The Archer Tips, Betting, Odds, Horses & More 2025

The Archer is one of the newer races on the calendar and is run under the same format as The Everest. While The Archer isn’t a Group 1 race, the format, prize money and the fact the race is in Central Queensland, generate a lot of interest. 

The Archer has only been running since 2022 and we will go into more detail about the race’s short history in our “History” section further down on this page. Uniquely, The Archer takes place on a Sunday. This means the race now doesn’t clash with the Group 2, the Hollindale Stakes.

The Archer marks the unofficial start of Queensland’s Winter Racing Carnival, which sees some of the biggest Group One races on the calendar like the Doomben 10,000, the Doomben Cup, the Kingsford Smith Cup and the Stradbroke Handicap. These races take place across Doomben Racecourse and Eagle Farm Racecourse.

There are 12 slots in The Archer each year and the owners of each slot can choose the runner they would like to compete in their specific slot. The owner of the slot and the connections of the runner negotiate a deal concerning the prize money split.

It’s unsurprising to see races like The Archer pop up back off the success of The Everest. We see other similar races like The Archer and The Everest around the country, like The Quokka, which is raced at Ascot Racecourse.

You may not think of Rockhampton Racecourse as being one of the top tracks in the country, but it does hold several quality meetings each year. The Archer is also raced on the same weekend as the Robert Sangster Stakes and the Australasian Oaks, at Morphettville Racecourse.

On our page about The Archer, we will go through all the important details including how and where to bet. On top of this, we will also cover other aspects of the race, like the race’s (short) history, field information, results and more.

As well as this, don’t forget to come back to OnlyRacing.com.au during race week as we will have our expert The Archer tips hot off the presses! Each year our experts tip their best bet, next best and best roughie for The Archer. There’s something for everyone and we certainly don’t want you to miss out.

It has been recently announced that The Archer’s prize money will increase from $775,000 to $1,000,000 in 2025. We won’t know the exact breakdown of prize money until closer to the time. We will bring you this information when we have it confirmed. Until then, check out the breakdown of prize money when the race was worth $775,000 below:

Another race, another set of tips! We are always looking for key races to add to the list of races we tip for. While tipping a race that is as new as The Archer does present some challenges, we know our experts are up to it! If you want more than just tips for The Archer, we provide free horse racing tips for general racing, so you can check that out as well.

The Archer is a unique race and pieces of the field will be added into place as we get closer to race week. At this stage, our experts haven’t put together their tips for The Archer in 2015. They want to ensure the field is 100% confirmed before going through each and every runner to find their best picks. 

So, while you wait until the time is right, you can check out what our experts put together for the race in 2024 below:

The Archer Best Bet - Strait Acer

Boring little ‘ole me, picking the favourite again as my best bet, but I just can’t see anyone beating Strait Acer come Sunday! The Edward Cummings-trained runner has finished second in his last two starts and jumps as the $2.25 favourite. Looking at the field that’s on offer in this race, Strait Acer is the clear standout.

While he may have run into one better in his previous two races, I don’t think there’s anyone better than him this time out. He is a consistent performer and now is his time! He has competed at Group 1 level before, finishing third in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes. The distance suits him perfectly and gets a good gate. What more could you want?!

The Archer Next Best - Namazu

With the scratching of Better Get Set, I’ve settled on Namazu as my next best. The 6YO gelding is currently listed at odds of $9.00 and is on the second line of betting, with two other runners - one of which is my best roughie. 

Namazu put in a strong performance in Mackay last time out, winning by 1.8L. Since then, he trialled well at the Rockhampton track. He enjoys a dry track, with half of his wins coming from a dry deck. This will be Namazu’s first go in a Group 2, but he is a horse on the up, that’s for sure.

The Archer Best Roughie - Arentee

I could have interchanged Arentee and Namazu as my best roughie, especially considering they are currently both listed at the same price, but in the end, Arentee gets the honour of my best roughie for The Archer on Sunday.

Another last-start winner, this time at Doomben Racecourse with jockey Vlad Duric on board, winning by over 1L. Vlad Duric sticks for this race which is a big tick. The 5YO gelding is a major danger in the race and it wouldn’t surprise me to give the likes of Strait Acer a run for his money!

