The Grand National 2009 is just days away now and the excitement is becoming unbearable. There seem to be plenty of horses near the head of the Grand National Betting who warrant plenty of respect so we should go through them and pick their strengths and weaknesses.

Grand National horses:

My Will – The hot favourite and will be in good hands on the day with Ruby Walsh riding. Is officially well in but also has his fair share of weight and has been known to make mistakes with his jumping. A solid if unspectacular favourite.

Butlers Cabin – Fell when going well in the race last year and should give a good account if jumping round this time. Has been aimed at the race all year and goes very well on the good ground that will prevail on Saturday.

Rambling Minster – A very solid choice. Has never fallen, has won over four miles on soft ground so has plenty of stamina, has a good win record having won five of his fifteen chase starts, has won on both heavy ground and good ground so its all the same to him and has won since the Grand National weights were published so he is well handicapped.

How To Pick Grand National Winners

If you don’t want your Grand National bet to be based on form then why not try a Grand National Lucky Dip? Alternatively you can use the Grand National Winner Predictor that predicted Comply Or Die last year at nice odds. You can use your own ratings or those of the site’s experts.

The 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup gets underway at 3.20pm on Friday afternoon and whilst there are three more races after the Gold Cup, it signals the beginning of the end of another great Cheltenham Festival. There is nothing more satisfying than backing the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup so it is important to make sure your best Cheltenham Festival Tips are also your best Cheltenham Gold Cup Tips.

Kauto Star 

Favourite for the race and no surprise as he won the race in 2007 and finished 2nd last year despite not running anywhere near his best. He has been kept fresher this year and should give a very good account.

Neptune Collonges

Finished a short head behind Kauto Star last year but seemed to be ridden with more restraint with a place in mind. It would be no surprise if he runs well but with no win from five course runs it is difficult to see him winning one of the most competitive races of the season.

Denman

Won the race impressively last season but that seems to have left its mark on him and he did not appear the same horse on his only racecourse outing this season at Kempton. Could just as easily win the race by ten lengths as be pulled up half way round.

Madison Du Berlais

Owes his Gold Cup price to a wide margined win over Denman at Kempton but that probably shouldn’t be taken literally and although he has improved this season he has never finished in the first two in five runs at Cheltenham and suspicion is that he is better on flatter tracks.

Exotic Dancer

Has contested the last two Gold Cups, finishing second in 2007 and fifth last year (had an interrupted preparation) but has been as good as ever this season and if he is going to win a Gold Cup it has to be now. Might be best backed to place having been beaten six times already by Kauto Star.

Barbers Shop

Definitely an up and coming staying chaser who will be contesting this race for years to come but has not contested the standard of races this year that a potential Gold Cup winner should have.

Albertas Run

Has bits and pieces of form that should see him place at least, notably a running on second against Kauto Star at Kempton on Boxing Day. That would have the pair closely matched over Friday’s course and distance and with two wins from three runs at the course you would have to think he could easily run into a place, or even win!

Predicted Outcome

1. Kauto Star
2. Albertas Run
3. Exotic Dancer

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is the race that heralds the start of the 2009 Cheltenham Festival at 1.30pm on Tuesday afternoon. It will signal the start of one of the exhilarating four days of the racing calendar. Let’s make sure we get off to a flyer by backing the winner!

1.30 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

Cousin Vinny is the favourite for this race but has been the subject of negative reports since arriving in the country from Ireland. Those who are not already financially committed to the horse are likely to be looking elsewhere for a bet.

Tophichen has won both his starts over hurdles so far and clearly relishes soft ground so will appreciate the predcited rainfall on Monday night. His last run worked out very well with Trenchant, the horse he beat by 3 3/4 lengths, going on to win a Grade 2 novices’ hurdle next time out. He could be the each way steal for the powerful Pipe yard.

Go Native won well last time out and is another that will appreciate easier going. He looks to be improving and goes to Cheltenham with a great chance of being Ireland’s first winner of the week.

Kempes, who like Cousin Vinny is trained by Willie Mullins, has won both his races this season. He, along with the likes of Micheal Flips and Red Maloney all have a great chance, although the latter two’s chances might be compromised if all of the forecast rain falls on Monday night.

