The Most Popular Ante-Post Bets for Ascot Champions Day

British Champions Day is the final big Flat meeting of the season, and punters have made up their minds. In each of the five Group 1 contests, one horse has taken at least a third of the ante post bets this week. Some are proven champions back for another crack, and others arrive in the form of their lives. Here is where the money is going, and why.

Scandinavia: British Champions Long Distance Cup (1.30pm)

Scandinavia has taken 50% of bets on the Long Distance Cup this week, the biggest share for any horse in any Champions Day race this year.

Why punters are backing him: Aidan O'Brien's four year old is the best stayer in training. This season he has won the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup by eight and a half lengths and the Irish St Leger, with eight wins in a row before he was beaten a short neck in the Prix du Cadran on 3 October. He was as short as 4/7 for this race in September.

Why his price has swung: after the Cadran, O'Brien said "That will be him finished for the season", and Scandinavia went out as big as 8/1 last weekend. Then stablemate Jan Brueghel was ruled out with a setback, and O'Brien now says there is a "small chance" he will run because he is "very fresh". Punters who took the 8/1 hoping he would turn up have driven his price back down sharply. The danger is clear, though: he may not run.

Almeraq: British Champions Sprint Stakes (2.05pm)

Almeraq has taken 48% of bets on the British Champions Sprint this week and is now the 11/10 favourite, having shortened from 6/4 over the weekend.

Why punters are backing him: William Haggas's four year old is the leading sprinter in the race. He won the Jubilee Stakes over this course and distance at Royal Ascot in June, then won the Sprint Cup at Haydock by four and a quarter lengths. Tom Marquand said he "absolutely smoked them" that day. His only poor run this year was in the July Cup, which connections put down to fast ground and Newmarket's undulations. Haggas believes "he will get better because he is pretty lightly raced". He is a horse punters want to be with, and his comeback from the York fall that ended Jim Crowley's career makes him easy to cheer for.

Kalpana: British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (2.40pm)

Kalpana has taken 46% of bets on the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and has been backed into 6/4 from 2/1 on Monday.

Why punters are backing her: she is going for a hat trick in this race. Andrew Balding's mare won it in 2024 and again in 2025, and this season has been her best yet. She beat Calandagan in the King George and then won the Yorkshire Oaks. She was fifth in the Arc a fortnight ago, but she was seventh in the Arc last year before winning this race 13 days later. Colin Keane says "Hopefully it's like last year", and with retirement expected at the end of the season, this could be her final run. Balding will make a final decision after a gallop on Wednesday.

Talk Of New York: Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (3.20pm)

Talk Of New York is the clear pick of punters in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, with 33% of bets this week. That is almost double the 17% for second favourite Constitution River.

Why punters are backing him: Charlie Appleby's three year old has improved with every run this season. He was a close third in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, beaten a length and three quarters, and then went down by only half a length at Goodwood in a race William Buick admitted he should have won. Last time, he hosed up by four and a half lengths in the Group 2 Joel Stakes over course and distance at Newmarket. Godolphin paid to supplement him on Monday, which is a clear sign of confidence. Appleby says "We have always felt that Talk Of New York was going to develop into a G1 horse." Buick, who has ridden him all season, says "He has built on every start this year."

Why Constitution River has less support: Aidan O'Brien's colt has the bigger CV, with wins in the French Derby and the Eclipse. But he has been beaten at Group 1 level on his last two starts, and he has not run over a mile this year. O'Brien has also yet to decide between this race and the Champion Stakes.

Calandagan: Qatar Champion Stakes (4.00pm)

Calandagan has taken 42% of bets on the Champion Stakes this week and has been backed into 9/4 from 3/1 last weekend. Punters are focused firmly on the head of the market. Calandagan and Ombudsman, the top two in the betting, account for 65% of the ante post bets on the race.

Why punters are backing him: he is the defending champion. Francis-Henri Graffard's gelding beat Ombudsman by two and a quarter lengths in this race last year, on good ground like he is expected to get on Saturday, and he was second in it the year before. He has won the Dubai Sheema Classic and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud this season, and was only beaten a length and a half by Kalpana in the King George. He has been kept fresh since July, and his connections say he is "spot on" and "runs very well fresh". Christophe Soumillon takes over in the saddle.

Why Ombudsman is the danger: the Gosden five year old won the Dubai Turf, the Brigadier Gerard and the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot by four lengths this year. He was only fourth in the Juddmonte International on softened ground last time, so a sound surface should suit him.

Most Popular Balmoral Handicap Bets (4.35pm)

The Balmoral Handicap closes the card and is a much more open betting race, but three horses stand out:

• Gavriel 8/1 joint favourite, 17% of bets: the Gosden three year old won a handicap over 1m 2f here on 5 September and was then fourth as favourite in the Cambridgeshire, beaten less than half a length in a 27 runner field. Gavriel already has course form and is clearly on the upgrade.
• Scoville 9/1, 13% of bets: William Haggas's four year old won a 17 runner handicap at Doncaster in September and has been rising up the weights. Haggas has a strong record in big handicaps.
• Colori Forever 12/1, 10% of bets: Marco Botti's three year old has been running in Group races and finished second to the smart Shayem at Goodwood. He now drops into a handicap for the first time, which makes him an interesting price.