Sport is made for betting

Caulfield's headline 'autumn' day features a card full of Group and Listed races, including the Blue Diamond, Futurity Stakes and the return of devastating Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist in the Peter Young Stakes. But the most competitive betting race of them all is the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate, a mad dash over the slightly unusual distance of 1100m. Taking the reins with the preview is Aussie form expert @BrisburghPhil . ---------------- Oakleigh Plate G1 Handicap, 1100m 5.15pm local time, 0615 GMT This is one of the best handicap sprint races in the country, probably my favourite to be quite honest, at 1200m or under. But then again I’m not a great fan of the big sprints down the Flemington straight, so I’m probably biased in that respect. I have also had some great results personally in the past seven years or so. I think the most unique thing about this race is that barriers play very little part in the result. In fact you are probably better off drawing wid...

The build-up to The Championships continues with a trip out to Warwick Farm, one of the lesser-used courses in Sydney, at least where feature races are concerned. The Chipping Norton is a Group 1 race over the metric mile but it also serves as a big pointer towards the rest of the autumn. Joining the blog for the first time is astute Sydney racing judge Ben McDermott, @BTMcDermott . Welcome aboard! ----------------------------- 2015 Chipping Norton Stakes Group 1 WFA, 1600m, Warwick Farm 4.15pm local time, 0515 GMT Preview by Ben McDermott Twitter - @BTMcDermott Form guide Odds comparison Runners by number order as follows Foreteller (Collett/ Waller) His first up run in the Apollo was encouraging and will take improvement from that run (Ran the fourth best final 600m (34.52). Draws inside which is a little awkward for this horse but will go back and run on. Not keen, I feel he will appreciate stepping up in distance following this race. Boban (Schofield/ Waller) ...

Australasian harness racing has plenty of feature events - the Hunter Cup, Miracle Mile, Victoria Cup, NZ Trotting Cup etc., but the time-honoured trophy has always been the Inter Dominion Championship. The format has been varied for the last couple of years (Gloucester Park to the rescue from next year) but the history books will still say ID Champion 2015. Analysing the final is harness enthusiast and aspiring racecaller Luke Humphreys, @worldracingluke . Forgive him for not focussing too much on the betting angle, he's not even half-way through high school yet! ------------------- Inter Dominion – Grand Final Tabcorp Park Menangle, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Sunday March 1 Race 7 - 3:42pm local time, 0442 GMT 3009 metres – Mobile Pacers Heat Highlights replay link - Full heat replays linked under each runner. Odds comparison 1: LENNYTHESHARK : Impressive enough when winning his heat , in Victoria, when having a comfortable lead and able to sprint home in ...

It's so close now you can almost taste it! But before we all trek to Cheltenham, it's the fun and games of the Preview circuit to get the blood pumping. If you're on other side of the Irish Sea, then I suggest you get to the Dublin Racing Club preview this week. In return for the plug, they've provided this longshot preview from 'resident hot air merchant' Stephen Cass, @cassstephen from the Dublin Racing Club . ------------------ Five Festival Hail Marys Stephen Cass Maybe it is just me but the ante-post markets this year have felt something of a dead duck. The Willie Mullins guessing game, the short priced favourites on the Tuesday, and bookmakers' reticence to offer ante post allowances has made for a more muted build-up. Last year Bet Victor had a fantastic non-runner free bet promotion from January onwards. Safe in the knowledge if they returned your ante post cash in the form of a free bet, you would punt it again Cheltenham week. It’s very p...

