Horse Racing Betting Tips for 2019

Horse racing fans across the world have plenty of top-class action to look forward to in 2019.

The Cheltenham Festival, Grand National and Royal Ascot are amongst the prestigious events that will enthral punters in the United Kingdom between now and the end of the year.

Elsewhere, the Dubai World Cup, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Breeders’ Cup are the highlights of the international racing calendar.

Read on as we look at some of the best bets for horse racing in 2019.

All roads lead to the Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the jump racing season in the UK, with the four-day event taking place in a natural amphitheatre in picturesque Gloucestershire.

The four-day meeting features a host of Grade I races, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Stayers' Hurdle. Regular and first-time racegoers head to Cheltenham to celebrate the very best of jump racing as the finest horses, jockeys and trainers battle it out for over £4.5 million of prize money.

Over 260,000 people create a superb atmosphere throughout the meeting, with experienced punters always happy to help newcomers to find out more about horse racing betting during the event.

Famous names like Arkle, Dawn Run, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star are etched into Cheltenham folklore and the 2019 meeting is sure to crown even more equine legends.

The undoubted main attraction this year is Altior and he looks the banker of the meeting at odds of 4/9 to extend his winning run to 18 races in the Champion Chase.

Top trainers chase millions in Dubai

Meydan Racecourse has firmly established itself as an important part of the flat racing circuit, with its undoubted highlight being the $12 million Dubai World Cup at the end of March.

The Group 1 race is the centrepiece of the world’s richest day of racing that attracts top horses, jockeys and trainers from across the world.

Total purses for this year’s card, which will feature six Group 1 and three Group 2 races, have been increased from $30m to $35m.

The winner of the one-and-a-quarter mile Dubai World Cup pockets a cool $7.2m, making it one of the most sought-after prizes in horse racing.

The race's first winner was the future United States Hall of Fame entrant, Cigar, and it has been won by many famous names since then.

Saeed bin Suroor’s runners are always worth following and his Thunder Snow is a worthy 3/1 favourite for this year’s renewal.

Ascot sparkles on and off the track

Royal Ascot is the jewel in the crown of the flat racing calendar in the UK, attracting over 300,000 spectators to the track during June each year.

It is also a major event in the British social calendar, with the fashion on show often gaining as much attention as the actual racing.

The meeting’s spectacular royal heritage has made the event anticipated and revered the world over.

From the arrival of the royal procession to the communal singing around the bandstand, with six top-class races between, each of the five days is truly memorable.

Royal Ascot is the UK’s most valuable race meeting, attracting many of the world’s finest racehorses to compete for £7.3m in prize money.

Stradivarius is priced at 11/4 to win the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup for the second year in a row and John Gosden’s talented stayer looks an excellent ante-post bet.

Arc lights up the autumn schedule

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is Europe's most prestigious race, crowning the champion middle-distance horse on the continent.

Held at Longchamp Racecourse on the banks of the River Seine at the start of October, the race attracts thousands of spectators every year.

Many highly acclaimed horses including Alleged and Dancing Brave have won the race and were justifiably regarded as the champion mile-and-a-half horse that season.

UK and Irish trainers have dominated the race in recent times, winning the event in each of the past four seasons.

Golden Horn was successful for Gosden in 2015, while Aidan O’Brien’s Found came out on top the following year.

Gosden’s stable star Enable has been the star of the show for the last two years and she looks overpriced at 4/1 to complete the treble this year.

Breeders’ Cup wows US racing fans

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade 1 thoroughbred races held over two days in late October or early November.

Tracks across North America take it in turns to host the event which attracts top horses from the USA, Europe and Oceania.

In 2018, total prize money was increased to over $30m after another race, the Juvenile Turf Sprint, was added and the purse for the Sprint was increased to $2m.

The Breeders' Cup Classic is the one of the top races in the USA and is now regarded as the fourth leg of horse racing's Grand Slam of thoroughbred racing alongside the traditional Triple Crown of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

Yoshida finished fourth in the race last year and looks worth an each-way interest at odds of around 14/1 for the 2019 Classic.