If you fancy any other horse than Cousin Vinny, it would be a good idea to place your bets with Paddy Power. They will refund all losing stakes if Cousin Vinny wins the race. That looks a pretty generous concession and could cost Paddy Power hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Day one of the Cheltenham Festival 2009 is upon us and as usual there are going to be plenty of contrasting Cheltenham tips floating around. The best approach may be to back solid each way shots that should place at the very least.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

Cousin Vinny is the hot favourite but his trainer reported he has not eaten up since traveling over from Ireland and that he expected to be a lot more confident. Torpichen is unbeaten in two starts over hurdles and will appreciate every drop of rain that falls tonight having been a heavy ground winner on the flat. He looks an each way bet to nothing and if you back him at Paddy Power you will get your stake back if Cousin Vinny wins the race.

Arkle Chase

Those at the head of the market look plenty short enough, take a chance on Forpadydeplasterer. He has not been out of the first two over fences this season and is more likely than any of the other favourites to run his race.

William Hill Trophy 

A very competitive handicap that could go to Nenuphar Collonges. He has two wins and a second from three runs at Cheltenham and fits the profile of recent winners. Any more rain won’t be a problem and Paddy Power are offering 5 places for each way punters.

Champion Hurdle

Usually one of the most exciting races of the entire Festival has a red hot favourite in the shape of Binocular. He will be very hard to beat but won’t make you rich so take a chance on Celestial Halo. He has twice finished behind Binocular but conditions will be more in favour of Celestial Halo than Binocular so at the very least you would expect the gap to be closed, if not bridged.

Cross Country Chase

Edna Bolger looks sure to win this race but it is not quite so simple picking the winner as she has the two favourites, L’Ami and Garde Champetre. A forecast in that order should pay around 10/1 and looks a pretty decent bet.

David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle

The two favourites look solid enough but Chomba Womba may have the most pace over this trip and having finished third in the race last year is a solid each way selection. Bet365 are paying four places in the race.

Cheltenham Tipster Competitions make betting at the Cheltenham Festival that little bit easier. Finding the winners doesn’t get any easier but they offer the chance to win something for nothing and give you an interest in every race without the need to bet on every race.

Cheltenham Festival Tipping Competitions

There are plenty of Free Cheltenham Tipping Competitions out there. The best are listed below:

Free Cheltenham Tipping Competition – £1000 up for grabs

Cheltenham Tipping Challenge – Make three tips a day

Cheltenham Festival Tips

If you need help picking your Cheltenham Festival Tips then there are plenty of web resources out there to help proved profitable tips:

Cheltenham Festival Tips – The best tips from the Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham Festival Stats – All the stats to point you in the direction of the winner of each race

Cheltenham Tips – Discussion on one of the busiest horse racing forums on the net

Where To Place Cheltenham Bets

Once you have decided which Cheltenham Tips you want to use for a Free Cheltenham Tipping Competition and which ones you want to make your Cheltenham Festival Bets you will need to find the Best Cheltenham Odds. That can be done with the following resource:

Best Cheltenham Odds – Valuechecker points you towards value bets and compares the best prices

The Cheltenham Festival is now just a week away and punters are now scrambling to get their last minute Cheltenham Festival Tips together. Many will have been punting on the 2009 Cheltenham Festival from as far back as last March whilst others will not have placed even one or two Cheltenham Festival Bets so far.

Most Popular Races

The Cheltenham Festival Odds have changed plenty over the past few months but that doesn’t mean there are not plenty of good Cheltenham Tips out there. The four most popular races to bet on should be the Champion Hurdle, the Champion Chase, the World Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The Four Championship Races – Tips

Cheltenham Gold Cup

Denman was favourite in the Gold Cup Odds at the start of the season but one lacklustre run this season has seen him drift out to third favouritism. The favourite in the Cheltenham Gold Cup Betting is now the 2007 winner, Kauto Star.

Champion Hurdle

In the Champion Hurdle most punters are tipping Binocular, the red hot favourite, but his Cheltenham Festival Odds are now very short and a better bet could be Celestial Halo each way.

Master Minded

Master Minded is looking pretty unbeatable in the Champion Chase but he is the shortest price favourite at the Festival and is surely best backed in a double or treble with one of the other Festival ‘bankers’.

World Hurdle

The World Hurdle also has a short priced favourite in the form of Kasbah Bliss but many are unconvinced because the horse has not won in four runs at Cheltenham. Punchestowns, Big Bucks and Fair Along are the horses that people are opposing Kasbah Bliss with.

Share Your Thoughts

Let us know your thoughts about the best tips for Cheltenham, whatever they may be. Is Master Minded the dead cert everyone reckons? Will Binocular and Kasbah Bliss prove themselves up the Cheltenham hill with their first wins at the course?