UK Horse Racing Tips

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There is a common conception that horse racing is a peculiarly English pursuit. Given the sideshows that take place around the Grand National, Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival, with the traditional finery and the royal pomp, that is perhaps unsurprising. However, the rise of internet streaming, online bookmakers and global TV coverage has been an eye opener to an equally buoyant horse racing culture in some far flung lands.

Australia is a case in point. Most people’s knowledge of antipodean racing begins and ends with Phar Lap, but over recent years that has started to change.

Horse racing in Australia

Australia has 360 registered racecourses, more than any other nation on the globe, and they welcome some two million racegoers every year. The country is behind only the USA and Japan in terms of total prize money on offer. Australians bet more than AU$15 billion (£8.5 billion) on racing every year, and a growing band of international punters are signing up to join them. BettingPro.au is a specialist site offering free Australian horse tips to all comers, and is the perfect place to start. Here are their recommendations for the top Australian race meetings over the coming months.  

The Melbourne Cup Carnival

Think of the Cheltenham Festival but without the rain, and you have a good picture of the Melbourne Cup. It has all the swankiness, fashion and excess of any top UK race meeting, and is rapidly garnering an international following. The week-long festival takes place every November, and last year, thousands flocked to the historic Flemington Racecourse to be part of the spectacle. They were treated to a classic race in the showpiece event, when Rekindling shot to victory. The four year old gelding is already the bookmakers’ favourite to win again in 2018.

Another race held during the spring carnival in Melbourne is the Victoria Derby. Carrying a prize pot of AU$1.5 million, this takes place on the opening day of the festival, and last year, a tightly contested race was won by bookmakers’ warm favourite Aces High.

The Caulfield Cup

If the Melbourne Carnival can be likened to the Cheltenham Festival, the Caulfield Cup is Australia’s answer to the Grand National, albeit on the flat. With a purse of AU$3 million, it is the richest race run over 1.5 miles in the world. It takes place at Flemington in October, and

last year, rank outsider Boom Time caused one of the biggest upsets in Australian racing history by winning from nowhere.

The Golden Slipper Stakes

Not every major race meeting takes place in Melbourne. The Golden Slipper Stakes is the richest race in the world for two year old thoroughbreds, and is held every April at Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens racecourse. The first ever Golden Slipper was won in 1957 by legendary Australian racehorse Todman – the horse went on to sire the next four consecutive winners and his bloodline can still be found in many of today’s top winners.

Horse racing is often seen as much more than just a sport. It is a tradition, a status and a constant battle all at once. While many have tried to bet horses online or right at the racetrack bookies, the partnership of two living beings – the horse and the jockey – can turn up rather unpredictable.

The following list is a reminder of just that – the most incredible moments in horse racing history, some even making a mark in the sport’s record books.

Crisp vs. Red Rum

At the 1973 Aintree Grand National race, spectators were able to witness one of the impressive catch-ups. With a 20 lengths lead and just a couple of fences to go, Crisp was the definite champion in everyone’s eyes. However, in a stunning turn of events, Red Rum managed to pick up speed and not only level, but also surpass his dominant figure. Having won this race by a ¾ length against Crisp, Red Rum gained momentum and continued this trend in the next two Grand Nationals.

Grundy vs. Bustino

The ‘Race of the Century’ would have crashed traffic capabilities on most racebook software for bookies should they have existed in the distant 1975. In the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Ascot audience watched a live showdown between two Europe champions, three-year-old Grundy and four-year-old Bustino.

A tie dominated the 1 mile 4 furlong race result up until the end which saw Grundy push speed limits with amazing effort and win by ½ a length. Unsurprisingly, this also bought the winner a place in record books that stands until this day as Grundy managed to finish the race in 2 minutes and 26.98 seconds, 2 and ½ seconds faster than the previous record holder.

Mine That Bird

On a soggy racing day not too long ago in 2009, the Kentucky Derby went down in history as the race which saw the most amazing comeback. Mine That Bird was evidently not considered a success story, as the horse’s odds for that race were 50 to 1, and the start of the race seemed to prove that prediction. After being 8 lengths behind the rest, Mine That Bird and its jockey somehow transformed and achieved their goal to end victorious with nothing short of a 6 and ¾ length lead that even left commentators dumbfounded for a moment.

Secretariat

Secretariat is a well-known legend whose story even enjoyed success on the big screens, primarily due to the record-breaking achievement at the 1973 Belmont Stakes. This winner’s time of 2 minutes and 24 seconds still stands, but this horse refused to stop there. Many claimed that something about Secretariat made it destined for great things, which proved true as the horse went on to win the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the same year.
Such was the glory of Secretariat that some horse racing enthusiasts still hold on to their winning betting tickets from that day, unwilling to have them cashed in due to sentimental value.

