Horse Racing Archives - Communal News

Historical flashback: The Grand National Through the Decades

March 30, 2020March 29, 2020 Magdalena Rapala Leave a comment

The coronavirus crisis has hit horse racing hard, like every sport. All meetings in Britain and Ireland are off, with the biggest postponement that of the 2020 Grand National. The race is one of the most defining moments of the horse racing season, as the top trainers and jockeys go head-to-head in the hope of winning one of the sport’s most famous races, while punters all over the country analyse the all the horse betting odds. This year brings the beginning of a new decade of this famous race, and although it won’t take place in April as is the norm, you can be sure that jockeys and trainers will still have their eye on the big race when it is rescheduled.

The Infamous Cheltenham Fall that Still Hunts So Many Punters

February 7, 2020February 6, 2020 Alan Green 1 Comment

The Cheltenham Festival is just around the corner, but as thousands of punters flock to Prestbury Park for the four exhilarating days of National Hunt racing, while others look for the best Cheltenham betting odds, there is still one infamous moment at the Gloucestershire course that hunts so many punters.

The scene is set, the 2015 Cheltenham Festival opening day. The sun beaming down on the hallowed turf as spectators at the course and all over the country get geared up for the four hot favorites, all trained by the successful Willie Mullins and ridden by jockey Ruby Walsh, to sweep aside their competition and win the top opening races.

McKinzie (3-1) Favored in Breeders’ Cup Saturday

October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 Brendan Monaghan (CN Staff) Leave a comment

A deep and talented field will gather at (in)famous Santa Anita Park this weekend, along with perhaps 100,000 spectators, for the 36th running of the Breeders’ Cup. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is hoping for his fourth win in six years, and McKinzie (3-1) may be the horse to end his two-year drought. For a record tenth time, Saturday’s mile and one-quarter race will be held at Santa Anita. However, a dark cloud, which has transcended the world of horse racing, hangs heavy over this weekend’s event in Arcadia.

Preakness Stakes: Improbable (5-2) Favorite in Wild Weekend

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 Brendan Monaghan (CN Staff) Leave a comment

The sport of kings’ wildest two weeks in recent memory have seen horses disqualified, jockeys suspended, and the top three Derby finishers all missing on Saturday. However, the 144th running of the Preakness Stakes must go on. As such, Improbable, trained by Bob Baffert, enters Thursday as a 5-2 favorite.
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Kentucky Derby: Omaha Beach (4-1) Scratched, Scrambling Odds

May 2, 2019May 15, 2019 Brendan Monaghan (CN Staff) Leave a comment

The biggest horse race of the year was turned upside down Wednesday, as morning line favorite Omaha Beach was scratched from this weekend’s 145th running of the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Richard Mandella said the horse has an entrapped epiglottis, “an upper-airway abnormality that can cause poor performance.” Omaha Beach had won three straight races, including the Arkansas Derby on April 13, and was named the favorite at 4-1 odds.
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Churchill Downs Hosts 35th Breeders’ Cup This Weekend

November 1, 2018May 15, 2019 Brendan Monaghan (CN Staff) Leave a comment

The Breeders’ Cup returns to Churchill Downs for the ninth time, after a spell in Southern California, because, “why run in temperatures in the low 80s and a clear sky when you could be in the 40s with a chance of rain?“
There are fourteen races across two days this weekend. Here are the post positions, odds, and entries on all of them. The main event is at 5:44 PM local time, Saturday.
Some believe the Classic draw is unkind to the favorites, particularly 5-2 Accelerate, in post 14.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for long shots and value plays this weekend, check out #4 Tight Ten (30-1) and
#15 Dream Pauline (30-1).
While not as star-studded as Churchill Downs’ May event, plenty of celebrities will make an appearance this weekend, including breeder and horse owner, Toby Keith. Two races will be livestreamed by NBC Sports on Facebook Watch.
The two-day event will also be broadcast in live VR using 360-degree cameras stationed around the track and a new AI horse detection feature.