The race has a long and rich history, having taken place at Aintree almost every year since at least 1839. Only during the Second World War was the race cancelled; the First World War only forced a brief relocation. It is recognized as one of the most challenging steeplechases in the world for both jockey and horse, with the majority of starters failing even to complete the race. Some of the fences have become infamous, such as Becher’s’ Brook, which has been described by some as being like “jumping off the edge of the world”, because of the 6 foot 9 inch drop on the landing side. The difficulty of some of the fences has caused controversy because of the danger presented to both horse and rider.

The National, as it is also known, has produced some of horse racing’s legends, including Red Rum, who won the race three times in the 1970′s, and Foinavon, the 100/1 outsider who won the race in 1967, ridden by jockey John Buckingham. Last year the winner was Ballabriggs, ridden by Jason Maguire, and trained by Donald McCain, Jr. for owner Trevor Hemmings. The prize was equivalent to around $1,470,000.

While the Grand National itself takes place on Saturday, April 14th this year, it actually forms part of a three day festival, including Liverpool Day on the 12th, and Ladies’ Day on the 13th. Ladies Day has become as famous for fashion as it has for horse racing, offering a chance for the rich and famous to shine, often with outrageous hats like the one that grabbed last years’ headlines, based on novelty doughnuts.

But the centerpiece will be the National itself: at four miles and 856 yards, and with 30 fences, it ranks as of one of the most difficult and prestigious horse races in the world.

Simon Cowell may now be regretting his decision not to appear as a judge in the latest series. Losing the ratings battle is just one of the crises to hit the show in recent weeks. Judges Kelly Rowland and Tulisa locked horns a few weeks ago over contestant Misha B, who on the live show, was accused by Tulisa of bullying. They now both say they have ‘kissed and made up’ with Tulisa saying “Yeah there’s some tension but it’s not done deliberately. I’m so passionate about this and sometimes people might think I’m being stroppy or whatever but that’s just me.”

Louis seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut, repeating the same old, same old jingles week after week, re-enforcing the view that anyone over thirty has nothing interesting to say. Gary Barlow is still very cute but has dented his credibility as a judge by confessing his recent remarks about Frankie Cocozza were aimed at keeping him in the competition, not a true reflection of his performance. Well that worry’s over now for Gary, as the 18 year old with the doubtful voice has managed to get himself kicked off the show. After being overheard by production staff boasting about his Saturday night shenanigans, which include getting just 30 minutes sleep and claims about cocaine fuelled sex sessions, the wild child is off the show and back home in Brighton. Simon Cowell in an unforgiving mood said he only had himself to blame and had blown a wonderful opportunity.

Over at the BEEB things seem much calmer although the series has had it’s moments. Lulu became the fifth celebrity to leave the show and the coolness between her and professional dancer Brendan has not gone unnoticed. After some criticism of the dancers outfits at the beginning of the series, have they been toned down just a little, well it is a family show after all. Holly Valance will not be dancing with her partner Artem Chigvintsev this week as he is injured. Artem has been advised to rest and Brendan has stepped in to his shoes for this weeks show. Poor Artem, having to stay home with the gorgeous Kara Tointon, his girlfriend from the last series, it must be hell!. Both series are now roughly half way through and the Great British Public WILL decide who comes out on top in the final ratings war.

Latest Odds For XFactor

Latest Odds For Strictly

The All Blacks have the hopes of a nation on their shoulders ahead of this weekend’s clash with Australia, but Hansen is convinced that it is something they are more than capable of handling.

Referring to playing under pressure, he said: “I’d say it’s been like that for four years. Everyone feels pressure, it’s how you react to it that’s the key.”

“We’re really excited and looking forward to the challenge of the semi-final. It doesn’t get any bigger. As long as you can walk towards the pressure then you’re in control of it, it’s not in control of you.”

Hansen also believes that his side are mentally prepared for the battle with Australia. He is also fully aware that the team who knocked out those in 2011 South Africa Shirts () in the last round are a dangerous side.

He continued: “The preparation’s got to be dead-set genuine and you’ve got to take yourself to the right places mentally. You’ve got to make sure you’ve got your game plan clarity right.”

“Once you’ve got clarity you can have intensity and purpose about what you do and that gives you accuracy as well.”

“If we can get those things tidied up, then we get on the track on Sunday night and it’s going to be all on.”

“Your top players in the big games have to play as top players, you can’t afford them not to be world class and that’ll be what it’s like on Sunday.”

New Zealand v Australia is the second semi-final, following Wales v France on Saturday as four teams aim to take part in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.

The colt, owned by the Queen, had been placed as the clear favourite for the race after an impressive win at the Dante Stakes last month, but his odds lengthened considerably to 13-8 with some bookmakers when news of the injury filtered through.

The Queen’s racing manager John Warren played down the incident, claiming that the injury wouldn’t affect his ability to run in the classic.

“Following a routine canter yesterday, Carlton House was found to have a small amount of filling in his near-fore joint.” He said on Wednesday.

“Precautionary X-rays were taken, which revealed no abnormalities.”

“We remain hopeful that he is on target for the Investec Derby on Saturday.” Warren added.

Now the Aiden O’Brien trained duo Recital and Seville have closed in on Carlton House in the betting stakes, while French challenger Pour Moi is also well in the mix with plenty of horse bets backing the Andre Fabre trained horse.

Carlton House had strengthened his grip on the favourite spot after an excellent training run on the Epsom turf, and Warren said that most of his hard work had been done anyway, meaning the injury would only be a minor inconvenience.

“Luckily, his important work is now out of the way. He told Racing UK. “It would only be routine cantering that would be left to be undertaken for the remainder of the week.”

“It could be the equivalent of a footballer straining his ankle. It was a little bit sore and they will be icing, hosing and wrapping to try and keep the joint well looked after.”

“We are still extremely hopeful but it will be a day-by-day thing.” He added.

