From Ascot to Cheltenham, Some top races for 2018 Whether you can afford to fly over to the UK to attend a horse racing festival, or you just fancy placing your bets online and watching the action on TV, for many of us, horse racing is a really exciting sport. Below are some of the top events in the British and Irish racing calendar. The Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is held each year in spring, and best of Britain and Ireland's jockeys and horses compete for some of the greatest honours in racing. The event is held over four days, with the last day being when the biggest race — the Cheltenham Gold Cup — is held. Each day of the festival has a unique atmosphere, such as Irish Day and Ladies Day, and the quality of the racing is top class. This year's Festival takes place from Tuesday 13th March to Friday 16th March. The Aintree Grand National The Grand National is the biggest day in the UK’s horse racing scene. It takes place each year in April and it’s an event that literally the whole world makes sure to watch — whether they are horse racing fans or not. The Grand National takes place on the last day of a three-day Festival at Aintree Racecourse close to Liverpool and this year's big race will be run on Saturday 14th April. There are millions of bets placed on the Grand National each year with most people opting to bet on an outright winner, but there are dozens of different bets that can be placed too on the massive 40 runner field. Royal Ascot Royal Ascot week happens in June each year when usually the English sun is shining, and the weather is warm. It’s the most prestigious flat race week in the horse racing calendar and runs from Tuesday to Saturday. This year's races begin on Tuesday 19th June. This event is designed to attract the best horses from around the world, and the prize fund for the week currently stands at £7 million with the minimum race value set at £90,000! Epsom Derby The 239th running of the Epsom Derby will take place on Saturday 2nd June at Epsom Downs Racecourse south of London. The race is the most prestigious Classic race for three-year-old colts run in Britain each year and will have a value in excess of £1.5m in 2018. The Fillies version, The Oaks, takes place the day before on the Friday. The Irish Grand National Another event that happens in April every year is the Irish Grand National. The race is part of the Fairyhouse Easter Festival which lasts for three days and is held at Fairyhouse Racecourse in Co. Meath. The Irish Grand National takes place each year on Easter Monday, this year's date is April 2nd. The Irish version of the Grand National is limited to 30 horses and is raced over park fences. Galway Races The Galway Races take place each year on the west coast of Ireland at the end of July and runs for a whopping seven days. The Galway Plate (Wednesday) and The Galway Hurdle (Thursday) are the two biggest races of the week which comprises a mix of Flat racing and Jumps racing. The quality of the races wouldn't be of the level of either Cheltenham or Royal Ascot but it doesn't bother the punters who turn up in their tens of thousands each year to bet on the races. This year's Festival begins on Monday 30th July. Placing Your Bets All of the above events have one thing in common: they are especially popular with punters who want to place bets on the outcome of each race. While you can bet at the racecourse itself, most people choose to place their bets online. This link shows the best sportsbooks for racing and as you can see there are a variety of bookmakers that enable you to bet on the UK and Ireland's races. When betting on horse racing, most people choose to place a straight wager; a bet in which they choose who they think will win the race. You can also choose to bet on whether a certain horse will place (which means it will finish in the top 3 or 4 places, for example), or who will come first and second in a race. This article lists a variety of the different bets you can place. Whether you’re a seasoned horse racing fan or new to the sport, 2018 is set to be another exciting year!
