racing today

Weekly Eye-Catchers

In recent years, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle hasn’t had the quality of field you would like to see for a race of its history. On paper, this year’s renewal looked like the race of the season so far, with Champion Hurdle winner Buveur D’Air, and Cheltenham Festival novice hurdle winners Samcro & Summerville Boy all standing their ground.…

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Can the Ladbrokes Trophy Find a Future Superstar?

The upcoming Ladbrokes Winter Carnival is Newbury’s winter highlight, and racing lovers especially look forward to the feature race, the Ladbrokes Trophy, which is for horses aged 4yo+. Although it is ‘only’ a Grade 3 handicap event, this 3m 2.5f test of stamina has a habit of highlighting horses worth following in the season’s major events. The Ladbrokes Trophy was…

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The Racing Week Ahead…

With John Burke on holiday this week, the estimable Andy Newton has stepped-in to give us his take on the week ahead. His is a detailed, interesting read, from a different perspective. Enjoy… With last weekend’s Cheltenham November Meeting behind us, it’s fair to say……jump racing is back! It’s the hedgehoppers all the way now for the next six months…

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The Cheltenham Open – Finding the Next National Hunt Superstar

Although there have been numerous National Hunt events already, the Cheltenham Open is often regarded as the true beginning of the jumps season. In recent years, the Open’s importance has grown, and it is now a three-day meeting that attracts challengers from all around Europe.  There are multiple Class 1 events and highlights include the BetVictor Gold Cup Handicap Chase…

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Weekly Eye-Catchers

Morning! Frost Returns To Wincanton I waxed lyrical about jockey Bryony Frost on a couple of occasions last year. The first time was when she won last year’s Badger Ales Trophy Handicap Chase on Present Man. It was a case of déjà vu as the combination returned to win the race again this year. Once again Bryony got the 8-year-old into a good…

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In the Long Run – Is Stamina a Defining Factor for Longer Races?

The weather is cold and wet which means one thing: The National Hunt season is upon us! The hurdles and fences are out, the going is sometimes Heavy, and the races are longer with every mistake capable of taking a horse out of a race. After backing a horse to win a 3m 4f Chase race on Heavy ground, your…

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Weekly Diary – Horse Racing

I have decided to take a break from jumps racing for just one week to look at the flat and, in particular, last weekend’s Breeders Cup and the upcoming Melbourne Cup.   There’s no horse for the tracker this week, but I have provided a Melbourne Cup selection and a Monday stat. There’s no better jockey for the big occasion than Frankie…

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Who To Watch – Week Beginning 5th November

Following Enable’s history-making weekend at Churchill Downs, it’ll be impossible to better that but nonetheless, there is more high-class International racing this week. The Melbourne Cup, known as ‘the race that stops a nation’, is at Flemington on Tuesday morning. There is plenty of European interest so hopefully, they can do us proud. Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Haldon Gold Cup…

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Halloween Horror Show? Get Over it by Nabbing National Hunt November Profits

By the time you read this, the British Flat season will officially be over which means it is time to switch focus to the National Hunt scene. While summer Flat racing is associated with fancy hats, Pimm’s, and the occasional sunny day, we’re about to get deep down and dirty. National Hunt racing in the UK is traditionally a mucky…

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Weekly Diary – Horse Racing

King Power Racing I start my weekend round-up on a sad note. The football and horse racing worlds are facing the possibility that Leicester City & King Power Racing owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabh, lost his life in a tragic helicopter crash outside the Leicester’s ground on Saturday evening. At the time of writing, there has been no confirmation of any deaths,…

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Who To Watch – Week Beginning 29th October

One of the biggest weeks in the International racing calendar as the Breeders’ Cup takes place at Churchill Downs on Friday and Saturday. 14 Grade 1’s at the meeting make for an exceptional couple of days racing, the brilliant Enable will aim to be the first Arc winner to follow up in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. As well as the…

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Weekly Diary – Horse Racing

Champions Day was launched in 2011 to much ‘wailing and gnashing of teeth’, with commentators on racing forums predicting the end of flat racing as we know it. Champions Day would destroy the pattern. Ascot had got too big for its boots, and a few other things. I am sure you read them too. Well the modern-day Jeremiah’s have been…

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Doncaster Racing Post Trophy

Also known as the Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes, the Racing Post Trophy takes place at Doncaster on October. It is a significant race for two reasons. First of all, it is the final Group 1 race of the British Flat season. Secondly, horses that perform well in this one-mile race for 2yo colts and fillies often feature prominently in at…

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Who To Watch – Week Beginning 22nd October

Even though Champions Day has now been and gone, it’s not quite the end of the flat turf action as the final Group 1 of the season is at Doncaster on Saturday. The Vertem Futurity Trophy (formerly the Racing Post Trophy) has an exceptional role of honour and with the 1-2 from last year being Saxon Warrior and Roaring Lion,…

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Ascot British Champions Day – The Home of World Class Horses

In UK Flat racing, it has become traditional to end the season with a spectacular feast of racing known as the QIPCO British Champions Day on October 20. Although there is a two-day meeting at Doncaster the following week which features the final Group One race of the season, the Champions Day at Ascot is now regarded as the end…

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Weekly Diary – Horse Racing

Mullins Maintains Grip on Staying Handicaps Jumps trainer Willie Mullins looks like he could have a stranglehold on all the big staying flat handicaps over the next few years, if Saturday’s Cesarewitch is any guide. The Irish handler had 7 of the 33 runners, but managed to have the winner in Low Sun, and the runner-up in Uradel. The winner was given…

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Weekly Horse Racing Diary

At the time of writing this, Europe’s richest horse race is about to be run. I am hoping that Enable will have shown why she remains one of the best middle-distance fillies we have seen in recent years, and win her second successive Arc. And she did! Watch the race live HERE On Saturday it’s the second leg of the…

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Weekly Diary

Happy October! There’s a chill in the air, and we have entered a new month. We may have the Arc Weekend and Champions Day to look forward to this month, but you know winter isn’t far away, as later this month Cheltenham will be hosting its first jumps meeting of the season. Let’s take a look back at Saturday’s Newmarket…

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Early Favourites in the 2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup Betting

On Friday the 15th March, we will once again be witness to one of the greatest events on the jump racing calendar, the 2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup. The 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup produced a thrilling matchup between the heavily backed Might Bite and eventual winner Native River. The 15-runner race saw Native River and Might Bite battle it out in…

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Claiming Jockeys – Does the Weight Off a Make a Difference?

There are an estimated 750 jockeys in the United Kingdom. You may be surprised to learn that approximately 300 of them are amateurs while the other 450 are professionals. At the start of their career, all professionals are licensed as either Conditional (National Hunt) or Apprentice (Flat and All-Weather racing) jockeys.  Initially, inexperienced jockeys receive a helping hand in the…

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