Man. City fans have already faced some bad luck as a Royal Mail van carrying 900 tickets of their allocation was robbed. The average value of the tickets was £65 and it’s possible they could end up on the black market at highly inflated prices. The F.A. says it has cancelled the tickets on it’s computer system and anyone trying to use one on the day will be refused entry. The tickets may not be reissued but the club have said they will be holding back 900 tickets for the affected fans if necessary. The Club said “Manchester City are working closely with Greater Manchester Police and Royal Mail in connection with the theft of special delivery mail items from a Royal Mail van on Friday,”. “A number of tickets for the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium were stolen. All supporters impacted by the theft will be contacted by the club in the coming days. “Supporters are strongly advised not to purchase tickets from unofficial sources. “Only tickets purchased direct from the club will be valid for the game.”

It seems Man. City will be missing Micah Richards who is suffering from a hamstring injury. The 22 year old defender was injured in the England Under 21s victory against Denmark last week and will be unavailable for the next four to six weeks. “It is not what I wanted to hear,” he said. “I felt sick when I was told. Of all the games to miss, a Wembley date with United is the last one any player would choose”. Defender Jerome Boateng is also injured and City will be seeking a second opinion on whether he requires surgery to his knee when he returns from International duty with Germany.

On the other side of the city at Old Trafford, they have their own problems with Rooney facing a two match ban from the F.A. after he was charged with “use of offensive, insulting and/or abusive language”. Rooney launched into a foul mouthed tirade on camera after scoring a hat-trick in the match against West Ham. The player, who issued an apology soon after the game, appealed on the grounds the punishment was to severe, however the F.A. upheld their original decision. Rooney will now miss the Fulham game and more importantly the semi-final.

In spite of the problems faced by both clubs the fans will be looking forward to a great day out and hopefully some great football. The streets of Manchester look set to be extremely quiet on Saturday but the clubs and pubs might do quite well and if the weather’s kind there could be quite a cloud of ‘barby’ smoke hanging over the city!.

Full betting odds for the Manchester United Vs Manchester F.A. Cup Semi Final as listed below.

Mr Whitely had taken advantage of a free promotional entry ticket and arrived at the course by public transport . Intending to have a some small bets and a few drinks with some friends,die hard gamblers would have been dismayed at his ‘method’ of random selection.

Despite odds of 368,639 – 1 he managed to pick all six winners. His selection for the last race was Lupita at 12-1 it looked unlikely she could win however in the last furlong she passed ‘Only Hope’ and created an instant millionaire. The four leaf clover he had taken with him certainly came in handy.

Mr Whitely from Devon admitted he was “shaking like a leaf” during the last race when he realised he had the only qualifying ticket left. Since the win his life has certainly changed , already he has been inundated with requests for interviews and photographs. Partner, Jill, who had received no birthday present from him wisely said “you cant stay mad at a millionaire for long”.

Off on a pre planned holiday to Australia next week [an upgrade on the ticket perhaps? he has said he intends to carry on working as a heating engineer but maybe a few more days at the races? could be on the cards. You can bet directly into Tote pools with Paddy Power Bookmakers or Ladbrokes Bookmaker, will you be the next big winner?

Johnson and Denise both looked a bit stunned to have got through to next week However, the Great British Public has spoken and even the judges must abide by this! Just goes to show it’s not all about the skating after all. Johnson continues to push himself every week and does improve, behind that cheery smile you can sense the grit and determination, the public obviously want him there. Just go for it Johnson.

I thought Denise was much better this week,not so nervous and gave her best as we’ve now come to expect.The judges were not impressed though and I thought they marked her a bit meanly, you have to give something for effort and improvement. If there is no encouragement by way of improving marks they may as well all do a ‘Kerry’. Just like Johnson, the public spoke and decided Denise deserved to be there, it restores your faith in human nature at times!. Go for it Girl.

Jeff upped his game this week and it was a pleasant,well executed dance with his partner. However is it just me who finds it hard to warm to this guy? the smile is only on the lips isn’t it.

Sam and Brianne were undoubtedly the stars of the show this week with their exciting Riverdance routine. They certainly captured the essence of Irish dance and the three nines the judges gave them were well deserved.

Chloe’s Bollywood dance was excellent she looks like she’s starting to believe she can skate after all. Mum Judy, was ever so pleased, bless. Torvill and Dean and Tango, what can you say but absolutely fabulous how fantastic to see.

As things transpired, had the filly gone on to win the race she would have been the first of an amazing six winners on the card for her popular handler. As it was, he had to settle for just five, including sending out the first two in the William Hill King George VI Chase with the tremendous Long Run (9/2) and the tough as teak Riverside Theatre. Henderson’s 357/1 five-timer stole the show on a day when many had expected his arch-rival Paul Nicholls to bask in the limelight once again with Kauto Star. But it wasn’t to be for Nicholls, who left the Sunbury track empty-handed.

French import Nadiya De La Vega (4/7f) made a winning start to her career with Henderson, landing the novices’ chase in some style, earning quotes of as short as 16/1 for the Arkle Trophy. In the next race Henderson’s 15/8f Chablais impressed most observers with an authoritative display in the novices’ hurdle after which he received quotes of around 12/1 for the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Skint failed to justify favouritism in the handicap hurdle finishing second, but normal service was resumed in the next when Polyfast (9/2) returned from a long absence to carry top weight to victory in the handicap chase, to complete a hat-trick for Barry Geraghty. Those who had placed horse racing bets on Henderson’s charges would have been very pleased by events.

Tony McCoy was aboard Henderson’s Binocular (13/8f) a brilliant winner of the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle and now a strong favourite to retain his title in the Champion Hurdle, before Sam Waley-Cohen gave Long Run a superb ride to lad the ‘King George’ from stable companion Riverside Theatre. The party at Seven Barrows on Saturday night must have been something special and Henderson could be forgiven for not surfacing too early on Sunday morning after a truly memorable performance the day before.

