18+. New customers only. Min deposit £5. Bet £10 and get £30 in Bet Credits. Bet Credits paid on settlement of qualifying bets; stake not returned. Min odds 1/5. Time limits and T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org
King George VI Chase 2026: Boxing Day Odds, Trends and Kempton Tips
Three miles, 18 fences and the best staying chasers in training, all at 2.30pm on Boxing Day. The market, the Kempton card, the trends that count and the bookmakers worth an account before the off.
By Horse.bet Team · Updated 24 October 2026 · Offers checked
DatesSaturday 26 December 2026 (King George day) and Sunday 27 December 2026
VenueKempton Park, Sunbury-on-Thames · right-handed
Feature raceLadbrokes King George VI Chase · Grade 1 · 3m · 18 fences · 2.30pm
Prize money£250,000 in 2025, with £142,375 to the winner
Gates and first raceGates 10.30am · first race 12.45pm · last race 3.40pm
TVITV Racing, part of four consecutive days of coverage from 26 to 29 December
2025 winnerThe Jukebox Man (Ben Pauling / Ben Jones), 7/1
RecordsKauto Star, five wins · Paul Nicholls, 13 wins as a trainer
★ Best offers
Best King George VI Chase Betting Offers
Welcome offers from UK Gambling Commission-licensed bookmakers, checked . New customers, 18+. Significant terms under each offer.
New bet365 customers only. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration required. The bonus code 365GMBLR can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way. Time limits and T&Cs apply. 18+. GambleAware.org
New UK+ROI Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stake not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. Min deposit £5. 18+. GambleAware.org
New members only. Min first deposit £10 within 14 days of sign-up. £10+ bet on sports (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accepted in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. Deposits by prepaid, disposable or virtual cards, or unidentifiable debit cards, excluded. T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. 18+. GambleAware.org
New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. Min deposit £10. 18+. GambleAware.org
The meeting
King George VI Chase 2026: Kempton's Boxing Day Showpiece
Christmas in jump racing means Kempton. The Ladbrokes King George VI Chase is the centrepiece of the Ladbrokes Christmas Festival, run over three miles and 18 fences on Saturday 26 December 2026, with the off scheduled for 2.30pm. The record book reads like a roll of honour: Desert Orchid won it four times, Kauto Star five.
Kempton is right-handed and flat, and the question every Boxing Day is whether the best staying chasers handle it as well as they handle Cheltenham. Fifteen horses have won the race more than once, which tells you that a horse who takes to the track tends to keep taking to it. Our Kempton racecourse guide covers the layout.
The 2025 running was a thriller. Ben Pauling's The Jukebox Man, owned by Harry Redknapp and ridden by Ben Jones, held Banbridge by a nose at 7/1, with Gaelic Warrior another nose away in third. The joint-favourites, Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie, both 9/4, were beaten, as was Fact To File at 3/1. Banbridge had won the race in 2024 for Joseph O'Brien.
The supporting card is strong. The Grade 1 Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle over two miles comes at 1.55pm and the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Novices' Chase at 1.20pm. Day two, on Sunday 27 December, is built around the Kauto Star Novices' Chase. Runners and results for every race appear on our Kempton racecards once the fields are declared.
The market
King George Odds: Who Heads the Ante-Post Betting
Willie Mullins's Gaelic Warrior heads the ante-post market. He arrives as the reigning Gold Cup winner, having beaten Jango Baie by eight lengths at Cheltenham in March 2026, but he was one of the two beaten 9/4 joint-favourites in the 2025 King George, finishing third, beaten two noses. Whether Kempton's right-handed three miles suits him as well as Prestbury Park is the question the market has to answer.
King George VI Chase 2026 ante-postAt The Races (Gary Nutting), top prices: Gaelic Warrior best price; Banbridge with bet365 · 7 October 2026
Horse
Fractional
Decimal
Gaelic Warrior
11/4
3.75
Banbridge
25/1
26.00
Jango Baie, second in the Gold Cup and joint-favourite here twelve months earlier, misses the King George after a setback, according to At The Races. That leaves Banbridge as the obvious form horse from the 2025 race: a winner in 2024 and beaten only a nose in 2025, he has proved himself round Kempton twice. He will be ten on Boxing Day, which, as the trends section shows, is older than any recent winner.
Ante-post prices are almost always all-in, run or not: if your horse misses the race, the stake is lost. Some bookmakers switch to non-runner no bet in the final weeks before the race, so weigh the bigger early price against that protection. Our ante-post betting guide explains how.
