UK Horse Racing Tips

It’s time once again to focus on racing festivals, in this case the prestigeous Ebor Festival which takes place from the 17th to the 20th August. The four day race meeting isn’t quite the jewel in the crown of the flat racing season, but at the same time is steeped in history, dating back to 1843 in the form of the Ebor Handicap.

Much like other racing festivals, each day of the Ebor festival has feature races and a theme:

Wednesday – Juddmonte International Day
Thursday – Ladies’ Day
Friday – Nunthorpe Day
Saturday – Ebor Day

Some of the highlight races over these four days include the Great Voltigeur Stakes and Acomb Stakes on Wednesday, the Yorkshire Oaks on Thursday, the Nunthorpe Stakes, Gimcrack Stakes and Lonsdale Cup on Friday, and last but certainly not least the Ebor Handicap on Saturday.

The much anticipated Ebor Handicap is run over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs and has been won by a couple of decent priced winners in recent years. In 2014 Mutual Regard, ridden by Louis Steward and trained by Johnny Murtagh came in at an impressive 20-1. Last year those odds were overshadowed by the Joseph Tuite trained Litigant, winning at 33-1 with bookmakers. Of course both of these pale into insigifance if we go back to 2006, when Mudawin ridden by John Egan made a lucky few punters extremely happy by delivering them with a 100-1 winner.

As with any race with history to it noteworthy records stand out. In the case of the Ebor Handicap the leading jockey over the history of the race is Lester Piggot with five wins between 1958 (Gladness) and 1983 (Jupiter Island). Leading trainer is Tom Dawson, also with five wins. The Lonsdale Cup, also held on the penultimate day of the Ebor Festival, is another race that gets punters excited. It’s a group two race run over a distance of 2 miles and 88 yards. The most successful jockey over the course is Pat Eddery, riding five horses to victory between 1983 and 1999, and the leading trainer John Dunlop with five wins between 1987 and 2012.

I, along with many punters, will no doubt be having a flutter this time around too. I’m liking the look of Amour de Nuit in the Ebor Heritage handicap but will make a final betting decision on the day. I’ll try not to go too crazy mind you as I’m off to Great Yarmouth next month for three days of racing, and will pop into the casino while I’m there too. Roulette is my game of choice since the odds are comparatively good compared to most other casino games. I had a little flutter on the premier roulette game on M88 earlier to get in the swing of things. I tend to stick with a single number and hope for the best, rather than go for an (almost) even money option of red and black, or odd and even. My approach also brings with it the chance of a bigger win if my luck is in! A bit of an all or nothing attitude!

Horseracing is still one of the most loved sporting events on the planet and is a great British pastime. While everyone in the country likes a gamble now and then, whether it is on the weekly lotto, playing online poker on sites like All Jackpots Casino or betting on football, nothing beats a good flutter on Horse Racing!

2016 has proved to be an action packed year for the sport. The great AP McCoy received a knighthood and Rule the World won the Grand National at an astonishing 33/1 leaving punters everywhere delirious. It is thought that Take That fans, including Robbie Williams, won big thanks to the name of the horse.

But what does horseracing this year have in store for us?

The fixture list for next year includes an additional 14 new meetings taking the planned total to 1,496, the most since 2010. There will also be more evening races, much to the joy of punters. It is said that for the first time ever, we will see year-round racing on Saturday nights with Twilight fixtures on Thursday and Fridays now being held as evening fixtures. Although this comes at a cost as 11 floodlit fixtures are now required for those winter months, the new fixtures will see a rise in attendances and a rise in betting. Of course with it, betting brings an opportunity to win money so be sure to keep an eye for the new races and look out for the best odds.

New Year’s Day starts with ITV taking over from Channel 4 in bringing coverage of horseracing. ITV will kick-off the new era by screening Cheltenham’s New Year Day fixture. In addition to the Cheltenham race, there will also be events at Catterick Bridge, Exeter, Fakenham, Musselburgh and Southwell.

The first major event of the year is of course Cheltenham. The four-day festival will be held from Tuesday the 14^th of March until Friday the 17^th. The festival will kick off with Champion Day, followed by Ladies Day on the 15^th, with St. Patrick’s Thursday next up and then Gold Cup Day will conclude the festival. The famous event is expected to attract over 200,000 racegoers from around the world with over £500 million being gambled over the course of the festival.

The Grand National is known as one of the best horseraces in the world is the race everybody looks for upon fixture release. In 2017 the 170^th annual festival will commence on the 6^th of August and run until the 8^th of August. Grand Opening Day will see a host of exciting races as well as live music and entertainment, Ladies Day follows so make sure you have an eye for fashion on the 7^th. The Grand National will be held on the last day of the festival and will be watched over 600million people worldwide.

Another British course which is held in very high regard worldwide is of course Royal Ascot. In 2016 the total prize money across the five days was £6,580,000 and it is only set to increase next year. The 2017 event begins on the 20^th of June and runs until the 24^th. The 2016 tickets were snapped up quicker than ever so be sure to book early to avoid disappointment!

For all the latest Horse racing news, be sure to keep up with Horse Racing Tips.

In the 3.55 at Newbury on Friday, Dainty Diva has twice been placed in Group 3 company at Ascot and sets a decent standard, but Mrs Danvers beat 22 rivals in convincing style when winning the valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint over course and distance last month and could easily be Pattern class. Trainer Jonathan Portman has expressed surprise that the Hellvelyn filly, who went through the sales ring for just 1,000 guineas, has been allotted an official rating of 89, 9lb inferior to Dainty Diva, and she looks well worth a crack at some black type.

The form of the Weatherbys Super Sprint has yet to be fully tested, but the fifth, Spiritual Lady, won next time, as did the eighth, Simmie, and the thirteenth, Perfect Madge, so it’s probably safe to assume that it’s fairly reliable. Richard Kingscote, who has a 6-28 (21%) strike rate on juveniles for yard over the last five seasons, for a healthy level stakes profit of 62.50 points, takes over in the saddle, which can hardly be a bad thing.

Selection: Newbury 3.55 Mrs Danvers to win

In the 7.55 at Sandown on Thursday, North Yorkshire trainer Ruth Carr hasn’t had a runner at the Esher track during the last five seasons, so the fact that Chaplins Bay makes the 238-mile trek down the M1 may be a tip in itself. The Fastnet Rock gelding was beaten favourite in a 0-75 event at Musselburgh six days ago, but makes a quick reappearance and is reunited with regular partner James Sullivan, so may be able to regain the winning thread, even in this slightly higher grade.

His last win – in fact, his only win – came in a 0-65 contest, over 6 furlongs, at Hamilton in May off a handicap mark of 63, but he won convincingly, by 4½ lengths, on that occasion and has continued to run creditably in defeat off revised marks on all seven starts since. His form doesn’t suggest that he’s crying out for the stiffer test of stamina that he faces here, but he was tried over a mile, and further, in the early part of his career with David Wachman, so he should be OK.

Selection: Sandown 7.55 Chaplins Bay to win