The eight-year-old has met with hold-ups to his training schedule over the last couple of months as a result of the severe winter weather experienced in Ireland, and is still considered by connections to be one gallop short of race fitness. As well as Hurricane Fly, unbeaten in three outing so far this term, Dunguib could find himself facing Solwhit, Voler La Vedette and former champion hurdler Sublimity, in what will doubtless prove to be a key trial for the big race itself at the Cheltenham Festival on March 15th.

An outstanding novice hurdler last term, the gelded son of Presenting was seen as the Irish banker of the meeting at Cheltenham last year, lining up for the opening race of the fixture, the Supreme Novices’ hurdle, as odds-on 4/5 favourite in the Cheltenham odds having been unbeaten in four outings over hurdles, including two at Grade 1 level. His defeat at the hands of Menorah appeared a major disappointment at the time, but has subsequently proven to be very smart form in light of the winner’s achievements since.

Beaten again at Punchestown in April (behind Hurricane Fly) when probably over the top for the season, Dunguib’s return to action is eagerly anticipated by his many fans. A good effort at Leopardstown would almost certainly see his current ante-post odds for the big race at Cheltenham cut from the best price of 20/1 on offer at present, to less than half the price. The Gold Cup betting will be many punter’s obsession during the festival, but the Supreme Novices’ could be a race to watch.

A return to his best would be great for Dunguib, great for Irish racing and for the Champion Hurdle itself, which is already building up to be an absolute cracker.

Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford 25 years ago with the stated intention to ‘Knock Liverpool off its perch’. Few can doubt that he’s achieved his goal, Ferguson knows a win for his team on sunday will be The coup de grâce for Roy Hodgson’s reign at Anfield and also signal the end of Liverpool’s 2010/2011 campaign. In a season where United are currently on target to surpass Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles the humiliation will be too much to bear for most scousers.

Liverpools recent defeats to Blackburn Rovers, Wolves and Newcastle United doesn’t offer much comfort for the travelling away fans, but this game is renowned for throwing the form book out of the window. Expect a bruising battling encounter and don’t be surprised if you see a flash of red card and a penalty or two. History also dictates that in every FA Cup tie between these two sides since 1985, the winners of the tie have gone on to lift the trophy. Motivation, indeed, if any were needed.

You can view all the latest odds for Manchester United Vs Liverpool in the FA Cup below.

United are back to full strength and due to bad weather last week they have enjoyed a good rest.

On the other hand Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas only has a “small chance” of being fit, so it will probably be a choice between Tomas Rosicky, who has started the previous two Premier League games in that role, and Robin van Persie, who is fit again and has started the Carling Cup game against Wigan and the Champions League match versus Partizan Belgrade there.

My gut feeling is United could go ballistic on Arsenal tonight, if Berbatov and Rooney are both in the mood then Arsenal’s defense will not be able to hold them. If this is the case then Paddy Power bookmakers cashback offer looks hard to beat. The offer works like this… “If there are more than four goals in the game, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on that match.”

Live full match odds are below…

The bookmakers have Manchester City odds on favorites to beat Blackpool, but let’s not forget that Newcastle United and Liverpool know it’s not going to be as easy as just turning up! Speaking in the Sun, Manchester United captain Gary Neville talking about the neighbours Man City said: “There is no doubt we have to see City as major challengers this season along with Chelsea. “Both clubs are above us and the money City have spent, and the quality and depth in both squads, means we have to see them both as rivals.” for City to be taken seriously as title contenders then they must win these ‘easy’ away games.

Personally I’d stick a few quid on Blackpool via the Asian Handicaps, give Blackpool half a goal head-start, which takes away the draw and I think you’d be onto a winner. Full odds for Blackpool Vs Manchester City can be viewed below.

Odds box will show next match once this game has been played.

After a run of six successive victories to start their Premier League and Champions League campaigns in emphatic fashion, the Blues were knocked out of the Carling Cup following a 4-3 home defeat by Newcastle on 22 September.

Three days later, the west Londoners lost 1-0 at Manchester City, their first league loss since the same opposition beat them at Stamford Bridge on 27 February.

Despite that setback at Eastlands, Ancelotti’s men remain top of the Premier League table, three points clear of second-place Manchester United and four points ahead of Arsenal, who are third. Kick off is 4.00 o’clock on sunday and the match is screened live on SkySports.

You can see the odds for Chelsea Vs Arsenal match below.

The eight-year-old thrilled his legions of fans when once again showing his liking for the track at Glorious Goodwood, adding a victory in the Group 2 Audi King George Stakes to his 2006 Steward’s Cup success, as well as two other subsequent placed efforts in the ultra-competitive handicap. He’s always a favourite racing tip.

The dual Group 1 Nunthhorpe Stakes winner has been a magnificent standard bearer for Bastiman’s yard, already amassing nearly £740,000 in career prize money having cost connections just 13,000 guineas as a yearling at Doncaster Sales back in 2003.

Although his Goodwood victory was only his first this term, the son of Compton Place had showed that he retains all of his ability when running great races to be placed in the Palace House Stakes, the Temple Stakes and the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, prior to his cosy success when showing his customary late burst of speed to beat Group Therapy.

Shortly after pulling up however, Borderlescott seemed very lame and early prognoses suggested he would not run again this term due to a chipped bone in his pelvis. Subsequent tests have shown no such damage and indicate a muscular problem which seems to be improving rapidly, but not fast enough to allow the Yorkshire-based horse to go to York’s Ebor meeting later this month to attempt to land a third Nunthorpe. He would have been many people’s horse racing tip to do just that.

As long as he stays sound, Bastiman’s pride and joy will go instead to Paris in eight weeks time in a bid to improve on his third placed effort in 2008 in the great international sprint event.

