UK Horse Racing Tips

After six years in training and 121 races, it’s fair to say the Windforpower is fully exposed, but Tracey Waggott’s 8-year-old has been in fine form since switched back to Tapeta in September and may be capable of completing a hat-trick in the Betway Casino Handicap (6.15) at Newcastle on Wednesday. His latest 5lb rise in the weights, for beating stable companion Little Kingdom over course and distance 12 days ago, necessitates stepping back up into 0-70 company, but he’s won off much higher marks in the past, so should remain competitive. It’s also fair to say that his trainer has some fairly dismal statistics at Newcastle, but that shouldn’t necessarily be held against Windforpower, who has held his form well in recent starts. He’s well drawn, in stall 9 of 10, and should give it another good go.

Selection: Newcastle 6.15 Windforpower to win 5/2

The Arkle Challenge Trophy, currently sponsored by the Racing Post, is currently scheduled as the second race on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival and, as such, is the first Grade 1 steeplechase of the week. The race is run over a distance of about 2 miles on the Old Course and is open to novice chasers – that is, horses that have not won a steeplechase before the start of the current season – aged five years and upwards. Let’s take a look at the best wagers ahead of the trophy.

Recent trends suggest that what we’re looking for, ideally, in a likely winner is a horse that has won, or been placed, at a previous Cheltenham Festival and has run since the turn of the year, finishing first or second in its preparatory race. The Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown and the Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown have proved key trials for the Arkle Challenge Trophy in recent years, so the winners of those races seem as good a starting point as any at this early stage.

The Henry VIII Novices’ Chase – the first Grade 1 of the season for novice chasers in Britain – was run on December 5, on good to soft going, and won, in impressive fashion, by Sceau Royal. The winner, trained by Alan King and ridden by Daryl Jacob, reversed earlier Cheltenham form with the runner-up, North Hill Harvey, to the tune of 11¼ lengths on just 5lb better terms, in the style of an improving horse. The 6-year-old has finished unplaced in the Triumph Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle on two previous visits to the Festival, but is entered for the Grade 2 Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaster this Saturday, for which he is likely to start a hot favourite. The Doctor Dino gelding is currently top-priced at 6/1 for the Arkle.

The Racing Post Novice Chase was run, on yielding going, and won, in equally impressive fashion, by Footpad, who is now a top-priced 7/4 favourite for the Arkle. Interestingly, Willie Mullins’ 6-year-old also ran in the same races as Sceau Royal on his two previous visits to the Festival, but finished third in the Triumph Hurdle, 17¾ lengths ahead of his old rival, and fourth in the Champion Hurdle, 2¾ lengths ahead of Alan King’s charge. The Creachadoir gelding has only run twice over fences, but jumps well for a novice and – while thirteen stiff fences will, undoubtedly, play their part come March 13 – he looks a worthy favourite at this stage.

Contenders begin to arise for the highlight race in the 4th day of one of the most prestigious horse races in the world taking place March 13 to 16. Twenty two fences of pure adrenaline were stamina rather than speed wins the day with the highlight race on the 4^th day, the Gold Cup. The best of the best from Britain and Ireland will come to this prestigious jump race were legends like Golden Miller, Arkle, and Kauto Star have left their print.

We are still early before a definite list of contenders is announced, but handicappers all around the web are already giving out their top names to win the Gold Cup. Might Bite and Native River stand as strong candidates for the win, with Bristol du Mai as a powerful runner-up. Who will you pick?

Might Bite

Might Bite leads the odds after his win at the King George VI, a key race to spot possible winners and top contenders for the Gold Cup. Trained by Nicky Henderson, Might Bite was amazing throughout the 2017 season and unbeaten in 5 starts, a key factor that separates him from the rest of contenders that have been a bit irregular in their recent victories or lacking enough competition appearances.

Native River

Second favorite to some to win the Gold Cup and the surprise of the season after winning The Hennessy and Welsh National, stamina is his virtue. Rain favors River’s pace, so keep an eye on the weather just before the race and previous night.

Native River stands with 8/1 odds, but deceive be not as this horse is strongly underestimated. But top experts keep talking about this 8 year old with the perfect conditions to win the Gold Cup (ended third last year); stamina + perfect age + 2 good wins. Many horses win the Gold Cup on the second and third try, so history is also behind Native River. This is why we place him as a close rival Might Bite and can safely say we expect to see him finish in the top 3.

