SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Ahead of tonight’s Rose of Tralee, Paddy Power and its number crunchers have put together a comprehensive study on the festival.
The bookie’s research has revealed that Luxembourg tops the charts in terms of wins per size of its Irish community, with one victory from a tiny pool of 20,000. Tralee itself is next on the list, with one win per 47,000, with Waterford’s two triumphs giving it a batting average of one win per 56,898.
At the other end of the scale Texas has managed to produce a measly one winner from its sizeable Irish population of 2,909,301, while Canada are also amongst the underachievers, with its two winners giving the nation one win per 2,177,000 Irish Diaspora.
Paddy Power’s statistics reveal that there is a direct link between having an Irish sounding name and victory, with 77 per cent of winners having an Irish surname, while only 10 per cent had a name that fits into the ‘Not Irish at all category’.
As for occupations, the bookie has found that the ‘Copper’s’ professions such as students, nurses and teachers have come out on top while bank workers fared well in the past. Elsewhere, 76 per cent of previous winners have been brunette, 42 per cent have represented an Irish region, and the average age of a winning rose is 24.5.
Aidan Elder, Paddy Power’s Chief Lovely Girls Competition Writer, said “The Rose of Tralee is like Garth Brooks’ popularity in Ireland – you feel mildly embarrassed explaining it to a foreigner, but that doesn’t mean you’re not interested in it. We’ve slaved over the stats for an entire week and they’re sure to influence how we price the competition in future.”
Cork Rose, Anna Geary, currently tops the betting at 7/2, just ahead of Carlow Rose, Miriam Smyth, and Philadelphia Rose, Maria Walsh, both at 4/1. The Rose of Tralee Festival is celebrating its 55th birthday this year. Thirty-two Roses will represent centres in Abu Dhabi, England, mainland Europe, Ireland, Australia and the United States.