Yorkshireman Ogden has been in the racing business for decades and has tasted plenty of success under both codes, but his highest profile wins thus far have been in the National Hunt sphere with household names such as champion chaser Voy Por Ustedes, the enigmatic and hugely talented Exotic Dancer, Ungaro, Star De Mohaison and the tremendously popular Marlborough.

Last week’s Newmarket July meeting though proved something of a watershed for Ogden, who not only saw Sand Frontiere spring a 14/1 shock in the Group2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes, but tasted further Group2 glory when his juvenile colt King Torus landed the Superlative Stakes.

Sans Frontiere, a distant fourth to the smart Harbinger in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, showed much improved form to run out a cosy winner from Redwood in the HQ feature, and winning trainer Jeremy Noseda has confirmed that after running the idea past Ogden there is a chance that the Galileo colt will be trained with a view to bidding for the ‘race that stops a nation’ some 12,000 miles away in Australia in late autumn.

Noseda also suggested that a bid for the Group1 Irish St Leger at the Curragh is another distinct possibility and that all plans remain fluid.

Some betting tips are offering a price about Sans Frontiere beating the Aussies in their own backyard, and currently go 33/1.

Paul has already betrayed his own country by predicting a German win over England. He makes his predictions by eating one of the two mussels trapped in cube shaped containers, which are marked with the German national flag and the flag of Germany’s opponent in the upcoming game. The container that is chosen first by the octopus is the winner of that particular match.

Now bookmakers are worried that football fans will lump millions on the Octopuses prediction for the final. The eight legged oracle has even received death threats from furious Argentina fans who blame him for their defeat. Whilst fans are hoping to make a few squid of his predictions, bookmakers have vowed to turn him into sushi if his last prediction comes true!

Paddy Power bookmakers commented on their blog… thankfully Paul the psychic Octopus isn’t a Paddy Power customer.

William Hill bookmaker is so impressed by Paul’s predictive powers that it was offering even odds that he will pick the winner of the final on Sunday, between Spain and Holland.

“Punters are keen to keep on the right side of Paul’s tips, so we are giving them the chance to bet that he’ll pick the winner before they even know which side he has opted for,” said William Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.

At least one punter was kicking himself for not paying attention to Paul. A man who staked a record €500,000 (£415,000) on Germany winning last night lost his wager – the largest World Cup bet ever, according to William Hill.

UPDATE: Paul has now picked Germany to win the 3rd place playoffs over Uruguay!! Get your bets on people….

They were backed at 4.8 to keep a clean sheet against the free-scoring South Americans, at 7.2 to be leading at half-time and winning at full-time and at 7.8 to win to nil. The correct score market was the one that saw the most extraordinary price being matched with the “any unquoted” (either team to score four or more goals) touching odds of 100.0, hardly surprising given that it was just 1-0 after 67 minutes.

This run to the semis is a remarkable turn of events for a side who came into this tournament riddled with problems including allegations of in-fighting, discontent over the manager’s alleged pay demands, injuries to key players such as Michael Ballack and the fact they had been drawn in an extremely tough group made up of Ghana, Serbia and Australia. All of which explains why they went into this tournament at around the 17.0 mark despite having a fantastic pedigree in the World Cup. Argentina were matched at a low of 4.8.

Miroslav Klose’s two goals in the game mean that despite a torrid time at Bayern Munich this season, he is right up there at the top of the goalscoring charts once again. The lanky striker is on four goals alongside David Villa, Wesley Sneijder, Gonzalo Higuain and Robert Vittek with only the first two still left in the competition. Klose is the 5.2 second-favourite behind 2.0 David Villa, who plays tonight.

The ‘National’ is one of England’s most watched sporting events. On the day of the race, young, old and even those with little or no interest in horse racing will tune in to watch the action, TV coverage is provided by the BBC, the day long live coverage starts in the morning and finishes just after the race at five o’clock. A prize fund of £1 million pounds awaits the winning combo of trainer, jockey and owner.

Last years surprise winner ‘Mon Mome’ cruised home at odds of 100/1, the race is again wide open and almost anyone of the forty horses could win it. Big priced winners are not unusual with such a grueling course. The race is so hard because of the huge fences that the horses must navigate, in total the competition is four and a half miles long. Making it one of the longest in the racing calendar.

Already there are a number of ante-post favorites that come across like real contenders. With forty horses running picking a winner is never trouble-free, but there are a few guidelines to take into account.

Weight is very important, Hedgehunter was the last winner since Corbiere to carry over 11st to triumph. A pound here or there over 11st should not be a major fear but do not bet on a horse if it carries over 11st 3lbs. The straightforward fact is only one other horse in the past has managed to win with that kind of load and that was Red Rum! The 2008 Grand national frontrunner, Comply or Die, weighed 10-09 and the 2009 champion, Mon Mome, weighed 11-00!

Up to that time I would have suggested that you overlook the French horses and in spite of the magnificent win from Mon Mome in 2009, I still stand by that because regardless of what people may say, they just can’t go the distance in this race. Irish and English chasers are purposely trained day in and day out, all year around, for this kind of race so pick them!!

Age counts for much in the John Smiths Grand National. 11 out of the last 17 winners were aged ten or above but nine is the new ten and horses are so well trained now that nine year olds are the flavor of the day. First, second and third place in both the 2008 and 2009 races were all nine years old. Eight is a little on the undeveloped side and don’t bet any seven year olds as it’s been 67 years since one landed the National and hardly any even complete the course!

The 2010 Grand National is now over, Don’t Push It won! Below you can now see odds from the Bet365 Gold Cup Chase which features many of the horses that ran in the National…

To make things easy for everyone I’ve developed live list Grand National runners and odds, which includes a link to the bookmaker giving the best price! It’s updated in real time and allows you to easily see who’s the favorites and who are the 100/1 no hopers .

All of the final declarations have now been made so there should be very few changes to the line-ups below and the odds are no longer ante-post so what you see is what you get! The odds are from Paddy Power Bookmakers who have a fantastic ‘Bet £10 Get £20 Free’ offer on so you don’t just double your money, you treble it!