Bristol du Mai

Bristol du Mai was supposed to be shoulder to shoulder with Native River in terms of who is best, a progressive stayer that impressed at Haydock with top class routing. Not all races have been perfect, Newbury was an awkward ride ending behind Native River, but that is attributed to a tactical move. We can expect a great performance from this horse that is still to show the best it can do. The odds are for Mai at the moment stand at 20/1, but that is just a poor public impression and can be a great runner-up price for many.

Sizing John

Cheltenham loves legends and Sizing John might go for a second win this year at the Gold Cup. However he had a poor performance in December during the King George, and stands with odds at 5/1, not a strong favorite for many.

We are still early before selecting the final top contenders, but so far Might Bite is the overall favorite based on recent achievements and with Native River and Bristol du Mai as strong followers. Checkout everything you need to know about Gold Cup Day betting before it hits the news and enjoy one of the UK’s finest racing days.

Technology continues to improve our lives each and every day. And sometimes, these improvements happen in the most unlikely of places. For sports betting fans, the introduction of big data has been a literal game changer; even slot games at bgo are getting the big data treatment. Bookmakers and punters can now benefit from ultra-accurate data driven predictions, creating odds and placing bets with far more precision than ever before. But what exactly is this big data? And why should any sports betting player care?

What is big data?

Big data is all about the collection, storage and analysis of huge data sets. Data storage and collection is by no means a new thing. In fact, it’s been around for years. The difference with big data however is the volume of data in question. And as the name would suggest – there’s a whole lot of data.

But big data doesn’t just pertain to the volume of the data – it also concerns itself with how a business analyses and uses the information. The information in question can reveal all sorts of behaviours and habits to significantly improve the online services you access. The technology has been applied to numerous industries from healthcare to online shopping. And now: you can see the benefits at your favourite sportsbook websites.

How big data is changing sports betting

What does all this technical mumbo jumbo have to do with placing a cheeky bet on a game of footie? With big data, you can empower your betting strategies and achieve even more accurate results, ultimately resulting in more profit.

Imagine an app that can access a database with thousands upon thousands of football matches stored. The results of the matches, how many goals were scored, injuries and match bans… all of this information can be used to provide an outcome with a high probability of success. Just look at Microsoft; their AI robot Cortana managed to predict 15 out of 16 outcomes during the 2014 world cup thanks to the help of big data.

Players and the slot games aren’t the only ones benefiting from the emergence of big data. The sports betting companies themselves are now able to offer a far more tailored service, creating odds and betting opportunities with never before seen accuracy. All in all, it’s a win win for the players; they not only benefit from using big data for profit – but also to get even better service!

Sports Betting + Big Data = The Future

The concept of big data and the subsequent technologies that power it are still their early stages. And judging by the success of big data as it currently stands, the future looks very bright for players indeed. Punters will have access to even more advanced data driven tools that produce far more accurate results. Accumulators in particular will benefit from more precise outcomes; matching Cortana’s 2014 World Cup prediction efforts may be trivial in the very near future. All in all, there’s numerous possibilities with the power of data – and you should be ready to embrace it.

For the bookmakers, data is everything – so improvements to the technology will benefit any budding sportsbook business. And those benefits will trickle down to the players once again. One area which could see drastic improvements with the power of big data is in match betting opportunities. With so much data readily available, bookies could create even more targeted bets for players to pounce on. Who knows, sportsbooks could even offer the predictive tools to help players place even more informed bets. And of course, that’s alongside better offers and an overall improved playing experience.

Other Games and Big Data

Sports betting seems like the obvious platform for big data – but the same could be said for other parts of the gambling industry as well. Poker for example could be another suitable area for big data improvements. Once again, it’s easy to visualise some kind of app that analyses thousands of hands and accurately predicts the result of a hand you plan to play.

What about bingo? There could be an application that aggregates each and every single bingo room, showing you the rooms that are most likely to win based on player numbers, history and win frequency.

And despite having a somewhat random nature compared to other games, applying big data to online casinos could also see player benefits. Imagine playing slot games at bgo and being able to predict the outcome of each and every spin. If that’s not a Neo from the Matrix moment, we don’t know what is…

No matter which way you look at, big data is the future. And gambling enthusiasts will surely benefit in more ways than one; not only will they have a richer well of information to draw from – but the gambling companies will have even better tools to make their stay even more comfortable. They say the house always win – but with big data, it looks like everyone will share in the spoils!