Scottish Grand National Guide
August 28, 2009
Whilst it is not on a par with the it’s English equivalent, the Aintree Grand National, for grabbing the attention of a nation, the Scottish Grand National is still a major race in the National Hunt calendar and is the feature race day at Scotland’s Ayr racecourse.
Traditonally, the Scottish Grand National is run a couple of weeks after the Grand National, over the slightly less challenging distance of 4 miles. As such, the race attracts the best of Jump Racing’s staying chasers, many of whom lined up at Aintree but more often than not, they are the runners who fell early on and are still fresh enough to have another go at landing one of the four ‘Nationals’ in the National Hunt season (the others being held in English, Irish and Welsh).
The Scottish Grand National site that we have chosen for inclusion is one of very few on the web dedicated to the race and as such provides a great deal of information and resource for anybody interested in the race’s history or looking to get an advantage over the bookies in the build up to the race as the site provides a list of all the runners, jockeys and trainers including ratings, form and previews as well as the latest Scottish National Odds. This site is well worth a visit near the time of the race when it is updated with all the news and betting information ahead of the field going to post.
Dubai Horse Racing Betting
August 26, 2009
As the scene for some of the richest horse racing in the World, its hard to believe there are so few quality sites dedicated to Dubai Racing. One of the only ones we have found, is brand new and offers quite a good guide to the Dubai World Cup.
The Dubai World Cup is the richest horse race bar none and attracts horses from all over the world. It was first run in 1996 and since then takes place each March. Our featured Dubai racing guide contains past winners, betting tips and a very good introduction to racing from this part of the world.
For more information on this event, visit Dubai Horse Racing Betting
Royal Ascot Betting Guide
June 23, 2009
Royal Ascot is one of the most glamerous Race meetings in the global horse racing calendar and is run at Ascot Racecoure, Berkshire, England in June each year. Run over five days, the Royal Ascot meeting hosts a total of thirty races that together offer cummulative prize money of over £4.5 million. Of the thirty races, there are 17 Group Class races, seven of which are Group One events, the best standard that a thoroughbred horse running on the flat can race in.
The social side of the Royal Ascot meeting is as popular as the racing, with the Queen and other members of the Royal Family in attendance each day and the highlight of the week is Ladies Day which fall on day three, the Thursday. It is a day where women can dress up in their finest attire and enjoy the atmosphere and merriment of a day at the races.
However, whilst Royal Ascot is the place to be seen it is also a place to enjoy betting, whether you are at the track or watching the action on TV. Royal Ascot betting is hugely popular and is one of the busiest weeks of the year for bookmakers in the UK. It can be difficult to find winners at Royal Ascot and if you are lookign to find a few pointers to the races we recommend looking at these Ascot tips to help you out and hopefuly put you in the direction of a few winners.
Grand National Preview
June 23, 2009
Run at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool, the Grand National is the most famous Horse Race in the World. It may not be the most prestigous, it may not attract the best thoroughbreds and it may not offer the prize money that many other race around the World do but there is a certain allure about the Grand National that no other race can match.
Whether it is the 120 years of history or the fact it is the ultimate test for everybody involved, be it horse, jockey or punter, the Grand National remains the single most popular race in the UK every year – by some distance. It is the one race that will attract people to place a bet when the thought of betting would never enter their heads for the other 364 days of the year, hence the reason why it is the busiest day of the year for bookmakers with over £500 million being wagered on Grand National day, which fall in early April each year.
Forty Grand national runners, thrity challenging fences and a marathon trip of 4 miles and 4 furlongs is enough of a sporting spectacle for anybody to enjoy but the challenge of trying to find the winner is what appeals to most people. It really is as much about luck as it is form when trying to find the winner of the race and as the 100/1 winner, Mon Mome, proved in 2009, Grand National odds can provide a nice return if you are lucky enough to have backed the winner.
If you are clueless when it comes to horse racing but still fancy a flutter on the Grand National, it is worth have a search around the web to read the many race previews and expert advice when trying to find the winner. Failing that, pick the horse who jockey is wearing your favourite colours or has a name with some significane to you it is likely to be as successful as spending hours in the form book!
Epsom Derby Guide
June 12, 2009
The Betting Directory microsite for the Epsom Derby is an excellent resource for anybody looking for information on this famous race or looking for pointers ahead of placing a bet. Run at Epsom Downs Racecourse, the Debry is one of the most prestigious horse races in world racing. It is the oldest Classic horse race dating back to 1780 and still to this days ranks as one of the best races in the world in determining the best three year old thoroughbred horse of the year.
Plenty of famous names have won the Derby down the years, many of which have gone on to be top performers both on and off the track with several Derby winners going on to sire top class runners following retirement from racing, some of which have won the Derby themselves. It is the rich heritage of the race together with the prize money on offer (in excess of £750,000) together with the earnings potential of Derby winner sat Stud that make this race what it is and it continues to attract the best horse around, year after year.
Derby day falls on the first Saturday in June each year and attracts crowds of upto 100,000 or more and off the track it is one of the busiest days of the year for the betting industry with an estimated £100 million staked on the race. The Derby odds are often generous becuase of the competitive nature of the race with many of the Derby Runners holding decent claims about winning the race, this is what makes the Derby an attractive betting proposition together with the allure of it being a glamorous race with top class throughbreds always guaranteed.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Betting Preview
June 12, 2009
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the feature race of the four day Cheltenham Festival meeting, run at Cheltenham Racecourse during March each year. It is a race run under National Hunt rules and is the number one race in the UK jumps calendar as it pits the best 3 mile chasers from the UK and Ireland to compete with the objective of becoming champion horse of the year.
