horses

Lingfield Hosts Derby & Oaks Trials

It’s Monday again and my weekly look back at the best of last weekend’s action. On Saturday it was Derby & Oaks Trials Day at Lingfield. The track is like Epsom, although overall, it’s a much sharper track. However, the conventional wisdom of most racing pundits is if a horse handles Lingfield it should be able to handle Epsom. Well…

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Mastering Bookie Bashing

Contents Episode 1 – Bookie Bashing, My Journey! Episode 2 – The Betting System Episode 3 – Adjustments & Rules Episode 4 – The Final Episode Episode 1 – Bookie Bashing, My Journey! Hi Folks, Michael has kindly asked me if I would do a monthly blog about my betting journey to beat the bookies, selection processes, staking and anything…

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The Scudamores

Join the Scudamore’s as one of the most successful families in British sport settles down for a good, long chat about triumph and disaster at the races. Simply put, this book is not dissimilar to having a chat with your mates down the local pub. Brilliantly written but in an interview like style, this book will highlight the passion, brilliance…

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The Chester Vase

It’s the start of the Chester Boodles festival today, and the feature race is the 15:35 Chester Vase run over one mile and four furlongs. There are eight declared runners, and I’m going to take a look at the race and break it down into the selections that I’m going to personally be betting on. The first thing to note,…

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The Flat is Definitely Back!

There’s no doubt the flat season is with us now. I’m writing this just after the finish of the first colts classic, the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, with the first fillies classic the 1,000 Guineas to come on Sunday. This week’s post concentrates on Saturday’s action from Newmarket, but there is time at the end to take a quick look…

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Inside the Rails – The “Value” of Inside Information

It is often assumed that being an owner means you will immediately have access to profitable information for gambling purposes, but is that really the case? In my regular articles, I have been looking at racehorse ownership to try to provide a peak behind the scenes at what goes into getting the horses that we watch and bet on, ready…

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Dream Horse

The moving true story of an ordinary Welsh woman who dreamed of breeding a race horse, and Dream Alliance, who defied the odds to become a champion and brought a community together. Janet Vokes was running the bar in her local working men’s club in the small Welsh mining community of Cefn Fforest when she fixed upon the idea of…

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Goodbye to Jumps

Just over a week ago I had my right kidney removed so it’s hard to believe that I’m able to write this week’s Monday blog post. The pain and soreness are still there and, although each day I feel better, I’m pacing my way back to full fitness. It was the final day of the British jumps season on Saturday…

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The History of Horse Racing

“There are few more stirring sights in sport, than to witness the finish of a prestigious horse race. The bright blur of horses racing toward the winning post, with jockeys pushing their mounts forward, urged on by the encouragement of the racegoers. This book celebrates the great characters and performers, both human and equine, who have been involved in such…

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The Each-Way Sandwich

Originally this morning I thought that I was going to be writing about a strategy based on taking advantage of bookmakers being forced to give the wrong odds on the place portion of each-way bets. It’s not a new approach, but it’s still effective and nobody talks about it anymore. Why? Because it requires… effort! Oops, that’s a kind of…

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Inside The Rails – Race Planning

In my regular articles, I have been taking a look at racehorse ownership to try to provide a peak behind the scenes at what goes into getting the horses that we watch and bet on, ready to take the chance on the racecourse. In earlier articles, I have looked at purchasing horses, the owner’s day at the races, what different…

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Winner – My Racing Life

When Tony McCoy announced his retirement from racing, the shockwaves reverberated a cross the world of sport. With more than 4,300 winners to his name, McCoy seemed to be at the peak of his powers, when he suddenly brought down the curtain on an extraordinary career. But then McCoy has always done things his way! WINNER, My Racing Life is an exceptional…

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Inside The Rails – At the Stables

Last week we looked at the ownership experience at the racecourse, but this is only a small part of the ownership experience.  Even a sprinter will only probably run around 20 races a year and this leaves at least 345 days where owners are not racing with their horse.  There is plenty to experience away from the racecourse however and…

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The Jumping Game

As a woman who trained the great Best Mate to win three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups, no one could be better qualified than Henrietta Knight to discover what makes today’s top jumps trainers succeed. From eccentric, outspoken Yorkshireman Mick Easterby, to elegant, aristocratic Venetia Williams, from Irish wizard, Willie Mullins, to perfectionist champion trainer, Paul Nicholls and young pretender, Dan…

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Betting in the 21st Century

Horse racing maybe one of the oldest of all sports, and in its essentials it would appear to have undergone virtually no change over the centuries – it is still about thoroughbreds racing across a large field – but in so many other ways it is constantly evolving and the pace of change has accelerated considerably in the 21st century.…

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Tiger Rolls into History

Tiger Roll became a Grand National legend on Saturday. As he became the first horse since Red Rum to win the race two years on the trot. Like Red Rum, Tiger Roll is bred to be a flat horse, and he’s not exactly built to jump a fence either. But like “Rummy”, he’s just a freak of horse. Travelling powerfully…

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Three Standout Races at the Aintree Festival

The Aintree Festival is one of the most-anticipated National Hunt events on the racing calendar. The three-day extravaganza always delivers plenty of passion, entertainment and drama. The Merseyside track is a superb venue, and thousands of spectators descend on the course each and every year. The competitive racing attracts a plethora of top trainers and jockeys to the north west, and despite taking place…

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Inside the Rails – At the Stables

If you follow racing at all, you will have probably heard of syndicates and racing clubs and these vehicles allow people to come together to share the costs of ownership.  There may not actually be too much difference between a syndicate and a racing club, but then again one syndicate or racing club can be very different from another, so…

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Winning Horse Race Betting Systems

Winning Horse Race Betting Systems, does exactly what is says on the tin! It gives you loads of winning systems to use, straight off the bat. The book introduces the best winnings ways, presented simply, and in plain English, for you to use yourself. Winning Horse Race Betting Systems was written 10 years ago. The fact that it still ranks…

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Sean Bowen: A Future Champion Jockey?

I am big fan of Sean Bowen, the son of trainer Peter Bowen, and brother of James. Indeed, I have praised his riding a few times this jumps season. Well there is no doubt he’s riding at the very top of his game now. At Kelso on Saturday, Sean’s talents were once again showcased. Bowen won the first two races…

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