Year: 2023

The Tote. Betting different

Stuart Burns
Tote Racing logo in red

The early years of the Tote Tote racing or simply “The Tote” as it’s known to its followers may seem like a bit of an old racing oddity and history to some. The reality is that the Tote has been a key player in the enduring success of UK horse racing. The Tote was originally conceived and designed to revitalise UK horse racing after it fell out of favour in the early part of the 20th century. Enacted by parliament under the Racehorse Betting Act as enacted in 1953 the…

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Royal Ascot Rename Group One Race in Memory of Her Late Majesty

Suzanne Ashton
Royal Ascot Logo Everything Horse Racing

Royal Ascot Group One race, the Platinum Jubilee Stakes to be renamed “The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes” Ascot racecourse has announced Group One race, the Platinum Jubilee Stakes will be renamed “The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes” In memory of Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. The feature race takes place on the final day of Royal Ascot each year (this year 24th June). The race is one of the most prestigious sprint races in the world, and it often attracts the best sprinters from around the globe. Some of…

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Kimblewick Point-to-Point Treats Crowds to an Eventful Day

Suzanne Ashton
Kimblewick point-to-point. Credit is Neale Blackburn, chasdog.com

Written by Jake Exelby, feature image credit Neale Blackburn, chasdog.com A sunny Bank Holiday saw a large crowd at Kingston Blount Kimblewick point-to-point on Sunday 7th May treated to three close finishes, two impressive wins and an eventful Mens Open won by a true course specialist. Farol Mens Open The latter was Gabrial the Great, owned, trained, and ridden by Evesham-based Thomas Murray in the eight-runner Farol Mens Open over the shorter distance of two-and-a-half miles. The 14-year-old, who has now won five races at Kimblewick can definitely be counted as a…

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Exclusive Newmarket Racehorse Training Yard for Sale

Stuart Burns
Exclusive Newmarket Racehorse Training Yard for Sale

Rarely does one see such a property of this nature on the market. A fully-equipped, modern racehorse training yard complete with a luxury four-bedroom house and trainers office to boot. As they say location is everything and this lovely property on the outskirts of Newmarket is no different.   Set in 0.35 acres, Pond House Stables has a guide price of £625,000 with property consultant Carter Jonas and comprises a 20-box yard with a horse walker and access to local gallops. Distance from The stables to Newmarket is a mere…

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Davies lobbying lands him in hot water

Stuart Burns

To the sound of Britney Spears “Oops I did it again” another Tory has been caught in what can only be described as lobbying hot water. Whilst there is no accusation of explicit wrongdoing the optics on his (Philip Davies) conduct looks less than transparent, which is unfortunate given the issues in parliament of “Buy a Tory” that seem to be going on recently. Old Kwasi and his fellow donkey Hancock (we had to get the racing angle in) were offering their services to non-existent South Korean companies for a…

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Kimblewick point-to-point

Suzanne Ashton
Kimblewick Races Point-to-point in action. Image credit Hattie Austin

Kimblewick point-to-point takes place this weekend around the small village of Kimblewick in Buckinghamshire. For those unaware, point-to-point racing is a form of amateur steeplechase racing, in which horses race over a course of obstacles such as hedges, ditches and fences. It is not just one race but several races over the space of several hours and also distances. In total seventy seven horses across the six races of the day. This second Kimblewick race meeting starts at 2pm this Sunday 7th May and promises to be an interesting affair…

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Royal Ascot: A global field gallop to Ascot

Suzanne Ashton
Image: Royal Ascot grandstand collection ring

Entries from across the globe have been received for the eight Group One races at Royal Ascot. The superstar field set to include runners from Australia, Hong Kong and the USA.  Discover a selection of the ones to watch across four of the Group One races taking place at Ascot 2023. When: Royal Ascot Tuesday June 20th – Saturday June 24th, 2023 King’s Stand Stakes Race Facts; distance 5 furlongs; age 3 year-olds+ King’s Stand Stakes contender Coolangatta heads a strong Australian contingent after securing her second G1 victory for Ciaron Maher…

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Top three horse racing scandals

Stuart Burns
horse racing scandals image of horses racing for illustration only

Horse racing scandals can create vast sums of money, fame, and fortune for the corrupt. The downside is potential prison time and social paraigh status. The integrity of horse racing is an essential component for everyone involved. However, not everyone got the memo. Here we look at the most high-profile horse racing scandals but these are just a fraction of the ones we know about. Lester Piggot Doping (and Tax) Scandal Everyone in horse racing knows of the famous Lester Piggot who had a love/hate relationship with the British taxman.…

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Off beat betting. Weird but fun bets

Stuart Burns
off beat betting Images of Camel Racing in Tunisia with a crowd behind them.

Horse racing is awesome but sometimes off beat betting gives completely new gives renewed excitement and an experience to remember. These are not the type of bets a reader could place in the local betting shop or domestic on-line betting site but it is possible to bet on the following, remembering it’s all about the fun… “I won. My camel came in at 10-1” would be an interesting conversation starter even with non-gamblers on a Monday morning. Camel Racing One of the most well known alternatives to horse racing is…

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