First run in 1924, the Cheltenham Gold Cup has provided the perfect stage for some of Racing’s most familar household names in its near 100 year history. The most famous of which include (five times winner) Golden Miller, (three times winners) Cottage Rake and Arkle and in more recent times, Best Mate, who run the race three times between 2002 and 2004. It is the roll of past winners that gives this race so much prestige and makes it the number one target for leading owners, trainers and jockeys to win each year.
The Gold Cup is one of the biggest betting days of the year and the Gold Cup Odds vary year on year depending on how strongly fancied the favourite is. One horse, often a previous winner tends to dominate the betting but all Gold Cup Runners are often not without a chance and several big priced horse have gone on to win the race.
For more information and a full guide to the Cheltenham Gold Cup, check out Betting Direcotry’s microsite which provides a preview on all aspects of the race from runners, form, jockeys and trainers through to the latest odds.
Cheltenham Festival Guide
June 11, 2009
The Cheltenham Festival is the feature event of the UK and Ireland’s National Hunt Racing calendar. Amongst the fans of Racing and the media, the phrase ‘all roads roads lead to Cheltenham’ is a common saying from the start of the National Hunt Season in late October through to the start of the Festival which take place during the month of March each year.
The Cheltenham Festival is like a World Cup of Jumps racing, attracting the best runners from the top stables in the UK and Ireland, where this form of Horse Racing is most popular to compete for the best prize money in the sport. The meeting runs for for days from Tuesday through to Friday and stages a total of 26 races ranging in various distances, from top class graded races races to Handicap races and run over both fences and hurdles.
The four feature races of the meeting are the Champion Hurlde, Queen Mother Champion Chase, World Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup, with each race the feature of the four different days. However, the supporting races are all high quality and make up a fantasticracing spectacle.
The Cheltenham Festival is a hugely popular Racing event and every year, each of the four days sees over 60,000 people head to Cheltenham Racecourse to watch the action live and take in the Festival’s unique atmosphere. Many of those in attendance head over from Ireland and much of the merriment of fun at the Festival is attributed to the Irish contingent. Away from the course, millions more watch the meeting on the TV with Channel 4 in the UK and RTE in Ireland broadcasting the action. In turn, the bookmakers also benefit from the huge popularity of the Cheltenham Festival with the meeting the busiest four days period of the year for bookmakers and it is estimated to be worth over £500 million to the betting industry and growing on an annual basis. The quality and competitiveness of the Cheltenham Festival racing is such that Cheltenham Festivla Odds are often found to be in the punters favour and if you are lucky enough to find a few winners, the profits are likely to be very healthy! Betting Directory’s Cheltenham Festival Guide is recommended to anybody lookign to find more information on the Cheltenham Festival, including race previews, tips and the est odds on each race.
Breeders Cup Betting Guide
June 9, 2009
The Breeders Cup is a two day festival of top class Group One horse races run in America during the Fall each year. Dates vary, but the Breeders Cup meeting is usually held on either the last weekend of October or the first weekend in November and is staged at some of the United States’s leading Race tracks including Sant Anita Park, CA, (venue in 2008 and again in 2009), Monmouth Park, NJ, Chuchhill Dows, KY, Belmont Park, NY, Arlington, IL, amongst others.
The meeting is made up of 14 races across the two days, eight of which are Grade One races and the total prize money for the meeting stnads at in excess of $25 million. The different races are run over a variety of distances on either the Turf or Dirt track and open to Colts, Fillies, Mares, Geldings or a combination of all. The various entry requirements for each of the races means that the winners can be crowned champions for that given discipline (distance, surface etc).
Such is the prestige of winning one of the Breeders Cup races, together with the prize money on offer, the best thoroughbreds from around the world descend on the host racetrack in a bid for victory. This includes the leading horses from Europe as well as America and much media hype is often made about the battle between the horses, trainers and owners of the two continents in the build up to the Breeders Cup meeting.
Due to its huge popularity with race fans on both sides of the Atlantic, Breeders Cup Betting is big business for the bookmakers in Europe and the Sportsbooks in the USA. Punters both on track, in sports books like those found in Las Vegas and online in Europe are keen to get invovled in the fantastic race action by betting on which horses will the various Breeders Cup races and they can subsquently enjoy the action as all races are shown live on TV.
Queen Mother Chase
September 18, 2008
The Queen Mother Chase is one of the featured races at the Cheltenham Festival each year and one of the highlights of the national hunt season. Surprisingly there are not many sites that cover this race in great detail and so our number one guide for the event was not a hard choice.
The Queen Mother Chase betting tips are well presented and the form guides are good for all the runners. In addition to this the latest Queen Mother Chase Odds are updated throughout the year and lists the ante post odds all year round.
Cheltenham Queen Mother Champion Chase Bets
Melbourne Cup
July 29, 2008
Similar to the Grand National in the UK, the Melbourne Cup betting is the largest race in Australia and is without any doubt their largest betting event of the year. The race ran at Flemington witnesses over 100,000 people flock to enjoy Australia’s greatest holiday.
The Melbourne Cup site we have chosen to list is indepently owned and run by racing enthusiasts, so the Melbourne Cup Tips on offer should be of a far better quality. The odds provided are from a number of UK and Australian bookmakers and are updated throughout the year.
Bookmaker of the Month: Paddy Power