The five biggest bets on horse racing might shock a lot of people. Some of these bets actually were successful. However, given the size of the bets, it actually doesn’t always feel as if the winners were truly successful even if they were. Seeing them win is a little more like watching a person almost get crushed to death and avoiding it.

After winning 100,000 dollars at a less major horse race, an inexperienced gambler bet it all at the Kentucky Derby, presumably on a horse that he assumed would be a proverbial dark horse. The horse actually did lose, and so did he, in spite of his earlier victory. All gamblers should know to quit while they’re ahead, knowing that victories are to be cherished and not risked again.

William Hill had a somewhat different story, in that he had experienced some major losses previously. He later placed a very daring bet of 500,000 pounds. Shockingly enough, this one managed to work out, and he managed to still get ahead in spite of a lot of his earlier losses.

Sadly, not all gamblers will get second chances like William Hill. Relatively recently, a wealthy couple made an incredibly risky bet at the Del Mar horse races. They had two million dollars in life savings, and they genuinely decided to bet it all on a single horse. As is often the case in situations like this, they lost. While the couple was supposedly drunk at the time, most drunken mistakes do not cost people such a staggering amount of money.

People should also never be led in by the name of a horse. A horse called Big Bucks might seem like a sure bet. One gambler decided that Big Bucks was so sure to win that he could risk 796,000 dollars on that possibility. Sadly, even the most successful racing horses will eventually falter, and that was what happened here.

Of course, a horse connected to one of the most successful bets in horse racing history was called A Dream Come True. The gambler who bet on this horse managed to win one million dollars on this horse. This is the sort of situation that a lot of people dream about, although this successful gambler was also clearly taking a huge risk in the process.

Ultimately, a lot of horse racing fans just need to keep their bets in perspective in order to find a way to enjoy the game without risking too much. There have been some successful people who bet everything. There have also been people who lost everything in a horse race. There is no reason for a simple horse race to change a person’s entire life in a negative way.

There is still plenty of top racing to get stuck into during the rest of 2017 and it will be to the north of England that attention turns later in August.

York’s prestigious Ebor Meeting gets under way on Wednesday, August 23, with the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes the undoubted centrepiece of the four-day meeting.

Run over a mile-and-a-quarter on the Knavesmire, it attracts some of the best Flat horses around and could well see Churchill, Barney Roy and Ulysses go head to head.

Barney Roy heads the ante-post market at 11/4 and Richard Hannon will be looking for some payback after losing by a nose to Ulysses (3/1) in the Coral-Eclipse.

A repeats of his display in taking the St James’s Palace Stakes would go down well for connections but Churchill (9/1) might also have say in proceedings especially if he can bounce back to winning ways at Glorious Goodwood.

Another Group One contest, the Yorkshire Oaks, brings together many of the leading three-year-old fillies over a mile-and-a-half.

King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Enable has been slated for an outing and is as short as 1/3 to claim the spoils.

However, Aidan O’Brien’s Coronation Stakes winner Winter, currently on offer at 12/1, might have a say in proceedings.

A few familiar faces may well line up in the Irish Champions Stakes on September 9, with Cliffs of Moher (6/1) and Jack Hobbs (10/1) thought to be in the frame for a Leopardstown run out.

The former was runner-up to Wings Of Eagles in the Derby but fourth in the Coral-Eclipse while Jack Hobbs has fluffed his lines twice since winning a Group One in Dubai back in March.

Doncaster’s Group One St Leger takes place on September 16 and the world’s oldest Classic might well see a rematch between Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner Capri (3/1) and Cracksman (6/1), who was just beaten a neck on that occasion.

Scottish racing will be to the fore in late September, with the six-furlong Ayr Gold Cup one of the season’s most sought-after sprint handicaps.

My Racing has all the best sites available for online betting and provides tips and a nap of the day for all the biggest meetings.

Newmarket’s Cambridgeshire Meeting follows soon after which includes the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes but as Halloween approaches, it will be back to Ascot for British Champions Day on Saturday, October 21.

There is something for everyone, with sprints and longer distance contests and, while it is too early to safely say which stars might grace the Group One Champion Stakes, Almanzor has been priced at 8/1 to defend his crown at the Berkshire track.

The four-year-old has not been seen since claiming the spoils under Christophe Soumillon but it is sure to be a tough task with the quality on show.

National Hunt racing will take prominence later in the year, with the prestigious Ladbrokes Gold Cup at Newbury always popular for jump racing fans, while Kempton’s King George VI Chase over the festive period might well see the likes of Thistlecrack (3/1), Sizing John (4/1) and Douvan (6/1) do battle once again.