While The Archer may be a newer race, betting on this event is exactly the same as betting on any other. There are a couple of things we have picked up from our 10+ years when betting on horse racing and we would like to impart some wisdom to you to hopefully make your experience a more successful one.

When looking to bet on The Archer, you’ll probably notice two things:

1. There are several betting apps to choose from.
   
2. There are many different betting markets available.

With so many options available, it can become difficult to make a decision. This is where our bookie reviews come in. We can help you by providing heaps of information on all the top horse racing betting sites and then you can easily choose which bookie makes the most sense to you.

All Australian betting sites offer something a little bit different, sometimes the odds they are offering on the same runner are even different! Our reviews are comprehensive and even go through the different available betting markets. 

For The Archer, you’ll see plenty of markets to bet on. We recommend choosing a market that you feel comfortable with and fully understand. But that doesn’t mean you can’t expand your horizons. We go into detail about the different markets in our bookie reviews, so you can build up your knowledge and feel comfortable trying something new.

If you already have an account with a certain bookie, that doesn’t mean you can’t open up another account with a different bookie. In fact, this is something we recommend as it makes it easier to take advantage of betting sites bonuses,  betting promotions and so much more!

If you are looking for a place to start, you should check out BetGalaxy, TopSport and Unibet. They are some of the best betting apps going around, but if you want more than just three recommendations, you can check out our “Betting Sites” section above. We have over 20 bookies that are worthy of a look.

With the unique format, we can piece together The Archer field throughout the year. Slot holders like to lock in their runner as soon as they can and each confirmation brings us one step closer to finalising the entire field. 

Remember though, things are never set in stone and curveballs are always thrown in horse racing. This is why we prefer to wait until race week to provide you with all the 2025 field information, there is less time for any changes to take place!

As well as The Archer field for 2025, we will also provide the latest odds for the race in our “Odds” section on this page, if the odds are available. You’ll notice the odds will be shorter for the runners that have already confirmed their spot in the race and the odds will continue to change right up until it’s time for the jump.

Seeing though you’re already here, why don’t you check out the field that ran in The Archer in 2024 below:

In the third-ever running of The Archer, we saw the typical field of 12 runners and five emergencies confirmed for the race. In the end, we saw a few scratchings, including Better Get Set, as well as some of the emergencies, which meant that the fourth emergency, Hard Reyva, gained entry into the final field.

You’ll notice that scratchings are pretty common in horse racing. Almost every meeting will have at least one scratching in a race. There are several reasons why a runner may be scratched and it can happen almost out of the blue, so if you’ve placed a bet on the race, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on things.

Something else that is important to note is the barrier draw. The barrier each runner starts from can play a major role in the race. While we can’t really go off history for The Archer specifically to see which barriers are more successful than others, you can look at other races that take place on the Rockhampton Racecourse over a similar distance to get an idea of how the barriers influence things.

If going through heaps of data and statistics for a horse race to help you find a winner isn’t your thing, then you’ve come to the right place! In saying that though, The Archer hasn’t been running for very long, so there really isn’t a lot of data to look through! But we will still go through The Archer form guide as much as we can.

We have done our best to find some little nuggets of gold that will hopefully point you in the direction of a winner. As the years go by, there will be more data to sift through and we will see some patterns emerge. Check out what we have found so far in terms of form indicators!

With the way the track is set up and the massive 600m home straight, it gives runners a fair opportunity to kick on and win the race. It is still important to look into aspects like the barrier draw and speed map, as this could help give you an extra edge.

As The Archer is raced under weight-for-age conditions, it is a good idea to look for runners who have performed well in these types of races in the past. There is also usually a quality field, so you want to pick a runner who is proven black-type races. 

We will now go through some data from each of the winners and then hopefully over the years we will see a pattern emerge of what to look for in a potential winner! Check out what we have put together below:

• The first winner of The Archer was Emerald Kingdom who jumped from barrier two at odds of $11. The 7YO was contesting the race second-up from a Listed Race at Eagle Farm where he was unplaced. 
• The second winner of The Archer was Alpine Edge who jumped from barrier five at odds of $21. The 4YO ran 11th in his previous Listed Race at Eagle Farm. 
• The third winner of The Archer was Namazu who jumped from barrier 10 at odds of $16. The 6YO ran first in his previous Open Handicap race at Mackay.

