Welcome to the BettingChoice Horse Racing Blog. Here you'll find all the tips, insights and opinions for the world's biggest races including: Cheltenham, Breeders' Cup, Dubai Racing, the Grand National and more.
There have been more than a few shake-ups in the betting for the widely-anticipated Belmont Stakes on June 7 at famous Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The third jewel of the American Triple Crown represents the biggest chance in years of being able to actually secure the prestigious title - it would be the first time since Affirmed did it in 1978.
The race sold out nearly instantly following the dramatic victory in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore. There was so much to savour about the manner of California Chrome’s victory there and the...
Richard Hannon’s chestnut son of Compton Place, Shifting Power, looks like a very interesting contender and remains only lightly-raced with four previous efforts - two of which have come this year. He put in a quality run in the 2000 Guineas to finish fourth and outrun his 50/1 odds by a very serious margin. Prior to that he had only won a listed handicap but beat some tidy horses while doing it. He did have Ryan Moore in the irons that day and switched to Frankie Dettori for the Guineas effort.
A supremely talented group of three-year-old thoroughbreds will be contending the widely-anticipated Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh this Saturday and the massive field boasts some of the most exciting superstars of their generation. Kingman comes into the race as a very serious odds-on favourite to get the better of this strong field and you can assume that the Juddmonte connections will be hoping it doesn’t pan out like last time when he was just bested by half a length by Night Of Thunder.
Punters got a genuine glimpse of Danza’s ability when he triumphed at a whopping 41/1 in the Arkansas Derby to seal his credentials for America’s first Classic race - which happened a matter of weeks later. Whether that was a one-shot deal or not, the fact remains that he will be fresh for Belmont.
The other really big story coming into the 2014 Belmont is Ride On Curlin - the only horse aside from California Chrome who looks likely to tackle all three Triple Crown races. The son of Preakness winner Curlin was able to finish the race well - but was...
The Preakness Stakes is now behind us and the emergence of upstart colt California Chrome continues to build towards a crescendo at historic Belmont Park in three weeks. Having defied the California breeding, the blue collar pedigree and owners that actually work 9/5 jobs, this son of Lucky Pulpit has garnered massive attention with media all over the world and websites as prominent as the Drudge Report have dubbed him “America’s Horse.”
It is heady times for California racing and, though there is a bit of a media scrum starting to develop around whether or not Chrome will be able to use a nasal strip (...
Much is expected of England’s Wayne Rooney in this World Cup and he will be expected to lead from the front the entire time with Steven Gerrard captaining the side. It’s going to be a real opportunity for Wazza to cement his position as one of the best English players of his generation if he really does have a big 2014 World Cup. The bookmakers have laid a 34.0 line on Rooney to score in every England group match.
There are plenty of interesting outcomes in the reckoning for the 2014 World Cup and, while the matches themselves and the group stage wagering tends to take the bulk of the early volume - there is a great opportunity to get some really solid special bets in before things actually kick off.
Special bets for the World Cup pretty much always have to be wagered before everything actually kicks off for the opening match-up so it’s worth taking a look now and getting your selections in for some of the more off-the-wall outcomes that might potentially be in...
The odds then take a bit of a jump as we mix into the large amount of contenders who are all trading in the 10/1-20/1 range. There are nearly a dozen contenders on the ante post market currently who remain difficult to nail down, price-wise. The likes of Kingston Hill are in at 12/1, Western Hymn can be had as low as 10/1 while Fascinating Rock looks to be a really interesting contender here with a firm price of around 14/1 with most books.
Geoffrey Chaucer is another really interesting contender that is worth a bigger look. He came out...
Aidan O’Brien comes into the next English Classic absolutely loaded with four contenders - one of which is the prohibitive even money favourite. There is a lot to like about how the race is shaping up and virtually everyone’s eyes have been firmly fixed on the conditions underfoot. Expect a few interesting swings in the wagering as well - particularly when we actually get closer to the race itself.
The prices on Australia are a bit all over the map at this point but Ladbrokes have him priced the absolute shortest - being the first book to take him into evens. The best price you’ll find out there right...
The biggest rivals at this point include Bayern, a Bob Baffert contender shipping east, and Social Inclusion - who missed the Derby but put in some very good shifts earlier this season. You will also see Ride On Curlin and Strong Mandate likely for this one.
There is also the presence of Ria Antonia - who most figured would be running in the Black Eyed Susan instead.
Danza is commanding an ante post price in the Preakness and he is the next best-priced contender after California Chrome with a listing of about 11/2. It actually looks unlikely that...
