The Hollywoodbets Durban July is Africa’s greatest horse racing event, where the finest thoroughbreds in the country race for a whopping R5 million, it will take place on Saturday 6 July. The runners will race over 2200 metres at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse in Durban.
For those looking to wager on this prestigious event, comprehensive Durban July betting guides can help you understand the various markets and betting options available. The field will be made up of 18 runners and two reserves and on Friday 25 April the first entries were released, and the 3-year old that has gripped and taken the nation by storm Eight on Eighteen is the current favourite at 4/1.
Note: Odds correct at time of writing.
Our Ante-post Betting Tips and Predictions
- Prediction 1 – Eight On Eighteen
- Prediction 2 – Oriental Charm
- Prediction 3 – See It Again
With over two months to go to the Hollywoodbets Durban July, many races will serve as indicators. These races will take place in the South African Champions Season which will take place at Hollywoodbets Greyville and Hollywoodbets Scottsville racecourses. However, we have put together a few early selections to assist you in taking a few bets in the ante-post betting market based on the form from the previous Gauteng and Western Cape Seasons.
1st – Eight On Eighteen
This exciting 3-year-old colt has done nothing wrong in his career thus far, winning four of his nine starts and placing in five. He has won the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met and won the Splash Out Cape Derby, and he will head to the big day as one of the favourites.
2nd – Oriental Charm
The winner of last year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July won a fantastic race, he led the race from start to finish, keeping all challengers at bay, he ran a very close second in this year’s World Sports Betting Cape Town Met and if he is able to repeat his good run of form over this distance, he will be right there again.
3rd – See It Again
See It Again is a multiple Grade 1 winning horse and has had great success in the Hollywoodbets Durban July placing second in 2023 and placing fifth in 2024, this horse knows how to show up for the big occasions and come the big race this year, he is sure to be right there again.
Find more Durban July predictions in our dedicated article.
How Ante-Post Betting Works
In horse racing, you get two types of fixed odds betting, ante-post and final field betting. Ante-post betting is betting that takes place long before the actual event has been finalised or started. It is done based on odds that bookmakers create using their expertise.
For example, for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, betting opened in February. Experts from the specific bookmaker use their horse racing knowledge to put together a list of runners that they believe will be in the final field. It must be noted that they do this without any formal entries being supplemented. After entries come out, they remove the horses that haven’t been entered from the list.
In South Africa, all Grade 1 races and other major graded races have ante-post betting. The only difference is that odds come out three to six months earlier for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, the Cape Town Met and the Gauteng Summer Cup. While the others come out a minimum of two weeks prior.
Ante-post betting changes to final field betting once the horse racing organizers confirm the final participants in the race, in the case of the Hollywoodbets Durban July, this will occur on Tuesday 24 June 2025, in other major races it also normally occurs between 5 to 10 days before the race.
Internationally there is ante-post betting available for races such as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Melbourne Cup, The Breeders Cup Classic, the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup as well as all of the major UK races such as the Grand National, the 1000 and 2000 Guineas, and the Queen Mother to name a few.
Bookmakers that offer these bets are Hollywoodbets, WSB, SunBet and Betway.
Positives and Negatives of Ante-post Betting
The advantage of ante-post betting is that because you can place the bet well before the actual race, the odds are far greater than what it would be just before the race. Due to the odds being far greater, it gives the punter more chances to bet on a variety of horses to be as profitable as possible, closer to the race the more horses you bet on won’t be feasible.
The biggest negative of ante-post betting is that if your selection does not make the final field, you lose all your money. Another massive disadvantage is that after taking your bet, it is price-locked which means if the horse’s odds increase, your bet will unfortunately have to remain at the odds on the day that you took the bet.
The betting for this year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July opened in February and will close on 23 June, two days before the final field is announced.
How to Pick the Right Runners for Durban July
There is a lot that goes into finding the winner for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, it is one race where every single runner in it has a chance and we have seen it with the results in years gone past as there have been a mix of massive upsets and quite favourable results.
To make the right choice the first thing one needs to do is look at the form over distance and on the current racecourse. For example, when looking at a horse’s form, and you see that the horse has good form over distances of 1600m 1800m 2000m 2200m and 2400m, you ideally should consider this runner. There are many form guide websites and form books that bettors can choose from, the most popular in South Africa being the Winning Form.
Another consideration is the horse’s breeding, this is looking at their bloodline (grandparents, parents and siblings) and seeing how they performed over this distance. This will determine how the runner will perform over this distance.
The draw: the next big point is the draw of the horse. This determines which gate the horse will come out of, the lower the draw, the closer the horse is to the rail which will mean he or she will have a massive advantage of the other runners drawn wide going into the first bend.
The weight: it is important to understand the weight that the horses carry in the race. The high-merit-rated horses will carry a big weight whilst the low-merit horses will carry a low weight. The weight is used as a feature to level the playing fields. This is due to the Hollywoodbets Durban July being a handicap race, which means that each horse needs to be weighted according to their ratings.
There are many scientific, statistical, and analytical ways you can study horses, but experts can tell you that at the end of the day being able to tip in the sport of horse racing is 80% luck and 20% skill. Just because there is a massive form guide that has all the information in it, you must not be discouraged from taking a number that means something to you, your birthday, a lucky number or even a name that is significant to you, as experts, we often look at newcomers in the sport celebrating and ask them “how did they pick that runner” and the answer often leaves us astonished.