And watch out for their money back specials e.g. Paddy Power Bookmakers will refund all losing Win Singles if Dunguib wins the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

The first race which is the Supreme Novices Hurdle will be a cracker of an opening with Dunguib currently the ante-post favourite. Past winners include Go Native in 2009 and Captain Cee Bee in 2008.

There are six races scheduled for today which are as follows:

1.30 Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 2m 1/2f

• Dunguib 4/5
• Get Me Out Of Here 9/2
• Blackstairmountain 10/1
• Menorah 10/1
• Oscar Whiskey 10/1
• Dan Breen 20/1
• Flat Out 20/1
• General Miller 25/1
• Vino Griego 66/1
• Spring Jim 100/1
• Cootehill 100/1
• Far Away So Close 100/1
• Fiulin 100/1
• Dream Esteem 100/1
• Chain of Command 150/1
• Hollins 200/1
• Mister Wall Street 200/1
• Takestan 200/1

2.05 Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase 2m

• Captain Cee Bee 5/2
• Somersby 7/2
• Sizing Europe 5/1
• Sports Line 7/1
• Riverside Theatre 8/1
• Osana 14/1
• Kangaroo Court 20/1
• Mad Max 25/1
• Woolcombe Folly 25/1
• Fosters Cross 40/1
• Quiscover Fontaine 40/1
• Im Delilah 100/1

2.40 William Hill Trophy Handicap Steeple Chase 3m 1/2f

• Bensalem 11/2
• The Package 11/2
• Theatrical Moment 10/1
• Character Building 12/1
• Ogee 12/1
• Exmoor Ranger 14/1
• The Tother One 14/1
• Niche Market 16/1
• Casey Jones 16/1
• Razor Royale 16/1
• Beat the Boys 16/1
• Nenuphar Collonges 20/1
• Kicks For Free 20/1
• New Alco 25/1
• Chief Dan George 25/1
• Tatenen 25/1
• Joe Lively 25/1
• Comply or Die 33/1
• Officier De Reserve 33/1
• Offshore Account 33/1
• Stan 50/1
• Bible Lord 50/1
• Knowhere 50/1
• Ollie Magern 66/1

3.20 Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy 2m 1/2f

• Go Native 7/2
• Solwhit 11/2
• Punjabi 7/1
• Binocular 7/1
• Khyber Kim 8/1
• Medermit 9/1
• Celestial Halo 9/1
• Zaynar 9/1
• Starluck 12/1
• Won In The Dark 50/1
• Jumbo Rio 80/1
• Raise Your Heart 200/1

4.00 Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Steeple Chase 3m 7f

• Garde Champetre 9/4
• L’Ami 10/3
• Sizing Australia 9/2
• Monkerhostin 12/1
• Another Jewel 16/1
• Drombeag 18/1
• Silver Birch 20/1
• Freneys Well 25/1
• Lacdoudal 25/1
• Double Dizzy 25/1
• Heads Onthe Ground 33/1
• A New Story 33/1
• Preists Leap 40/1
• Cornish Sett 40/1
• Tawnies 50/1
• Oceanos Des Obeaux 66/1

4.40 David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle Race 2m 4f

• Quevega 7/4
• Volver La Vedette 7/4
• No One Tells Me 10/1
• Sway 12/1
• Zarinava 20/1
• Carole’s Legacy 22/1
• Easter Legend 22/1
• Stravinsky Dance 25/1
• Pepite de Soleil 25/1
• Argento Luna 33/1
• Amber Brook 33/1
• Aura About You 33/1
• Arctic Magic 50/1
• Alasi 100/1
• Here Comes Sally 100/1
• Just Beware 250/1
• Princess Rainbow 250/1

A tougher Irish team than we’ve seen lately took to the field on Saturday and dominated a weaker Welsh side taking them one step further to the Triple Crown and potentially back to back Six Nations – of course that will depend entirely on England’s ability to beat France next week but they will need to really step it up a gear if that’s to happen.

So it now all comes down to Saturday March 20th, and a rugby filled day with the three remaining games on one after the other, to determine who will reign supreme. My head says it will be France, my heart says Ireland and my fingers will be crossed for England…

Saturday, 20 March 2010
France v England, 19:45
Ireland v Scotland, 17:00
Wales v Italy, 14:30

Paddy Power Bookmakers odds are as follows – can you guess who they think will win?????

• France 1/950
• Ireland 50/1

Last year saw him win the Dr. P.J. Moriarty Novice Chase in Leopardstown in February which preceded his impressive RSA Chase victory at Cheltenham the following month. In winning the RSA he was no less impressive than Denman had been in the same race two years previously, so it looks like things are looking promising for Cooldine and his team in this year’s Cheltenham Festival!

There was big disappointment for Cooldine’s return race at the end of December 2009, the Lexus Chase, where Ruby Walsh chose to ride him over What A Friend, showing the faith that there is in his abilities. Unfortunately for all concerned, he was pulled up, but there was a big change in the bay gelding for the Hennessy Gold Cup which has reignited not just his trainer Willie Mullin’s hope in him, but also the punters and the bookmakers, who have given him odds as low as 10/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it has been speculated that his form is likely to be even better than it was in February by the time of the Cheltenham Festival in mid-March.

Cooldine is currently third favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday 19th March with ante-post odds of 12/1 with Paddy Power Bookmakers.

Whether he will be a realistic threat to the Nicholl’s stable clan is yet to be seen, but he is definitely considered a worthy opponent.

Following their win against England on Saturday by 20-16, Ireland are second favourites to become outright winners with Paddy Power bookmakers at 10/1 and with England now at 20/1. Of course France are still odds-on favourites at 1/25 which in lay man’s terms means that for every £25 you put on France you’ll win £1 so basically you’re not going to make a fortune out of that bet. Don’t despair though, England still have to play France and despite their recent results, they are playing well and do tend to raise their game when faced with serious opposition so they could level out this competition on the last day – March 20th.

