Sport is made for betting

The sun was out for a glorious opening day of the meeting, and races down the straight appeared to have no concerns about draw bias. Thursday's card has a few higher profile races but this 3yo sprint is worth watching closely, tomorrow and for future form.



British Stallion Studs EBF Westow Stakes
£50k, Listed & Class 1, 3yo, 5f
York 1605

Soldier's Call - flying machine, winning four of six starts in Britain last season, running third in the Prix L'Abbaye, beaten a neck at WFA then finished sixth as joint favourite in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint. Has plenty on these on ratings, but life's rarely that simple with unexposed 3yos early in the season.

Broken Spear - more exposed than most of these and well beaten by Garrus first up. Missed Chester last week, probably due to the rain (or a poor draw). Pass.

Charming Kid - won at this meeting last season but has been a little erratic ever since. Well beaten on AW Championships Day, appears to be a few lengths off these.

Garrus -…

The day to call time on this blog seems to be approaching, but I'll breathe life into it for just a little bit longer to keep my eye in...

York is one of the great racecourses of the world. A lovely spacious track, without the pomposity of Ascot or the drunken busloads of morons that turn up at Goodwood. This week forms a key lead-up to Epsom and Royal Ascot so it's important to do your form for the present and the future.

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Duke of York Clipper Logistics Stakes
Group 2, 6f, £125,000
York 1500 BST

Limato - probably peaked two years ago when he won the July Cup and Prix de la Foret but still classy. Won three of his last four and wouldn’t have appreciated the soft conditions on Champions Day. Two starts here for a small field win and a second in the Nunthorpe. 3lb penalty irrelevant, big show.

Brando - rated the same as 12 months ago when beaten two lengths by Harry Angel. Hasn’t won in seven starts here, always thereabouts but can’t see him winning.

El Astronaute…

Been a bit quiet on the posting front, but time to spark it up again with a SuperBowl preview from the sharpest of NFL pundits, Ian Steven @deevo82. Forgive him for not posting last year, he was too busy partying in Philadelphia for his beloved Eagles!
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Super Bowl XXXVI again
Americana descends on the world tonight in all its slightly-obese glory as the pinnacle of the Stateside sporting calendar bursts onto our screens with all the traditional glitz and glamour one would expect from the nation that incubated Hollywood.
Equally as majestic and crass as the Queen’s coronation with Ronald McDonald playing the part of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Super Bowl LIII attracts viewers of a non-sporting disposition as a contest to determine the best team in the NFL morphs into a burlesque show with your inebriated father wearing a corset appearing as the star act.
Atlanta is the host city with 75,000 fans in attendance, paying an average of $4,600 for a ticket to th…

Ah the Melbourne Cup, the envy of the world, what a race. And this year it ties in with my birthday as well, so giddyup, that has to mean a big collect doesn't it? :)


If only it was so easy. There's a bit of rain forecast during the day which is unlikely to affect the going (sand profile, drains incredibly well) apart from making it a little slippery on top so backmarkers may find it tricky to accelerate when required as they struggle for grip.
A lot of fuss can be made about the draw - it's about 900m (4.5f to the first bend) so there is plenty of time to get across into position. Having a positive jockey is a big asset. There was been six winners in the past 30 runnings drawn 20+, so if you fancy one out wide, talk it down as a huge negative and then cop a better price!
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The Lexus Melbourne Cup Group 1, 3200m, AU$7.3m Flemington, 1500 local. 0400 GMT

1. Best Solution - quite simply the best horse in the race, seeking to become the first topweight to win the Cups d…

The greatest day in world racing is upon us again, and it comes to us from the world's greatest city - Melbourne. The city is abuzz with Cup fever but before that, it's the purist's race day - Derby Day. Flemington will be in magnificent condition ahead of the four day carnival, and we've got a new contributor stepping to provide feature previews over the week.
It's a warm welcome to the team at StatsInsider. Find them on Twitter here.

I'll also be chipping in with a few previews over the week where time permits. And if you fancy penning a preview yourself, please drop me a line!

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Victoria Derby Betting Preview By Aaron Murphy on 1-Nov, time of writing 14:55.
The opening feature of Flemington’s spring carnival is nearly upon us, and the Stats Insider racing model is in for a profitable week after a solid start to it's ratings. Probably the biggest day of the year for the racing purist given the quality of the entire program, with four Group 1s and the re…