● Live odds
Today’s racing: best prices
Prices updated 12:01 · Odds can change
William Hill Epic Boosts Novices' Limited Handicap Steeple Chase2m4f44y · Good · 9 runners
18+. Prices via The Racing API; check the price on the bet slip before you bet. GambleAware.org
Prices are as published by At The Races on 7 October 2026 and will move as the declarations firm up. Today's British racing and live prices are shown above.
Race times
Kempton Boxing Day Race Times and the Christmas Card
Saturday 26 December 2026: King George day
Time
Race
Grade
Distance
12.45pm
First race
1.20pm
Ladbrokes Wayward Lad Novices' Chase
Grade 2
2m
1.55pm
Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle
Grade 1
2m
2.30pm
Ladbrokes King George VI Chase
Grade 1
3m
3.40pm
Last race
Gates open at 10.30am. Kempton lists these times as subject to change, and the full card, with every runner and rider, is published on our today's racing page on the morning of the meeting.
Sunday 27 December 2026: Kauto Star Novices' Chase day
The second day takes its name from the Kauto Star Novices' Chase, the race for the best young staying chasers. Kempton publishes the full day-two card, with race times, nearer the meeting.
The wider Christmas programme
The Christmas fixtures were reshaped for 2026. The Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow moves to Bank Holiday Monday 28 December, removing its old 27 December clash with Kempton's second day. That gives racing fans, and ITV, a clean run of big days over the holiday; our Welsh Grand National betting page covers the Chepstow race.
Betting guide
How to Bet on the King George: BOG, Place Terms and Timing
The King George is rarely a big field, and that changes the arithmetic of each-way betting. Under the standard terms, as published by Unibet among others, a race of five to seven runners pays a quarter of the odds for two places, while eight or more runners in a non-handicap pays a fifth of the odds for three places. Eight ran in 2025. A field that cuts up from eight to seven on the morning of the race loses a place, and a late withdrawal can also bring a Rule 4 deduction, so check the declared runners before you bet each way. Our each-way calculator shows what the place part returns at either set of terms.
Open an account with a UK-licensed bookmaker. Our horse racing betting sites guide ranks them on racing terms rather than headline offers.
Claim the welcome offer before your first bet, entering the Promo Code at sign-up if the offer needs one, and read the minimum odds and expiry.
Opt in to Best Odds Guaranteed where required. Ladbrokes, for one, needs a one-off opt-in before BOG applies.
Time your bet.Best Odds Guaranteed usually starts on the morning of the race: 8am at bet365, Ladbrokes and Betfred, 10am at Virgin Bet. A price taken the night before is not covered.
Read the form. Our guide to reading a racecard explains the figures, and the going guide explains how the ground, good in 2025, changes the test.
Choose the bet type. A win single or each-way bet on the King George, or a multiple across the Kempton card, priced up first on our bet calculator.
Bookmaker or exchange?
In a small, high-class field the market is efficient, and exchange prices can be bigger than fixed odds on the favourite. The drawback is that there is no Best Odds Guaranteed on an exchange and commission comes off winnings. Our betting exchange guide explains how to compare the two.
Set a budget before Boxing Day and stick to it. Free, confidential help is available at GambleAware.org.
The Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle and the handicaps on the card are better each-way propositions than the King George itself; see our extra places guide and handicap races explained for how to approach them.
History
King George Winners and Kempton Trends
Year
Winner
Jockey
Trainer
2025
The Jukebox Man (7/1)
Ben Jones
Ben Pauling
2024
Banbridge
Paul Townend
Joseph O'Brien
2023
Hewick
Gavin Sheehan
John Joseph Hanlon
2022
Bravemansgame
Harry Cobden
Paul Nicholls
2021
Tornado Flyer
Danny Mullins
Willie Mullins
2020
Frodon
Bryony Frost
Paul Nicholls
2019
Clan Des Obeaux
Sam Twiston-Davies
Paul Nicholls
2018
Clan Des Obeaux
Harry Cobden
Paul Nicholls
2017
Might Bite
Nico de Boinville
Nicky Henderson
2016
Thistlecrack
Tom Scudamore
Colin Tizzard
Kauto Star holds the record with five wins (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011). Ruby Walsh rode him every time, which makes Walsh the leading jockey.
Paul Nicholls is the leading trainer with 13 wins, four of them in the ten runnings listed above, though none since Bravemansgame in 2022.
Fifteen horses have won the race more than once, Desert Orchid four times among them, and Clan Des Obeaux is the most recent to win it back to back.
Every winner from 2016 to 2025 was aged six, seven or eight. The Jukebox Man was seven in 2025.