Each team has two fixtures left which are as follows:

Saturday, 13 March 2010
Ireland v Wales, 14:30
Scotland v England, 17:00

Sunday, 14 March 2010
France v Italy, 14:30

Saturday, 20 March 2010
France v England, 19:45
Ireland v Scotland, 17:00
Wales v Italy, 14:30

Is it going to be France’s year again in 2010, only England or Italy can stop them now so watch this space…

He is last year’s Ryanair Chase winner, with good odds with Paddy Power Bookmakers, William Hill and Ladbrokes to win the gold cup and completed two miles on the Kempton turf course under jockey Paddy Brennan, in a spin alongside an unnamed younger horse ridden by trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies’s assistant Carl Llewellyn.

According to Racing Post, Brennan said:”He just really enjoyed himself. He was very keen and fresh, which we were hoping for. I couldn’t be any more happy with him. We just did two miles in a swinging canter. We didn’t really build it up much from that. It was case of getting him out of the yard. He is having a nice blow and he’s had a lovely time.”

Twiston-Davies said: “He was just having a canter, that’s all. It’s his last piece of racecourse work before Cheltenham and it will put him just right.”

Can Imperial Commander cause a real upset in the Cheltenham Gold Cup? Anything is possible on the day and despite the star power of Denman and Kauto Star they’re not invincible so maybe Paddy Brennan, who is really on form at the moment, and Nigel Twiston-Davies will be celebrating before Paul Nicholls!

And what about the others…Emily seems to be improving, even if it’s only marginally and as usual Hayley and Daniella were a pleasure to watch with the big surprise of the week going to Gary Lucy who looked the most comfortable I’ve ever seen him, beautiful dance and one that definitely put him in with a shot of winning the show.

Speaking of winning the show, the odds have been slashed again by Paddy Power Bookmakers so if you hope to stick a few quid on your favourite you’d better do it soon while the odds are still reasonably generous!

The full list with Paddy Power Bookmakers is below….

• Hayley Tamaddon 4/7
• Mickey Graham 4/1
• Daniella Westbrook 11/2
• Gary Lucy 7/1
• Kieron Richardson 20/1
• Danny Young 40/1
• Emily Atack 66/1

At eleven stone four, Niche Market also caused a huge commotion when having been one of four reserves for the 2009 Grand National he was denied a run when there were no non-runners. He then went on to prevail in the Irish National in April as a 33-1 shot, chased home by two horses that had started at 50-1. He was the third British-trained victor of the Irish National in the last six years, and gave trainer Buckler a very appreciated and very new taste of fame. He first took out a training licence fifteen years ago, and the reward money of €141,500 for the Irish National was more than he had won in the whole of the previous season. Buckler admitted that not getting to race in the Grand National may have been a ‘blessing in disguise’, as the Irish National was ‘much more suitable for him.’

Both owner and trainer have always been tremendously confident about Niche Market’s chances, knowing what he is capable of from the offset – he had been entered in huge races early on including the Cheltenham National Hunt Chase, in which he came fourth in 2008 and eighth in 2009. He was already showing what he was made of when he won the BGC Silver Cup at Ascot from Monkerhostin in December 2008. However it wasn’t until he came third to the huge Denman in the 2009 Hennessy Gold Cup that the horse racing world really began to sit up and pay attention.

Regan, being an Irishman, would prefer if Niche Market was a Cheltenham Gold Cup than an Aintree horse, but that is not the way things have worked out for the horse, which at the end of the day may work out in his favour if he wins in April. The nine year old he has been steadily improving over the past few years and owner Regan expects his weight to go up 2lb or a bit more, which would take his official mark from 148 to 150 approximately for the 2010 National. As Regan says: ‘Niche Market jumps, he gallops and he stays, so in my view, he’s a model for the National.’

Just click on a horses name to find out more about the form, jockey and trainer. You can also expand all the summaries by clicking the ‘expand/collapse’ tab in the widget below. The widget is automatically update when the odds or runners change. You can include it on your website, wordpress blog or forum. Click the ‘Get Widget’ tab below to get the code.

I have lots more content on the Grand National horse race and many articles on racing in general, you can check out a small selection of my latest stories below.

It’s been announced that Ruby Walsh will be riding Kauto Star and that Tony McCoy will be taking the reins on Denman for the first time in his illustrious career. Despite a downturn in form recently, Paul Nicholls has decided that it will McCoy, and not Sam Thomas, who is best suited to saddle up on the day but before he does he’s going to get a run out beforehand.

Denman is scheduled to run in the The Aon Steeple Chase at Newbury next Saturday, February 13th 2010 at 2.35pm. The race is a Class 1, Grade 2 run over three miles and despite the fact that the bookies don’t appear to be running ante-post odds on the race just yet, I have no doubt that Denman will be the odds on favourite on the day.

This will also be a great opportunity for McCoy to prove his worth and justify Paul Nicholls decision to give him the ride as many pundits across the forums believe that he should have stayed loyal to Sam Thomas but Nicholls is an astoundingly good trainer and decisions like this are not made lightly.

Newbury on February 13th will prove him right or wrong so watch this space…

This is how it’s going to work. The Grand National is a Class 1, Grade 3 race over four miles and four furlongs that is open to six year olds and upwards which are allotted a rating of 110 or more by the BHA Head of Handicapping following a review of the horses entered and after taking account of races run up to and including February 14, 2010. The race is going to be run on Saturday April 10th 2010 at 4.15pm at Aintree with a £925,000 total Prize Fund.

The weights will be revealed February 16 with the maximum allocated weight being 11st 10lb. The first scratchings have a deadline of March 2nd, the second scratchings deadline is March 23rd and the five/six-day confirmation stage will be April 5th with final declarations to be announced at 10.00am, April 8.

