Clockwise or Anticlockwise: Australian Metro Tracks Compared
Sydney and Brisbane race right-handed; Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth race left-handed. Across 21,601 metro races, the favourite barely noticed the difference.
Written by Saskia van der BergHorse Racing Tips specialist
- Sport
- Horse Racing
- Question
- Do favourites win more often on Australia's clockwise metropolitan tracks (Sydney, Brisbane) or the anticlockwise ones (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth)?
- Survey
- Australian and New Zealand thoroughbred racing, 2020-2025; 13 metropolitan tracks, 21,601 races
- 33.4%Clockwise metro favourites won
- 33.9%Anticlockwise metro favourites won
- โ0.5 ptsClockwise minus anticlockwise
- 21,601Metro races analysed
My grandfather insisted that a horse's way of going mattered more than most punters allow, and in Australia direction divides the country neatly. Sydney and Brisbane race clockwise. Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth race anticlockwise. I wanted to know whether that split changes how often the market's choice actually wins.
The headline answer is no, or close enough to no. On 13 metropolitan tracks, favourites won 33.4% of 9,211 clockwise races and 33.9% of 12,333 anticlockwise races. That is a gap of โ0.5 points, and it sits comfortably inside the noise. The useful detail sits further down, in particular distances. That is where I spend my time before I turn to the horse racing results today page.
Ground 1Favourites won slightly more than priced either way
Each dumbbell sets the market's implied chance against what happened. Clockwise favourites were priced at 32.8% and won 33.4%. Anticlockwise favourites were priced at 33.3% and won 33.9%. Both outperformed their prices by the same +0.6 points, so neither direction is mispriced relative to the other.
The combined 95% range on the difference is ยฑ1.3 points, which is more than twice the gap itself. Fair odds work out at 2.99 clockwise and 2.95 anticlockwise. In practical terms those two prices are the same.
View the data: metro favourites: priced vs won by direction
| Priced | Won | 95% range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Australian races (102,137 favourites) | 34.9% | 35.1% | ยฑ0.3 |
| All metro races (21,544 favourites) | 33.1% | 33.7% | ยฑ0.6 |
| Clockwise (Sydney, Brisbane) (9,211 favourites) | 32.8% | 33.4% | ยฑ1 |
| Anticlockwise (Melb, Adel, Perth) (12,333 favourites) | 33.3% | 33.9% | ยฑ0.8 |
The more striking line is the top one. Across all 102,472 Australian races the favourite won 35.1%, but at metro level that falls to 33.7%. Deeper, stronger city fields dilute the market leader far more than the direction of the turns does.
Ground 2Winners came from the same market positions
If direction shaped races in some hidden way, the order of finish in the betting might show it. It does not. The second favourite won 19.7% of clockwise races and 19.4% of anticlockwise ones. Horses fourth or bigger in the market won 32.9% in both groups.
View the data: where the winner came from in the betting
| Favourite | 2nd in betting | 3rd in betting | 4th or bigger | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clockwise | 33.4% | 19.7% | 14.0% | 32.9% |
| Anticlockwise | 33.9% | 19.4% | 13.8% | 32.9% |
That last figure matters to an each-way player like me. About a third of metro winners come from outside the first three in the betting on both sides of the country. Average fields of 9.8 runners clockwise and 10.1 anticlockwise leave plenty of room for a mispriced horse to place.
Ground 3Year by year the lines keep crossing
A real directional effect should hold a consistent order over time. Instead, clockwise favourites ranged between 31.6% and 34.9% and anticlockwise ones between 32.5% and 34.7%. The two lines swap places more than once.
In 2025 the figures were 33.4% clockwise and 34.7% anticlockwise. A single season like that is easy to over-read, and the full run of years does not support reading much into it.
View the data: metro favourite win % by year and direction
| Clockwise | Anticlockwise | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 32.5% | 34.7% |
| 2021 | 34.9% | 33.5% |
| 2022 | 31.6% | 34.1% |
| 2023 | 34.9% | 33.8% |
| 2024 | 32.9% | 32.5% |
| 2025 | 33.4% | 34.7% |
Ground 4Distance is where the two directions part
This heatmap is the most interesting part of the file. In sprints up to 1050m, favourites won 36.3% clockwise against 34.7% anticlockwise. Over 1900-2250m, clockwise favourites led again at 34.9% against 32.9%. Then the order flips sharply at 2300m and beyond, where anticlockwise favourites won 33.2% and clockwise ones only 29.5%.
The main caveat belongs here. Direction lines up exactly with state, because New South Wales and Queensland race clockwise and everyone else races the other way. A pattern by distance could therefore reflect local staying programmes, prize money or field quality as easily as the turns themselves.
Smallest cell: 241 favourites.
View the data: favourite win % by direction and distance
| โค1050m | 1100-1250 | 1300-1450 | 1500-1850 | 1900-2250 | 2300m+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clockwise | 36.3% | 34.5% | 32.1% | 31.9% | 34.9% | 29.5% |
| Anticlockwise | 34.7% | 34.4% | 33.8% | 33.2% | 32.9% | 33.2% |
Some of these cells are thin, and the smallest holds just 241 favourites. I treat the staying split as something to check against the form, not something to bet on blind.
Ground 5Clockwise middle-distance favourites returned a profit
Backing every metro favourite at the starting price returned +1.4% clockwise and +2.0% anticlockwise, before commission. The spread across distances is much wider on the clockwise side, running from โ3.8% to +10.9%. Anticlockwise returns stayed between โ1.8% and +4.1%.
View the data: backing every metro favourite by distance
| Clockwise | Anticlockwise | |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1050m | +0.2% | โ1.8% |
| 1100-1250m | +2.4% | +2.9% |
| 1300-1450m | โ0.3% | +3.0% |
| 1500-1850m | โ0.9% | +2.0% |
| 1900-2250m | +10.9% | +2.6% |
| 2300m+ | โ3.8% | +4.1% |
| All distances | +1.4% | +2.0% |
The +10.9% at 1900-2250m clockwise is the number that will catch the eye. Given the sample sizes, I read it as a prompt to watch Sydney and Brisbane middle-distance favourites more closely, not as a standing edge.
Where to look
- Ignore direction on its own
Metro favourites won 33.4% clockwise and 33.9% anticlockwise, both beating their prices by +0.6 points. Direction alone does not tell you whether the price is wrong.
- Respect the clockwise sprinters
Up to 1050m, favourites won 36.3% on clockwise tracks. In Sydney and Brisbane dashes I am slower to oppose a short-priced horse unless the draw or the tempo argues against it.
- Question clockwise staying favourites
At 2300m and beyond, clockwise favourites won just 29.5% and returned โ3.8%. That is the kind of race where I look hardest at each-way value further down the market.
Questions bettors ask
Do favourites win more on clockwise or anticlockwise tracks in Australia?
Barely either way. At metro level favourites won 33.4% clockwise and 33.9% anticlockwise, a โ0.5 point gap that sits inside the ยฑ1.3 point margin of error.
How often does the favourite win at Australian metropolitan meetings?
Across all metro races the favourite won 33.7%, below the 35.1% seen across all Australian races. Fair odds are roughly 2.99 clockwise and 2.95 anticlockwise.
Is backing every metro favourite profitable?
At the starting price and before commission, it returned +1.4% clockwise and +2.0% anticlockwise. Returns swung widely by distance, from โ3.8% to +10.9% on clockwise tracks, so I would not treat it as a reliable system.
I'm Saskia van der Berg, based in Amsterdam, and I write the horse racing results and tips at horse-racing.tips โ read through the going, the draw and the pace, never the price of the favourite.
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