The 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year gala night might seem a long way off yet but that gives us plenty of time to mull over a few possible bets for the pre-Christmas extravaganza.
Steve Davies' Sports Personality of the Year Tips
Keely Hodgkinson to win @ 25/1
Andy Murray each-way @ 25/1
Zharnel Hughes each-way @ 25/1
Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.
Setting the scene...
BBC Sports Personality of the Year is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar and there is a familiar, yet soon-to-be-retired, name in line to win the award for 2023.
Twenty-seven years after making the frame, racing great Frankie Dettori is 3/1 to sign off his farewell year by lifting the trophy for the first time with Ben Stokes available at 6/1 and Mark Cavendish 8/1.
There will be very many market moves between now and Wednesday 20th December when the gongs are handed out, so this might be a good time to look further down the lists for some value.
| What | BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
| Where | Media City, Salford |
| When | Wednesday 20th December, 2023 |
| How to watch | Live on BBC1 |
| Odds | Frankie Dettori 3/1, Ben Stokes 6/1, Mark Cavendish 8/1, Joe Root 20/1, Tyson Fury 20/1, Rory McIlroy 20/1, James Anderson 22/1 |
Keely Hodgkinson to win @ 25/1
It needs a few things to go right, but Keely Hodgkinson is a tempting price at 25/1, given her talent.
The middle-distance runner is making great strides at 800m and is the fastest in the world over two laps this year.
The 21-year-old British record holder was crowned European champion last year, European Indoor champion this year and will be, fitness permitting, among the clear favourites for gold at the World Championships in Hungary.
Crucially, the BBC are covering those games and it's worth noting that 18 athletes have won SPOTY honours, more than twice as many as any other sport.
Steve Davies' Tip
You wait 15 years for a woman to be crowned Sports Personality of the Year and then they go back-to-back courtesy of Emma Raducanu and Beth Mead.
So why not the hat-trick courtesy of 25/1 chance Hodgkinson?
She may well need to take gold at this autumn's World Championships (on the BBC, which is a huge uptick) but the formbook says she has every chance.
Andy Murray @ 25/1 each-way
One thing is for sure is that if Andy Murray can make his way onto the BBC's shortlist - and elite alternatives don't look abundant this year - then he becomes a major runner.
The public love a Wimbledon winner and Murray has done it twice. Sure the last one was back in 2016, but he remains a constant favourite, especially now at the venerable age of 36 as he continues to battle his way up the rankings.
Summer tournament wins in Surbiton and Nottingham gilded the public's love for the Scottish former world No.1 and if affection and longevity are Dettori's trump card, then surely Murray has the same attributes.
Steve Davies' Tip
Four times in the last 10 years a tennis player has won SPOTY - and three of those triumphs belonged to Murray.
Once a polarising figure among sports fans, now it seems everybody loves Murray and at 25/1, you just know he'll pool plenty of public votes if he makes the list.
Zharnel Hughes @ 25/1 each-way
If it's worth taking a chance on Keely Hodgkinson doing well in Hungary, then the same method could pay off with Zharnel Hughes.
No one has run faster this year than sprinter Hughes, whose stunning 9.83 mark in New York in June saw him leapfrog Linford Christie at the top of the British lists.
Now he has to translate that speed into a medal in Budapest and he has to have every chance.
Steve Davies' Tip
As explained above, athletes have a proud record in SPOTY bunfights. Christie himself, the man Hughes has finally wiped from the record books, finished second and first in successive years in the early 1990s.
Hughes is fast and (at the time of writing) fit, which hasn't always been a given.
Suddenly he looks a contender for gold and that makes him a contender for this at 25/1.
Steve Davies' Sports Personality of the Year tips
Keely Hodgkinson to win @ 25/1
Andy Murray each-way @ 25/1
Zharnel Hughes each-way @ 25/1
Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.
