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  Country returns

  John Size and his ace Brazilian stable rider (Joao Moreira) will team up with Country Star in Wednesday evening’s penultimate contest at Happy Valley, the Class 2 Grass Island Handicap (1000m). The three-year-old has enjoyed a fine first season with...

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  True Grit needed as Size digs in for a championship fight

  John Size is five wins clear in the trainers’ premiership heading into the campaign’s final six meetings but with John Moore packing plenty of ammunition for a grandstand finish, the 10-time champion is looking over his shoulder. “I certainly don’t...

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  Spring targets beckon Wyndspelle

  Otaki trainers Johno Benner and Hollie Wynyard are hoping to ditch the bridesmaids tag with their consistent galloper Wyndspelle next season. The five-year-old entire recorded two runner-up performances at Group 1 level this season and a further placing in the...

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  Te Akau Shark set to target Sydney Group 1

  The Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) has been a long held ambition for connections of dual Group winner Te Akau Shark, but the Jamie Richards-trained runner is being set for another Group One target before he heads to Melbourne. The...

• Best Australian bookmakers
  Through many years of trial and error (sometimes quite an expensive learning curve), we have utilised the TABs and bookmakers of Australia, but we find the following to be generally the best in show. They all offer generous sign-up bonuses, and you know when you strike it lucky you are going to be paid promptly and in full.

  Sportsbet: It has been one of the market leaders since starting in 1993 and in 2009 was taken over by Irish betting leviathan Paddy Power. The brand has gone from strength to strength and delivers highly competitive odds for the horses, and is renowned for its occasional early payout, before a race or sporting event is even decided. (Read review)

  Bet365: One of the biggest bookies in the world, with its operation spanning some 200 countries. It prides itself on the depth and variety of its markets and with a customer base estimated at more than 14 million, it is certainly doing plenty right. Licensed in the Northern Territory and offering fixed prices well in advance of big races. (Read review)

  Palmerbet: Palmerbet is a bookie licensed in New South Wales and backed by the bookies group in this state. They offer a huge selection of racing markets on all Australian race meets and have an easy to use website. Has some solid promotions based around NSW and Victorian races on a weekly basis. (Read review)

• Mobile & Apps Horse Racing Wagering
  Corporate bookmakers and TAB operators in Australia all have apps available for smartphones and tablets. Generally the two main apps available are for iOS (for Apple devices) and Android (Samsung, Windows etc). Apps allow you to have a shortcut on the home screen of your portable device and they will store your login details so you won’t have to fumble your way through placing a bet when you are in a hurry.

  Many of the bookies’ apps and mobile websites like BetEasy will allow you to listen or watch the horse racing live, which is a handy feature when you don’t have Sky Racing at your house. Generally to place a bet on a mobile device you either open the app or visit your chosen bookies mobile website and fund your account. The horse racing section is well defined at all of our recommended betting sites.

• Freebets at Australian online betting sites
  
  Australian have copped the short end of the stick when it comes to Free Bets and Bonus Bet Offers. regulatory changes have see all bet bonuses and sign up promos banned. You can read more about this Bonus Bet Ban and the consequences where we have expkained freebet offers from online bookmakers and what they can and cannot now offer.

  Modern freebets generally work as a deposit bonus. As an example, if you deposit $100 dollars you will receive an extra $100 to bet with. This extra amount is referred to as ‘bonus bets’ too dodge some of the red tape that surrounds free bets. However those bonuses themselves have now come under fire and have strict regulations around them. Horsebetting.com.au explains these changes and how they effect the punter on our horse racing bonus offers page.

  Another way punters can benefit from signing up at online bookmakers is by downloading their apps, some of our recommended betting sites will give a punter a $50 bonus bet for simply getting their app on their smartphone. All of these freebet options generally have wagering requirements attached to them, which basically mean you have to wager the money a certain amount of times before you can withdraw it.
  