The Archer follows a similar format as The Everest with slot holders putting down some serious coin to gain a slot in the race. This means the owners want the best runner possible to compete in their slot, for the greatest return on their investment. Even though the first race was in 2022, we still see some of the best runners in the country compete.

We have included every The Archer horse that has won the race in this section and we will add another profile to this section after the race each year. Check out the information below as we go through each of The Archer horse’s greatest wins and more:

Emerald Kingdom - 2022

Emerald Kingdom won the first edition of The Archer in 2022 and so far in his career, he has a record of 46:15-4-3. He has contested three Group 1s at this stage but has yet to place in any of them. Thanks to his win in The Archer, his prize money got a significant boost, now sitting at $1,319,175.

Alpine Edge - 2023

Like Emerald Kingdom, Alpine Edge has also contested three Group 1s in his career and is yet to place at Group 1 level. So far in his career, Alpine Edge has amassed almost $2 million in prize money and has a career record of 22:5-3-0.

Namazu - 2024

So far in Namazu’s career, he has only attempted one Group 3 race, where he was unplaced. He is yet to contest a Group 2 or a Group 1. Namazu has amassed a total of over $1 million in prize money and he has a record of 40:13-5-4 so far.

The Archer may be a new race, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bet on the race! You’ll find all the top horse racing betting apps in Australia will release their The Archer odds before the race, so you can get your bets sorted.

It is important to remember that once the odds are released, they will always be changing. Many factors go into changes in odds, so it’s a good idea to follow things and if you end up finding a price you like, jump on as soon as you can.

Our top recommended bookie, PlayUp, hasn’t released their odds for The Archer just yet. This means that you still aren’t able to place any bets for this race. When the time is right, you’ll find all their horse racing markets live on their site.

Keep an eye on what stage the market is in as well because if the market is stated at “Before Noms” then if your chosen horse doesn’t make the final field for some reason, you’ll get your stake back. It’s less likely that something like this will happen in a race like The Archer, due to runners being confirmed in slots, but it is still something to consider!

Check out The Archer odds in 2024 for the entire field below, which was taken just a couple of days before the race:

*Odds correct as of 27/04/2024.

This section on The Archer’s history may not necessarily be as long as other key races that have been running for a long time. The Archer has only been running since 2022, after all! While there isn’t a lot of history to go into, we will add to this section after each running of The Archer, to beef it up a bit.

The Archer is one of the more recent slot-based races that has been introduced within Australia and this race takes place in Central Queensland, shining a light on a racetrack and runners that you may not have necessarily heard about before. Some of the other slot-based races that take place in Australia include; The Everest, The Quokka and the All-Star Mile.

The race has already seen an increase in prize money since its inaugural running and has also moved from Saturday to Sunday. This move to a Sunday gives the race stand-alone status which is something the organisers wanted after the race clashed with the Hollindale Stakes (Group 2) on the Gold Coast. This means that jockeys no longer have to choose which meeting to go to.

Along with The Archer, there is a consolation race that takes place on the same day, The Fitzroy, which is worth $75,000. If a horse is scratched from The Archer, a lucky horse that is lined up to run in The Fitzroy will gain entry into the main event!

The Archer signals the start of the Queensland Winter Carnival, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest horse racing carnivals in the state. There are plenty of other quality races that take place during this carnival and if you’d like to learn more about any of those races, do check out our Group One races list!

We will bring you all The Archer results as soon as we can, so you can check where each runner finished in the latest race and relive all the action in the race replay. Even though The Archer has only been running since 2022, it still has already generated a lot of interest!

In 2024, we saw $16 long-shot Namazu win The Archer by 0.8L. Namazu was a last-start winner and was able to overcome the wide barrier to claim victory. In second place was Lavish Empire, ridden by Joshua Parr.

We saw massive closing speed from Mishani Sniper, who was last leading into the straight and ended up finishing in third place by 0.98L. The Archer was run in a time of 1:15.05 and there was a total of 14.1L that split the first and last runner.

Take a look at the table below for the full finishing order of The Archer:

If videos are more your thing, then we have good news for you! Relive all the action from The Archer in the full video replay below:

The Archer is still a relatively new race, but if you want to see which horse has won every edition, you’ve come to the right place! Check out all the details below:

We know you might still have some burning questions about The Archer. This is why we have put together one last section on this page, our The Archer FAQs section! Hopefully, all your questions will be answered below: