Cheltenham Preview

It is now less than two months to the start of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival. The festival for those not 'in the know' is one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar. Initially titled the Grand National Hunt Meeting, the history of the festival dates as far back to 1860 when the festival was held at Market Harborough under the name - national hunt chase. Aside from the FIFA world cup and the UEFA champions league, (and of course, in the racing world, The Grand National)  there are few sporting events as popular in the UK as the Cheltenham festival.

Every year, over 200,000 race goers - both casual fans, and die hards - turn up to watch the Cheltenham festival. It's estimated that more than £500 million is spent on betting on the races every year. We advise punters to check out our Cheltenham tips for the best betting advice.

When will 2019 Cheltenham festival start?

As usual the Festival will take place in March. The 2019 Cheltenham festival will kick off on Tuesday March 12th 2019 and end on Friday March 15th 2019. According to the schedule released, the first race which is known as the Supreme Novices' Hurdle will start by 1:30pm.

Ladies day - 14th March 2019

Last year the ladies day held on the 14th of March but this year it will be 13th of the month. During Ladies day eager ladies wear their most beautiful clothes and colourful hats and show up at the races for a fun packed day. ladies day is one of the most popular Cheltenham events. The best dressed lady goes home with an handsome prize money of £10,000. not bad for a day's work!

St Patrick's day - 15th March

This year's St Patrick's day will take place on Thursday 14th 2019. The St Patrick's day event is usually a celebration of anything and everything that the Republic of Ireland is known for. The event usually come with enough Guinness for lovers of the popular Irish beer as well as plenty of Irish music. The Stayers' Hurdle is usually the attraction for many on this day.

The Gold Cup

The Gold Cup takes place on the last day of the Cheltenham Festival, on Gold Cup day. That hasn't changed and this year's Gold cup races will start at 3:30pm on Friday 15th of March. Gold Cup Day is understandably the most popular day in the Cheltenham Festival and this year is certainly going to be no exception to that. Previous winners of the Gold cup include Dawn Run, Kauto Star, Arkle and last year's winner Native River.
 

Right On Track: The Limitless Advantages of Betting A Horse Racing Show Online

Image Source: pixabay.com

Today’s generation is undoubtedly a showcase of technology innovation in all given platforms. The birth and rise of technology have played an essential role in every mankind. A lot of people became glad because primarily technology has made our life easier.

In line with the vast rise of technology comes the development of websites and smartphone applications where people can access anything with just one click or tap on their phones. It is where wagering and betting online takes in place that brings so much convenience to every horse racing enthusiasts.

Aside from the fact that a horse racing live show like Kentucky Derby brings so much excitement for all horse racing bettors, another option to join the fun of wagering may also be done online. Take a look as we enumerate below the several advantages of betting online in a horse racing event.

Safety and Convenience

In a live track of all horse racing events, betting demands a longer and hassle process. Once you arrive in the location, you have to fall in line in order to secure a ticket pass and place your bets while others are waiting for their turn. Clearly, it’s a long and tiring process to take.

On the other hand, with the convenience of your smartphone and the internet there are lots of betting sites where you can sign up and place money. Through this, you’ll be able to easily select your bets without going through the hassle of long lines.

In addition, it provides safety especially if you’re placing a tantamount of money for your desired bet. You won’t have to worry so much about the security and at the same time it’s going to be more convenient because you’re not leaving your house and doesn’t have to negotiate to someone you’re afraid to bet with.

Rebates, Rewards, and Bonuses

The biggest return you are going to get once you do an online betting for any sites is the value-added services that they give out to their loyal customer. Most of the online betting rewards may give you rebates, rewards, and bonuses upon betting.

Furthermore, they also set up a point system where you earn some points that can be converted to equivalent rewards every time you place a bet. These websites may also offer some cash or item reward conversion depending on the rewards system they are imposing.

Lastly, these rewards and bonuses that you will get are beneficial for you as an online horse racer better. While you put money to bet your horse racers, you have the ability to earn back the money you invested through the rebates and rewards that you’re going to earn from these sites.

Better Comparison of Odds

Together with the excitement, you feel during a live horse racing show, you’re chance of choosing the best bets may be affected. Always bear in mind that horse racers in all horse racing events like Kentucky Derby has very competitive entries and demands a lot of study before betting.

With the convenience of these online betting sites, you have the ability to compare all the odds without a hitch. You’ll be able to study the odds of winning each racer because their numbers, predictions, and rankings are all laid out.

Lastly, you also have ample time visiting other online websites that give their opinions based on the racer's performance in their previous matches. In this way, your ability to win once you bet on a certain horse racer will be of a greater chance.

The Racing Coverage

Once you are in a live race of a horse racing track, you are only able to see the event from where you are seated and at the same time, you are locked in from where you are only placed during the event.

In this case, partaking and choosing an online betting gives you an imaginable coverage. Meaning, you can access different websites simultaneously which offers a free live coverage of the full racing activity allowing you to observe and see it at different levels.

Besides, these websites at the same time offer a lot of trajectory predictions of possible winners in the race. Not only but also, you have the chance you can conveniently complete with all the wagers that are joining the said event across the world.

Takeaway

Betting plays an important role in the horse racing history ever since it has existed. As mentioned, a lot of horse racing enthusiasts are looking forward to big horse racing events like to Kentucky Derby and wagering in this type of event is not easy.

Hence, online betting is a convenient, safe, and secure way of competing against other wagers across the world because of the benefits you will get as laid out above. 

Cheltenham Gold Cup 2004

The 2004 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Totesport, featured 10 runners, but was a one-sided contest, betting-wise, with Best Mate, trained by Henrietta Knight and ridden by Jim Culloty, sent off 8/11 favourite to become the first horse since Arkle, in 1966, to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup three times.

French raider First Gold, trained by Francois Doumen and ridden by his son, Thierry, took the field along at a strong pace on rain-softened ground and put in an exhibition round of jumping until making a mistake at the tricky fourth last fence. Best Mate, who’d always been travelling comfortably in fourth or fifth place, moved closer to the leader at the fence after the water jump on the second circuit and was one of four in serious contention heading down the hill for the final time.

However, on the home turn, Best Mate was held in, on the inside, by Harbour Pilot, ridden by Paul Carberry and had to be pulled wide to make his challenge at the second last. However, to a crescendo of roars from the packed enclosures at a delirious Prestbury Park, Best Mate took the lead between the last two and was driven out up the hill to win by half a length. Sir Rembrandt, ridden by Andrew Thornton, finished well to take second ahead of Harbour Pilot, who finished 1¼ lengths further behind in third. Long-time leader First Gold weakened from the last to finish fifth, beaten 13½ lengths by the winner.

Best Mate became just the fourth horse, after Golden Miller, Cottage Rake and, of course, Arkle, to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup three times. Henrietta Knight said, after his historic victory, “Today is today. We're looking forward, not back. Arkle was a great horse; Best Mate is a great horse. Let’s leave it like that.”