Newcastle's big Chase of the season takes place tomorrow, the grinding Eider Chase, a long old slog which seems to have been run on bottomless ground regularly in recent years. Not so tomorrow, Chris Day, @chrisday100 , with the preview. ---------------------------- Betfred Eider Chase £70,000 4m1f Newcastle The Eider Chase is traditionally one of the most gruelling tests of the jump season, historically run on heavy ground at Newcastle in mid February and for many years was recognised Grand National trial. This card may not house the Aintree winner for this year but, as a stand alone race, provides some good quality stuff to get our teeth stuck into from a betting perspective with a full field of 18 declared on unusually good to soft ground. Emma Lavelle's top weight, Shotgun Paddy , winner of last year's Classic Chase at Warwick, is a deserving favourite, having followed a disappointing effort in the Welsh National over Christmas with a strong staying third in t...

Just three weeks to the Festival and not a lot of quality jumping left before the finest week in British racing. Once known as the Racing Post Chase, the naming rights of this Kempton feature handicap have been taken over by BetBright. Sharing his shrewd assessment of this contest is regular contributor Chris Day, @chrisday100 ----------------------- BetBright Chase £100,000 Grade 3 Handicap Kempton 15.45 GMT In its heyday, the Racing Post Chase featured some of the most progressive chasers in training and was seen as a stepping stone to the Gold Cup itself. Recent editions have, however been slightly more modest and this year seems to be carrying on the trend. Top weight from a mark of 155 is the Nicky Henderson trained Radjhani Express , who put up his best performance in finishing third in last year's Ryanair Chase. He won over this course as a novice and, on ground no worse than good to soft, could be given a realistic chance. However, the ground appears likely to be...

The InterDominion series begins this weekend around Australia with the final to be run at Menangle on Sunday March 1. Preview by Darren Clayton, Racing Queensland handicapper, @dashman01 . ------------------- QUEENSLAND INTERDOMINION HEAT PREVIEW 2015 Sky Racing Interdominion Heat 3 Albion Park, Brisbane Mobile Start, starting 7 across the front 8.00pm Local time Current Tatts market Link to form guide with replays The Queensland Heat of the Interdominion will be the third heat held in the back-to-back running of the five heats across four states of Australia. With so much commentary on the format, one could wax lyrical about "the good old days" but that’s a discussion for another time and we will look solely at the Queensland Heat and who will be the sole Banana-bender to automatically progress to the big Final. Runner by runner the field lines up like this Avonnova - the free legged monster will be out to atone for his defeat in this same race 12 months ago at ...

The racing action starts to get serious in Sydney as they crank up towards the the autumn carnival and The Championships. Charged with the preview is Andrew Capelin of ACmarkets.com.au . He provides betting recommendations with reasons, rated prices and staking plans for NSW racing as well as the major Australian racing carnivals. ------------------------ Apollo Stakes G2 WFA 1400m Randwick Preview by Andrew Capelin Twitter - @ACMarkets Website - ACMarkets The Apollo Stakes is a Randwick Group 2 1400 Weight For Age race first run in 1977. Traditionally a lead up to the Group 1 races of the Autumn it has been won by some exceptional horses of the past including Sunline, Lonhro, Grand Armee and Racing To Win. There were 15 acceptors and Chris Waller will saddle up numbers 1-6. I am looking to invest outside the Waller stable in this race. Here is the preview and my reasons why. BOBAN G Schofield/ C Waller 5yo gelding 2nd up off a 28 d...

Not getting enough of your football betting? Looking through a form table is easy, but how do you quantify the absence of a key player? How does the absence of a striker, a midfielder or a centre-back translate to goals and results? Put some stats behind your gut instincts and work out when to lump on and when to steer clear of a sucker bet. One of the very best in the business is Football Form Labs who have shared their wisdom with a preview of some of this week's action. You can also follow Football Form Labs on Twitter, @footballformlab ------------------ Excerpts from the Football Form Lab Weekender email. PREVIEW: Tottenham v Arsenal (Sat, 12:45) The North London Derby kicks off the Premier League weekend and both sides come into this game on the back of impressive results. Arsenal thumped Villa 5-0 at the Emirates while Spurs won convincingly away against a rejuvenated West Brom following the appointment of Tony Pulis. After Southampton’s defeat against Swansea, Ars...