well in advance can make the risk worthwhile. Oriental Charm, the 2024 Durban July winner, could have been claimed at more than 100-1 in March last year.

Current favourites for the July, Oriental Charm (6-1) and Eight On Eighteen (7-1) are hardly worth bothering about at the moment in terms of Places – at payouts of R1.31 and R1.49 respectively.

But the numbers climb quickly as one goes down the list on the bookie’s board.

Eye-catching is last year’s July runner-up Cousin Casey at R6.99 – to run in the first five! That deal is unlikely to last very long.

See It Again, the 2023 runner-up, is at R3.50, recent SA Classic winner Confederate at R4.20, Summer Cup champion Atticus Finch at R10.50 and reigning Equus Horse of the Year Dave The King at R14.

Three newcomers to the mix

Since the July market opened a fortnight ago, the biggest changes are three impressive recent winners being parachuted into the upper reaches of the 90-odd horses listed.

After Immediate Edge won the Listed Hawwaam Stakes at Turffontein this month, trainer Mike de Kock announced the three-year-old colt as a serious July candidate: “I do think a lot of this horse; I think he’s going places… He’s a horse you have to aim at the July and hope he comes in with a light weight.”

The master’s words saw Immediate Edge slashed from 50-1 to 14-1. His Place dividend is now just R3.
All Out For Six, a 25-1 winner of the weekend’s Big Cap sales race at Kenilworth, has been inserted into the “possibles” at 16-1, with the Place bet at R3.50.

At the same meeting, progressive four-year Holding Thumbs won the Kenilworth Cup at 33-10 and was added to the July list at 50-1 and R10.50.