Boat Race 2024 Odds: Oxford set to start as Betting Favourites

The 169th edition of the University Boat Race will take place along the River Thames on Easter Saturday, as the Oxford and Cambridge teams take on one another in one of the most famous races on water.

We take you through the headline participants, where and when to watch along with the all-important latest Boat Race 2024 odds from our colleagues over on the main Betfred website…

Where and when to watch on TV:

The Boat Race spent a short time over on ITV between 2005 and 2009 but has been back on the BBC since 2010 and the broadcaster secured a new four-year deal to show the event live on BBC One in 2022. This edition will be the third of four years as part of this current contract.

Coverage will begin at 14:00 and they’ll show all four races set to take place, along the river that splits London in two.

It will be the 78th edition of the Women’s Boat Race that will be the first to go. That is set to start at 14:46 with the Light Blues of Cambridge looking to secure their seventh straight victory, having won in every contest since 2017. It is they who hold a 47-30 all-time record

This will be followed by the Osiris vs Blondie Race, which is made up of the reserve crews from both universities, which is set for a 15:01 start time.

Following that, we head over to the men’s side and they go with the reserve crews first as the Isis vs Goldie Race is set to get under way at 15:16.

Last on the ledger is the 169th edition of the Men's Race. The build-up to the men’s race with Clare Balding and the team will include plenty of features on the backgrounds of all the crew, with the starting pistol set to be triggered at 15:46.

Crews:

On the women’s side, Cambridge only return Jenna Armstrong from the victorious crew of a year ago. Oxford bring back Ella Sadler, Claire Aitken and Sarah Marshall.

For the men, Oxford only have James Doran back in the boat. He’ll be looking to avenge the loss of a year ago along with his new crewmates.

Cambridge though bring back no fewer than five of the team that rowed to victory over the Championship course back in 2023, although several of them are in new positions.

Sebastian Benzecry has moved from the Bow with Matt Edge going from the Stroke seat to the front of the boat. Thomas Lynch and Noam Mouelle also have new spots, with Luca Ferraro remaining in the seventh seat.

Boat Race 2024 Odds:

On the men's side, Cambridge won a year ago and they return over half of their crew, therefore you would expect them to be the red-hot favourites but it is in fact the Dark Blues of Oxford who are the 1/2 top choice in the betting.

The Light Blues of Cambridge are available to back at a pretty tasty 13/8. If you fancy the race to end in a Dead Heat, then you can back that outcome at 100/1.

Surprisingly, despite having tasted defeat on seven-straight occasions, the Women's crew for Oxford are also the favourites, coming in at 8/13 with the female Cambridge crew available to back at 13/10. The Dead Heat can be backed at 100/1.

You can check out all of our Special Betting Tips on our Specials page...