The other day I came across an old interview in which top flat racing jockey, Frankie Dettori and 13 times champion jump jockey, Tony McCoy, discuss the relative merits of the two horse racing platforms. For me, it’s always been the Flat that’s been the draw. I’ll never forget the days spent on the Heath at Ascot watching a tight pack of horses thunder by with speed and control the only factors determining the outcome - in the same sort of way that they do in Formula 1 racing. The odd occasions I went to a National Hunt meet, half the time my selection fell at an early fence without having the chance to demonstrate its worth.

Frankie agrees with the speed factor, reckoning that the Flat has the fastest horses. There is also a greater sense of occasion at the top Flat meetings like Ascot, Goodwood and Epsom. Tony McCoy counters with the claim that Jump racing is more of an exciting sport with less predictability than the Flat. Money rules less and a relatively inexpensive horse can win a great race at odds that provide a much better return for the horse racing betting fan. I’m put in mind of Rugby Union versus Rugby League at this point.

Each Jockey acknowledges the relative merits of the two variations. They both recognise that Flat racing has fewer dangers for both jockey and horse with races such as the Grand National or the Cheltenham Gold Cup often having casualties. For horse racing betting enthusiasts such as me, it’s probably simply a matter of where we first started. My first winner came at Ascot and I’ve stuck with Flat racing ever since. The season felt longer with great races spread evenly throughout. With the Jumps, it seems to all happen in March although Ireland provides plenty of great meetings such as Leopardstown, Punchestown, Fairyhouse and Navan. I guess, at the end of the day, it’s just a matter of horses for courses.