Graeme, Author at Vin & Graeme's Betting Tips - Page 330 of 378

The New Orleans Jazz

June 30, 2020March 9, 2015 by Graeme

Professional basketball outfit New Jersey Jazz played in the NBA from 1974 to 1979. They are predecessors to the Utah Jazz who are based in Salt Lake City today. The team’s home games were played at the Loyola University Fieldhouse for the first season and then at the Louisiana Superdome from the second season onwards. … Read more

The Champion Hurdle: What It Is, History, Analysis

February 25, 2016March 9, 2015 by Graeme

The highlight of the first day of the Cheltenham Festival is, of course, the Champion Hurdle. Run over 2 miles, it is the culmination of a year’s hard work for National Hunt racing’s finest speedsters over the timber. The race has been the making of some of the most memorable and great names in horse … Read more

The Queen Mother Champion Chase: What It is, History, Analysis

February 25, 2016March 9, 2015 by Graeme

The feature race, as usual, on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival, is the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the premier event of the season for the best 2-mile chasers, and the culmination of a hard, challenging season for connections. It is a 2-mile chase open to horses aged five years or older, and it is run over Cheltenham’s Old Course, with 12 fences standing in the way of the competitors and the winning post. All horses must carry 11st 10lbs, with the exception of mares, which carry 11st 3lbs. The race has been known as the Queen Mother Champion Chase since 1980, the year of the Queen Mother’s birthday. The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth was known as an avid follower of horse racing, so it was seen as a fitting tribute that one of horse racing’s top races was named after her. Prior to this, it was simply known as the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase – a name that does exactly what it says on the tin!

The Neptune Investment Management Novices Hurdle: What It Is, History, Analysis

February 25, 2016March 9, 2015 by Graeme

The Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle is one of the newer races to take place at the Cheltenham Festival. It was initially known as the Aldsworth Hurdle and the first running was in 1971, a race won by Midsprite. The 2 mile 5 furlong race is run round Cheltenham’s Old Course, and is open to novice hurdlers four years and older. It is a non-handicap race, so horses five years and older have to carry 11st 7lbs, while four-year-olds have to go round with 10st 12lbs. Fillies also get a 7lbs allowance. For most horse racing fans, the race will be best known as the Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle, which continued until 2006. It is the first race to take place on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The RSA Chase: What It Is, History & Analysis

February 25, 2016March 9, 2015 by Graeme

The RSA Chase, or the Royal & Sun Alliance Chase, the Sun Alliance Chase the Totalisator Champion Novices’ Chase, or the Broadway Novices’ Chase, to give it its previous names, is the second race on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival. It is run over Cheltenham’s Old Course over a distance of 3 miles … Read more

The Arkle: What It Is, History & Analysis

February 25, 2016March 9, 2015 by Graeme

There are few people that would dispute the claim that the greatest National Hunt horse of all-time is the legendary Arkle. What Arkle managed to do in National Hunt racing is never likely to be bettered and it’s no surprise that Himself has been immortalised in the form of not only in the traditional forms such as video tributes, paintings and statues, but also by the fact that one of the top novice chases at the Cheltenham Festival bears his name – the Arkle Challenge Trophy, or simply the Arkle for short.