Below is the full list of all 112 entries and their odds with Paddy Power Bookmakers. They are still ante-post given the huge list and only when the weights are declared in two weeks will we really be able to indicate who is most likely to run on the day.

1. Tricky Trickster 16/1
2. Black Apalachi 20/1
3. Big Fella Thanks 20/1
4. Niche Market 20/1
5. Possol 20/1
6. War Of Attrition 20/1
7. Vic Venturi 20/1
8. Comply Or Die 25/1
9. Mon Mome 25/1
10. Backstage 25/1
11. Don’t Push It 25/1
12. Arbor Supreme 25/1
13. Dream Alliance 25/1
14. Taranis 25/1
15. State Of Play 33/1
16. Character Building 33/1
17. My Will 33/1
18. Irish Raptor 33/1
19. Hello Bud 33/1
20. Notre Pere 33/1
21. Can’t Buy Time 33/1
22. Snowy Morning 33/1
23. Gone To Lunch 33/1
24. Ballyholland 33/1
25. King Johns Castle 33/1
26. Air Force One 33/1
27. Albertas Run 33/1
28. Casey Jones 33/1
29. Madison Du Berlais 33/1
30. Our Vic 33/1
31. Roulez Cool 33/1
32. Siegemaster 33/1
33. The Package 33/1
34. Whinstone Boy 33/1
35. Offshore Account 40/1
36. Parsons Legacy 40/1
37. Joe Lively 40/1
38. Abbeybraney 40/1
39. Beroni 40/1
40. Le Beau Bai 40/1
41. Maljimar 40/1
42. Nozic 40/1
43. Officier De Reserve 40/1
44. Palypso De Creek 40/1
45. Seven Is My Number 40/1
46. Gallant Nuit 50/1
47. According To John 50/1
48. Ballyfitz 50/1
49. Ballytrim 50/1
50. Beat The Boys 50/1
51. Cane Brake 50/1
52. Chelsea Harbour 50/1
53. Cloudy Lane 50/1
54. Coe 50/1
55. Dooneys Gate 50/1
56. Ellerslie George 50/1
57. Equus Maximus 50/1
58. Flintoff 50/1
59. Glenfinn Captain 50/1
60. Iris De Balme 50/1
61. Irish Invader 50/1
62. Kilcrea Castle 50/1
63. Kornati Kid 50/1
64. Louping D’Ainay 50/1
65. New Alco 50/1
66. Oodachee 50/1
67. Parsons Pistol 50/1
68. Pomme Tiepy 50/1
69. Razor Royale 50/1
70. Royal County Star 50/1
71. Silver Birch 50/1
72. Sizing Australia 50/1
73. Star De Mohaison 50/1
74. Trabolgan 50/1
75. Treacle 50/1
76. Anothercoppercoast 66/1
77. Belon Gale 66/1
78. Boychuk 66/1
79. Cerium 66/1
80. Chief Dan George 66/1
81. Conna Castle 66/1
82. Darkness 66/1
83. Deutschland 66/1
84. Eric’s Charm 66/1
85. Follow The Plan 66/1
86. Jayo 66/1
87. Kilbeggan Blade 66/1
88. Merigo 66/1
89. Mr Pointment 66/1
90. Mumbles Head 66/1
91. One Cool Cookie 66/1
92. Over The Creek 66/1
93. Pablo Du Charmil 66/1
94. Piraya 66/1
95. Preists Leap 66/1
96. Trust Fund 66/1
97. Bible Lord 100/1
98. Chiaro 100/1
99. Cossack Dancer 100/1
100. Duers 100/1
101. Faasel 100/1
102. Kings Advocate 100/1
103. Knowhere 100/1
104. Lennon 100/1
105. Lorum Leader 100/1
106. Made In Taipan 100/1
107. Offaly 100/1
108. Old Benny 100/1
109. Ollie Magern 100/1
110. Pak Jak 100/1
111. Royal Rosa 100/1
112. Wee Robbie 100/1

For starters there are now 10 nominees in the Best Picture category, doubled from the usual five, after it was changed back in 1944. There are also two hosts this year in the form of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin instead of the usual loner up on stage. For only the second time since the Oscars began an African American, Lee Daniels, has been nominated in the Best Director category along with Kathryn Bigelow who becomes only the fourth woman to achieve the same feat.

I’m in two minds about the nominations. On the one hand a lot of the smaller budget movies have been acknowledged – The Hurt Locker, Precious and An Education to name a few which is fantastic for the movie industry. However, Avatar has also received nine of them and though it’s easy to appreciate the incredible detail in the film and the level of technology required to achieve such astounding special effects, that is ultimately what it is, a special effects movie that cost $200 million to make which kind of puts it an unfair advantage over the grittier, better written and more intriguing films that came out in the last 12 months.

Of course, like everything else in this world there are odds available on who’s going to win what on the night so if you want a piece of the action get clicking below with the latest odds from Paddy Power Bookmakers…

Best Picture

• Avatar 1/2
• The Hurt Locker 11/8
• Up in the Air 14/1
• Inglorious Basterds 16/1
• Precious 33/1
• An Education 80/1
• Up 80/1
• The Blind Side 100/1
• A Serious Man 100/1
• District 9 125/1

Best Director

• The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow 4/7
• Avatar – James Cameron 5/4
• Up in the Air – Jason Reitman 20/1
• Inglorious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino 25/1
• Precious – Lee Daniels 40/1

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) 1/5
• George Clooney (Up In The Air) 4/1
• Morgan Freeman (Invictus) 16/1
• Colin Firth (A Single Man) 18/1
• Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) 20/1

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) 4/6
• Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) 13/8
• Carey Mulligan (An Education) 10/1
• Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) 10/1
• Helen Mirren (The Last Station) 25/1

Best Supporting Actor

• Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds 1/20
• Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones 10/1
• Woody Harrelson – The Messengers 14/1
• Matt Damon – Invictus 25/1
• Christopher Plummer – The Last Station 25/1

Best Supporting Actress

• Mo’Nique – Precious 1/10
• Diane Kruger – Inglourious Basterds 8/1
• Penelope Cruz – Nine 12/1
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart 14/1
• Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air 20/1

Poor Emily Atack just doesn’t seem to get it at all because this is an entertainment show and so far she seems too mortified to even perform her routines, like she’s embarrassed to be out there, bet she’s got no problem cashing her cheque though!