• About Us
  Horsebetting.com.au is part of the Race Media stable of sporting, racing and chasing websites and our team of journalists is dedicated to keeping the rank-and-file punter informed when it comes to having a bet on Australian racing. Feel free to contact us with queries or feedback at [email protected]
  

• Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival
  The biggest week of the racing year is still the Melbourne Cup Carnival. Four meetings at Flemington: Victoria Derby day on the Saturday, Melbourne Cup day on the Tuesday (always the first Tuesday in November), VRC Oaks day (Ladies Day) on the Thursday and wrapping up with Emirates Stakes day on the second Saturday. Derby day is considered by many as the best punting day of the year, with usually 10 races and fields of the highest calibre. Cup day can be a bonanza for the astute punter with the Great Race awash with cash from the once-a-year flutterer and value to be found everywhere. It’s never easy though, especially with the continuing dominance of stayers bred in the northern hemisphere. The month leading up to the Cup carnival is also a wonderful time to be following the racing scene. Races such as the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate are great events in their own right. The Caulfield Cup is a multimillion-dollar handicap and the Cox Plate the weight-for-age championship of Australasia run at the great amphitheatre of Moonee Valley.
  
• Sydney Autumn Carnival
  The aforementioned Championships take centre stage with eight Group 1 races contested over two days at Randwick, home to a towering new grandstand and the Australian Turf Club, which was formed by a merger of the Australian Jockey Club and Sydney Turf Club. Day one includes the Doncaster Mile, T.J. Smith Stakes, ATC Australian Derby and ATC Sires’ Produce. Day two’s rich haul includes the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (a 2000m weight-for-age contest that has designs on taking the Cox Plate’s mantle), Sydney Cup, Australian Oaks and Queen Of The Turf Stakes. Other highlights of the glittering autumn include the world’s richest race for two-year-olds, the Golden Slipper Stakes, at Rosehill. Then there is the Sydney Triple Crown for three-year-olds: the Group 1 Randwick and Rosehill Guineas are the first two legs, with the ATC Derby the classic grand finale.
  
• Melbourne Autumn
  A wonderful time in the southern capital. Standout races include Melbourne’s biggest race for the juveniles, the Blue Diamond Stakes. There is the sprint triple crown of the Lightning Stakes, Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap, while the Australian Guineas is an important race for three-year-olds, with the winner guaranteed a career at stud, provided, of course, it is male and a fully intact one at that . The Melbourne autumn comes to a fitting finale at Flemington with the Australian Cup and Newmarket Handicap sharing top billing on a great card, before the baton is passed on to Sydney.
  
• Brisbane Winter Carnival
  When the fanfare of the Sydney Autumn has died down, all eyes turn north for this carnival, the highlight of which is the state’s best race, the Stradbroke Handicap at the historic Eagle Farm circuit. Trainers will target the double of the Doomben 10,000 and Stradbroke. Throw the Doomben Cup and Queensland Derby and Oaks into the mix, and it’s a carnival not to be missed. It’s quite common for horses which emerge during the winter in Brisbane to become major players in Melbourne in the spring. The warm weather does them the world of good.
  
• Adelaide Carnival
  Sandwiched between the Sydney autumn and Brisbane winter comes come a string of feature races at Morphettville in the South Australian capital. There are the group 1 Australasian Oaks, Robert Sangster Stakes for fillies and mares, the South Australian Derby and the state’s biggest race, the 1200m Goodwood Handicap, won by the mighty Black Caviar in 2012.
  
• Perth Carnival
  The sun-drenched West Australian capital steps up to the plate as far as racing goes late in the year. Its greatest race is the Group 1 Railway Stakes over 1600m at Ascot. On the same day, usually in late November, the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes is contested over 1200m. The following week comes the final Australian Group 1 of the calendar year: the Kingston Town Stakes over 1800m. But the carnival rolls on in the west, with another highlight the Perth Cup, a group 2 2400m race contested each New Year’s Day.
  
• Gold Coast Magic Millions
  There are no Group 1s but plenty of prizemoney and pizzazz has made this a real stand-out on the January racing calendar. The main races are the sales-restricted $2 million MM Two-Year-Olds Classic and the $1m race for three-year-olds. Plus there are the MM Cup and MM Sprint and a wonderful vibe with many of the heavy hitters of Australian and international racing on the Glitter Strip for the Magic Millions sales, trying to buy a runner in the next year’s big MM race.
  

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