The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is one of the main reasons why Boxing Day in Australia is so great.
Just over 100 yachts will cast off from Sydney Harbour at 1pm on Tuesday afternoon and the 73rd edition of the Sydney to Hobart looms as a typically exciting spectacle.
Sydney To Hobart market order currently has 2015 winner LDV Comanche as a $2 favourite to claim line honours, ahead of eight-time champion Wild Oats XI ($3), the Queensland-owned Black Jack ($5) and defending champion Infotrack ($6).
Neds is offering a range of unique and lucrative betting markets on the 2017 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, further to Line Honours!
Line Honours
A small number of yachts in the Sydney to Hobart fleet each year are capable of claiming line honours, but we are set for the most exciting edition of the race for several years with four live hopes of claiming the coveted title.
LDV Comanche
It has been twenty years since Jim Cooney tasted Sydney to Hobart success with Brindabella, but the veteran is set for a return to the top of the podium after purchasing former race winner LDV Comanche from her US-based owners.
Comanche’s record in the Sydney to Hobart is excellent – she finished 49 minutes behind Wild Oats XI when brand new in 2014, before returning to win the race a year later.
2017 has been a particularly glittering year for LDV Comanche; she won the Rolex Fastnet Race in Augutst before taking out all four races in the Maxi Rolex Cup. She smashed several records along the way, including the 2225 Transpac Monohull record and the Transatlantic record.
She is a justifiable race favourite and with the correct conditions, will prove extremely difficult to beat in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart.
BET NOW: LDV Comanche
Wild Oats XI
Wild Oats XI has won the Sydney to Hobart a record eight times and looms as a serious threat once more in 2017.
Having dominated the race since her maiden appearance in 2005, when she also became the first yacht since foundation winner ‘Rani’ to take out the treble (line honours, handicap and race record), Wild Oats XI has suffered terrible luck in recent years and has been forced to retire from the two most-recent editions of the famed race.
This is her second attempt at line honours since undergoing radical changes that saw her bow lengthened and stern shortened and while her preparation for this race has not been as strong as in previous campaigns, she boasts one of the fleet’s most experienced crews, led by Mark Richards and should would not look out of place in the winner’s circle again.
BET NOW: Wild Oats XI
Black Jack
Formerly Alpha Romeo, Black Jack has been privy to a number of excellent performances in 2017 and represents value on the third line of Sydney to Hobart betting.
The 2009 Sydney to Hobart winner was unlucky to go down to Wild Oats XI in the recent Sydney Gold Coast, but she has since saluted in both the Cabbage Tree Island Race and Bird Island Race and was the first of the four Super Maxis in this year’s field to be completely ready to race on Boxing Day.
Similarly to Wild Oats XI, she stands her best chance of beating the likes of LDV Comanche and Infotrack if strong winds are not prevalent in Bass Strait, but she remains a live threat regardless of conditions.
BET NOW: Black Jack
Infotrack
Infotrack capitalised on Wild Oats XI’s hydraulic lift issues to claim line honours in last year’s Sydney to Hobart race, but she broke the race record in the process and probably would have claimed victory regardless of her rival’s misfortunes.
Formerly Perpetual Loyal, Infotrack has been purchased by software heavyweight Christian Beck ahead of the 2017 Sydney to Hobart and has been extremely competitive in each Sydney to Hobart, in which she hasn’t run into poor luck.
Similarly to Wild Oats XI, her experienced crew is likely to play a key role in her success in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart and she represents terrific value at current odds to defend the title.
BET NOW: Infotrack
Overall (Handicap)
The Tattersalls Cup is considered Australia’s foremost offshore sailing prize and is awarded to the handicap winner of the Sydney to Hobart.
Unlike line honours, every yacht in the Sydney to Hobart fleet effectively has a chance of winning the Tattersalls Cup, though it is generally claimed by a yacht in a class just below the Supermaxis.
Overall Sydney to Hobart betting is far-more competitive and subsequently, there’s plenty of value to be found.
Beau Geste ($7)
Karl Kwok has experienced plenty of success with several different incarnations of Beau Geste for more than two decades and is a live chance of claiming this year’s Tattersall’s Cup.
The Botin 80 has been outstanding throughout the last two years and won the 2016 Groupama Race in New Caledonia after finishing second on the line to fellow Sydney to Hobart contestant Scallywag, before
Beau Geste’s international crew is rich in experience and she looms as a major threat of claiming overall honours in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart.
BET NOW: Beau Geste
Quest ($21)
A multiple overall winner previously, Quest will take her place in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart field and represents outstanding value at $21 to claim handicap honours once more.
The story of ownership, sailing and success of this yacht is interesting, but extremely convoluted. In a nutshell, she has twice won overall honours in the Sydney to Hobart whilst named Quest (2009) and Balance (2015) and remains a constant in local and international regattas.
This year, Quest will be skippered by 2009 winner Bob Steel alongside Mike Green; a multiple winner in his own right. She is simply over the odds at her current handicap quote.