SPOTY 2023: Frankie Dettori 3/1 fav after landing second Classic in retirement season

• Frankie Dettori the early 3/14.00 fav to win SPOTY

• Trio of England cricketers prominent in market

• No Lionesses fancied despite upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup

Jockey Frankie Dettori is the early 3/14.00 favourite to win the 2023 Sports Personality of the Year award after he won his second Classic of the season in what is his final year of riding.

The 52-year-old announced his intention to retire from race riding in December 2022, stating that he would ride around the world in 2023, and that the current UK Flat season would be his last in England before possibly having his final rides at the Breeders' Cup in November.

At the top of his game

However, Dettori is riding so well currently that there are suggestions that he may reconsider his decision to retire.

The flamboyant Italian has already won two of the English Classics, riding Chaldean to success in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket before recently winning the Epsom Oaks aboard Soul Sister.

With big race meetings looming, some hihg profiles wins at the likes of Royal Ascot, Newmarket's July meeting, and Glorious Goodwood would go a long way to ensuring Dettori will still be one of the market leaders to win SPOTY come awards night in December.

But you sense that definitely retiring will be the key to winning the award given that SPOTY has a history of handing the prize to big name sports stars in their final year of competing, a la Ryan Giggs in 2009.

Ashes victory will help 4/1 Stokes

Ben Stokes is currently the 4/15.00 second favourite to win SPOTY, odds that will surely shorten should he lead England to Ashes glory this summer.

But perhaps more significant is that the 2023 Cricket World Cup will conclude just weeks before SPOTY, and should Stokes play well in that then 'recency bias' could play a big part in helping him win the award for the second time.

Stokes won SPOTY in 2019 after he famously guided England to Cricket World Cup glory before producing one of the best batting performances in Test Match history in helping England win the third Ashes Test against Australia.

Retirement and Ashes to prove key?

Five of the first six in the 2023 SPOTY betting are either sports stars set to retire this year, or those expected to play key roles in the upcoming Ashes series.

As well as Dettori, cyclist Mark Cavendish has also announced that this will be his final year of competition, and his odds of 12/113.00 could shorten should he have another successful Tour de France, most notably in the Sprint stages.

And Stokes' England teammates Joe Root 14/115.00 and James Anderson 16/117.00 have also been cautiously priced up in anticpation of either men playing starring roles in the Ashes and/or the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury is 12/113.00 to win SPOTY but surprsingly there are no England Lionesses prominent in the market despite England being 10/34.33 second favourites to win the Women's World Cup this summer.

To Win SPOTY 2023:

- Frankie Dettori 3/14.00
- Ben Stokes 4/15.00
- Mark Cavendish 12/113.00
- Tyson Fury 12/113.00
- Joe Root 14/115.00
- James Anderson 16/117.00
- BAR 25/126.00

*Sportsbook odds correct as of 10:00 Sunday 4 June