The Christmas Hurdle has gone to Nicky Henderson and Nico de Boinville five years running: Epatante in 2021, Constitution Hill in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and Sir Gino, at 4/7, in 2025.
Betting angles
King George Chase Tips: Angles from the Record Book
No selections here until the field is declared, but the record book offers a few useful filters.
Age is the first question
Ten consecutive winners between 2016 and 2025 were aged between six and eight. That is a stiff hurdle for Banbridge, who will be ten on Boxing Day. At The Races' Gary Nutting makes the counter-argument, pointing out that plenty of great staying chasers have won top races at eleven and older. His course form is hard to argue with; his age is harder to ignore.
Course form travels
Fifteen dual winners tell you that Kempton suits a certain type, and that horses who handle it tend to keep handling it. Banbridge won in 2024 and missed out by a nose in 2025; Clan Des Obeaux won in 2018 and 2019. A proven Kempton horse at a double-figure price deserves a second look, especially each way in a field of eight or more.
Favourites have been vulnerable
The 2025 joint-favourites, Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie, were both beaten by a 7/1 shot, and Banbridge, second, was a 16/1 chance. A Gold Cup winner at a short price is a strong candidate, but the 2025 result is a reminder that Kempton can undo a big reputation.
Follow the yard in form
Seven different trainers won the ten runnings from 2016 to 2025, and Willie Mullins, whose Gaelic Warrior leads the betting, has won it once in that period. Check stable form on our racing data pages in the fortnight before Christmas; a yard in good heart in December is worth more than a reputation.
TV and streaming
How to Watch the King George VI Chase
ITV Racing has the King George live. Under the Christmas schedule agreed between the BHA, ITV and Entain, ITV shows racing on four consecutive days from 26 to 29 December 2026, taking in Kempton on Boxing Day and the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on 28 December.
Most bookmakers also stream British racing in their apps. Virgin Bet streams every British and Irish race to customers with a funded account, with no bet needed on the race; bet365 needs a funded account or a bet in the previous 24 hours, and some races also need a qualifying bet. Check the streaming rules before relying on a phone for the 2.30pm.
Where to bet
King George Free Bets: Choosing a Boxing Day Bookmaker
In a small field, the concessions that matter are Best Odds Guaranteed and the streaming rules, not extra places. The four bookmakers above were picked on that basis; full welcome terms sit alongside each offer.
bet365: Best Odds Guaranteed from 8am on British and Irish races, with no published cap on the extra winnings.
Ladbrokes: sponsor of the race and the whole Christmas Festival. BOG runs from 8am, but only after a one-off opt-in, and the extra payout is capped at £10,000 a day.
Virgin Bet: BOG from 10am and free streams of every British and Irish race for funded accounts.
Betfred: BOG from 8am with no opt-in and no published cap, plus Extra Place and Super Extra Place races on the supporting handicaps and bonuses on Lucky 15s across the Christmas cards.
After Christmas, the jumps season builds towards March. Our Cheltenham betting offers page covers the Festival, where the King George form is tested again in the Gold Cup.
Questions
King George VI Chase betting FAQs
When is the King George VI Chase 2026?
Saturday 26 December 2026 at Kempton Park, with the off scheduled for 2.30pm. Gates open at 10.30am and the first race is at 12.45pm.
How long is the King George VI Chase?
About three miles, with 18 fences, on Kempton's right-handed track. It is a Grade 1 chase.
Who won the King George in 2025?
The Jukebox Man, trained by Ben Pauling, ridden by Ben Jones and owned by Harry Redknapp. He beat Banbridge by a nose at 7/1, with Gaelic Warrior a nose further back in third; Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie were the 9/4 joint-favourites.
Who is the favourite for the 2026 King George?
Gaelic Warrior heads the ante-post betting at a top price of 11/4, according to At The Races on 7 October 2026. Prices will move as the race approaches.
Which horse has won the King George the most times?
Kauto Star, with five wins between 2006 and 2011. Desert Orchid won it four times. Paul Nicholls is the most successful trainer with 13 wins.
What channel is the King George on?
ITV Racing, which shows racing on four consecutive days from 26 to 29 December 2026. Many bookmakers also stream the race to funded accounts.
How many places does the King George pay each way?
It depends on the number of runners. Under standard terms, five to seven runners pays two places at a quarter of the odds; eight or more pays three places at a fifth. Bookmakers can offer more on the day, so check the bet slip.
Is the Welsh Grand National on the same day?
No. From 2026 the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow is run on Monday 28 December, two days after the King George.
