2024 Durban July Tips - Odds, draw, weights and three selections

All eyes will be on Greyville racecourse on Saturday, as 18 of the South Africa's finest flat racers battle it out in the 2024 Durban July.

South Africa's most famous horse race will take place today at 3:00pm (BST). Here's our complete guide to this year's Durban July, including the latest odds, weights, riders, the full draw and our best betting tips.

My first selection for this year's Durban July was FLAG MAN (14.5), who I put up at 12.5 and is currently available at a bigger price.

Flag Man is the least-exposed runner in the field, having only run six times in his career. After winning a maiden for Garth Puller, Gareth van Zyl moved to purchase this Flying The Flag gelding and Flag Man went on to win his first two starts for new connections.

On his first outing at group level, Flag Man pushed favourite Green With Envy all the way to the line in the Daily News 2000, losing out by a short-head. That effort earned Flag Man a massive hike in the ratings, but he and Green With Envy were running off level weights that day and Serino Moodley's mount will be getting 2.5kgs from his rival in the Durban July.

Being drawn out in stall 17 might not be ideal, but we've seen plenty of horses win and challenge from wide draws in recent years and Flag Man has the ideal profile for a race like the Durban July. 

I do think the older horses might struggle against the three-year-olds this year, and the three-year-old who looked most overpriced to me earlier in the week is PURPLE PITCHER (25.0).

Winless in his first four starts for Billy Ruiters, a move to Robyn Klaasen's yard sparked an upturn in form for this son of New Predator. Purple Pitcher won his next five races on the bounce, including a Grade Two triumph at Turffontein in November.

Having been beaten by that rival on his first start of the year, Purple Pitcher defeated Sandringham Summit in the SA Classic, before producing another strong, battling display to win the SA Derby over a mile-and-a-half.

Everything that could have gone went wrong for Klaasen's star on his prep in the Jubilee Stakes. I'm happy to put a line through that run. This longer trip will suit the strong-staying Purple Pitcher. If he can reach top gear before getting swamped by the closers, as it can take him a while to find his finishing stride, then I don't see why Philasande Mxoli's mount can't challenge for the win.

Durban July 2024 Top Offers

Winchester Mansion won the Dolphin's Cup Trial last year before going on to claim Durban July glory. The winner of that Group Three this year was his stablemate ORIENTAL CHARM (8.33), and trainer Brett Crawford seemed much more optimistic about his chances than Winchester Mansion's when he provided his Durban July quotes.

As Crawford said in that quote piece, Oriental Charm has improved with every start this season. Juan Paul van der Merwe's mount returned from a short break with a narrow defeat to another Durban July contender, Future Swing in the WSB 1900 and was far too strong for his rivals in the Dolphin's Cup, seeing the race out well from the front.

Oriental Charm was giving the older Future Swing a couple of kilos when they met in the WSB 1900 and Crawford's three-year-old will be getting a kilo from his rival on Saturday. Front-running types have a good record in the Durban July and, under a featherweight of just 53kg, Oriental Charm could be very hard to pass. He will be my final selection.

If you plan on watching this huge race via a mobile device, then check out our Durban July Live Streaming guide.