Thankfully rays of sunshine were oozing out of Hayley Tamaddon, Mikey Graham and Daniella Westbrook who were fab and made the show worth watching but has last night’s performances dented any of their odds to win the show outright? With Danny Young’s popularity waning his odds have plummeted from 3/1 last week to 12/1 this morning and Hayley’s have shortened even further to 6/4.

The full list with Paddy Power Bookmakers is below….

• Hayley Tamaddon 6/4
• Mickey Graham 7/4
• Gary Lucy 4/1
• Daniella Westbrook 6/1
• Danny Young 12/1
• Kieron Richardson 20/1
• Heather Mills 33/1
• Emily Atack 40/1
• Dr Hillary Jones 66/1
• Sharron Davies 80/1

The field has been reduced from the 36 at the beginning of the week to 22 today and odds now available are no longer ante-post so any bets you place will stand and you will get your money back if your horse pulls out before the start of the race.

Seven Is My Number, the eight year old David Pipe horse, is currently the bookies favourite and although he is in tremendous form (111411) he will have some stiff competition on the day namely Exmoor Ranger who has had his odds shortened significantly during the week and has gone from 8/1 to 7/2. Watch out for both Killyglen and Calgary Bay who are hotly tipped and still very good value at 10/1 each.

The odds below are from Paddy Power Bookmakers…

• Seven Is My Number 13/2
• Exmoor Ranger 15/2
• Theatrical Moment 8/1
• Trabolgan 10/1
• Killyglen 10/1
• Calgary Bay 10/1
• Khachaturian 12/1
• Nenuphar Collonges 14/1
• Kicks For Free 18/1
• From Dawn To Dusk 20/1
• Regal Heights 20/1
• Gone To Lunch 20/1
• New Alco 22/1
• Nozic 22/1
• Ouzbeck 25/1
• Beat The Boys 25/1
• Zitenka 28/1
• Pretty Star 33/1
• Pocket Aces 33/1
• Always Waining 40/1
• Brooklyn Brownie 50/1
• Pak Jack 66/1

There are a number of different bets you can have on the UK election.

The first is the simplest – who will win the overall majority i.e. the most seats in the house of commons? The bookies have the shortest odds on the Conservative party winning the 2010 election. However, with the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg putting up a great show in the televised debates the chance of Cameron securing an overall majority is slipping away.

Paddy Power bookmakers has the biggest range of bets on the election where you can bet on the date of the election, the outright winner, number of seats each party will win, the LibDems to beat Labour, turn out %, BNP to win a seat in the commons and even if it will rain on election day!

You can keep up to date with all the election news and views at politicalbetting.com and you can get all the political scoops at www.order-order.com. Will a breaking scandal effect the odds?

Latest Election Odds

Home advantage for the quarter finals is always given the top 4 teams and then the semi final advantage is drawn from a hat!

Following the last pool game on Sunday the ERC also held the draw for the semi final places which will take place on either the 1st or 2nd May before eventually holding the final in Paris on May 22nd.

Quarter Finals
9th/10th/11th April 2010 Heineken Cup
Biarritz v Ospreys
Leinster v Clermont Auvergne
Munster v Northampton
Toulouse v Stade Francais

Semi-Finals
1st/2nd May 2010 Heineken Cup
Winners of Biarritz/ Ospreys v Winners of Munster/ Northampton
Winners of Toulouse/ Stade Francais v Winners of Leinster/ Clermont

And if you fancy your team to take the title this year then below are the Outright Heineken Cup Winner odds at Paddy Power Bookmakers

• Toulouse 11/4
• Munster 3/1
• Leinster 5/1
• Biarritz 6/1
• Clermont Auvergne 15/2
• Stade Francais 10/1
• Ospreys 12/1
• Northampton 25/1

Seven Is My Number, the eight year old David Pipe horse, is currently the bookies favourite and although he is in tremendous form (111411) he will have some stiff competition on the day namely Theatrical Moment (17-4411) and Killyglen (11P1-2P) who is still a very good each-way bet at 12/1 but this is ante-post and if horses drop out of contention these odds will shorten…

The odds below are from Paddy Power Bookmakers and are currently ante-post so rules apply. If you bet now and your horse does not run you may lose your stake.

• Seven Is My Number 7/1
• Theatrical Moment 8/1
• Exmoor Ranger 8/1
• Killyglen 12/1
• Far More Serious 12/1
• Calgary Bay 12/1
• Tatenen 14/1
• Trabolgan 14/1
• Khachaturian 16/1
• Kicks For Free 16/1
• Private Be 16/1
• Nenuphar Collonges 16/1
• Alderburn 20/1
• Battlecry 20/1
• Pablo du Charmil 20/1
• Zitenka 20/1
• Gone To Lunch 25/1
• New Alco 25/1
• Ouzbeck 25/1
• Pretty Star 25/1
• Nozic 25/1
• Beat The Boys 33/1
• Briery Fox 33/1
• From Dawn To Dusk 33/1
• Mill Side 33/1
• Or Jaune 33/1
• Oscar Park 33/1
• Pocket Aces 33/1
• Quattrocento 33/1
• Regal Heights 33/1
• Always Waining 33/1
• Flake 33/1
• Brooklyn Brownie 40/1
• Ollie Magern 50/1
• Pak Jack 50/1
• Description 66/1