The 2024 St Leger is highly anticipated, as it is with each year that it is held.
The race will take place on 14 September and is one of the highlights of the flat course season. A famous saying goes along with this race in Doncaster: “The fastest horse wins the Guineas; the luckiest the Derby—and the best horse wins the St Leger.”
It’s a Grade 1 horse race open to all three-year-old thoroughbreds, with both colts and fillies able to line up and compete. The race features a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs, and 115 yards, making it just short of 3 kilometres in total. This also means it is the longest of the three races that make up the Triple Crown.
When Will the Race Take Place?
As mentioned, the 2024 St Leger will take place on Saturday, 14 September, Day 3 of the four-day festival in Doncaster. It is known as St Leger Day, with the first day of the festival being Ladies Day.
The race is held annually in September and has been running for over a few centuries. It was first run in 1776 and has been going ever since. There has only ever been one instance in which the race didn’t go ahead, in 1939, at the start of World War II.
Which Horses Are the Main Contenders to Win the 2024 St Leger?
Given the appeal and prestige of the race, the 2024 St Leger is an annual event that attracts many who like to place sports bets across the festival, with the main event being the main attraction.
Of course, punters are already being offered horse racing odds ahead of the day, with some bookmakers making it possible to get in early on the action, which could potentially provide some value.
Los Angeles has been made the favourite to win the 2024 St. Leger, with odds of 3/1 made available. A child of Camelot, the three-year-old has been in good form in recent meets. He is coming off the back of a win at Curragh, having beaten Sunway by ¾ of a length. Sunway happens to be the second favourite with the bookmakers, alongside Illinois and Jan Brueghel.
If there are any doubts about whether the horse can win the big one, then that might only be normal, as he finished third in the Epsom Derby at the beginning of June. However, that was his only defeat in the five races that he has competed in.
Trained by Aiden O’Brien and ridden by Wayne Lordan or Ryan Moore, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were to win the 2024 St. Leger, as the trainer and the latter of the pair of jockeys have been successful in this race on a handful of occasions. The duo were successful last year when they won with Continuous. It was their first win since back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018.
How to Watch the 2024 St Leger?
For UK viewers, there will be a number of ways to watch the 2024 St Leger when it takes place in September.
Most will be able to watch it on terrestrial TV, with ITV expected to show the meet across its channels and streaming provider. At the same time, the event will likely be available to watch on At The Races for those who wish to watch a dedicated racing channel and have access to cable or Sky.
For bettors, they may be able to find a sportsbook that provides them with a stream that they can enjoy once they have placed a bet on the race. This will usually go live just before they go to the post, but a qualifying wager will have had to have been placed for it to work.
Of course, if you’re one of the lucky ones, you might be able to obtain tickets to the event and enjoy it in person. While the main race will take place on Saturday, it’s important to remember several meets occur between Thursday and Sunday, so it can be a great day out on any day you decide to attend.
Excitement Continues to Build
Although there is still some time between now and the 2024 St Leger, the excitement surrounding the race will only continue to build as we continue to approach ever closer to the event.
It’s one of UK racing’s biggest spectacles, and with so many quality three-year-old thoroughbreds expected to take to the field, it can be a race where we see a potential future star of the sport emerge.