Frankie Dettori 2024 odds: Jockey retirement plans on hold with move to US

Jockey Frankie Dettori has gone back on his intention to retire from the saddle and will instead head to California to ride full-time in America after Christmas.

bet365 have compiled a market on the jockey to accomplish a few feats in 2024 after his announcement, including some Royal Ascot and British riding bets as he may be tempted to come back to the UK for a few big rides.

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What could Dettori do next?

Frankie Dettori retirement odds

• To ride a winner at Royal Ascot 2024 - 6/4
• To ride the winner of the Kentucky Derby 2024 - 16/1
• To ride the winner of the Santa Anita Derby 2024 - 8/1
• To ride the winner of the Santa Anita Handicap 2024 - 10/1
• To ride a British Group 1 winner in 2024 - 5/2
• To ride a US Grade 1 winner in 2024 - 5/4

Retirement U-turn

There had been rumblings of what Dettori would do after his final ride in Britain which the jockey always earmarked as the Champions Day at Ascot.

He confirmed that he plans to carry on riding to the Racing Post on 12th October as well as announcing his move to the United States on his social media platforms.

After Ascot's meeting he will be heading to California to ride out of Santa Anita.

Dettori told the Racing Post: "I feel like I still have to get it all out of my system, so the obvious choice for me is to move back full-time to America because I had such a good time there over the winter."

The jockey also commented on how well his farewell season went having ridden some big winners just like he often does.

Almost straight away he landed the British Classic, the 2,000 Guineas for the fourth time on board Chaldean in May as well as getting more wins at York's Ebor meeting in August.

Dettori won the feature event on Absurde, trained by Willie Mullins, and also claiming victories on Kinross in the City of York Stakes and with Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International.

It was then that Dettori started to question whether there was still gas in the tank.

He explained: "I didn't expect to have one of my best years for a long time. I thought my rides would fizzle out and that I would slowly head towards the sunset."

Remaining British appearances

Dettori won on Inspiral in the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket and the Cheveley Park-owned four-year-old is one of four excellent chances he could have at Ascot on Champions Day on Saturday 21st October.

Inspiral is 6/1 to follow up with another victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

York winner and progressive six-year-old Kinross is the 2/1 favourite for the Champions Sprint as the Ralph Beckett-trained gelding has been in incredible form since 2022, with six of his nine wins all coming in the last 14 months.

Dettori could also get the mount on the 5/1 shot King of Steel in the Champion Stakes as well as Courage Mon Ami, who is a big price at 6/1 for the Long Distance Cup.

Future plans abroad

Dettori is also set to feature in the big races in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and has also not ruled out riding at Royal Ascot 2024 or in other major European occasions, but clarified he will only do so if his US calendar permits it.

Dettori won't be retained by any specific stable in America and will be looking to ride for a variety of trainers across the season and country.

Focus of course will be on the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, which starts just a couple of weeks after Champions Day on Friday 3rd November.

The 52-year-old plans to head to Australia after the Breeders' Cup in an attempt to secure his first Melbourne Cup before a ride out at Sha Tin in Hong Kong.

His permanent move to America will commence in December and the three-time British champion jockey will then focus solely on the US domestic scene with the main goal and dream being to gain a big chance on a horse in the Kentucky Derby, on Saturday 4th May.

Dettori explained: "It's all about being a freelance in the States but I hope to be riding for everyone, just like I did when I went out there at the end of last year."

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