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Betting On Greyhounds: A Simple Guide

You can trace the origins of greyhound racing back to 1876, with the first officially recorded attempt on a straight track taking place in Hendon, England. However, it wasn’t until 1920 that the first greyhound racetrack was constructed.

Since then, greyhound racing has evolved with the times. While some greyhound racing is still amateur level, greyhounds betting is now popular in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States of America and Australia.

Punters can bet on greyhound racing with 888sport – with the latest odds available on a wide range of meetings around the world. So without further ado, let’s take a look at all of the ‘need to know’ information regarding greyhound racing betting.

Greyhounds Betting Strategy

There are a number of ways to bet on greyhounds racing in the UK. The most popular and easiest bet is to win a race outright.

Select your greyhound from the list of available runners, choose your stake and then cross your fingers and watch the race.

As is the case in horse running, each way odds are available for most races. If your selection finishes in the top two, you will be paid out – quite often at 1/4 of the stated greyhound betting odds.

For eight runner races, this will usually be 1/5 of the odds but for the top three places.

Furthermore, 888sport allow greyhound betting users to predict the forecast and/or tricast for selected races.

If you have a strong fancy for two greyhounds in a certain race, it may be wise to back the forecast rather than covering the runners with two singles.

How Are Greyhound Racing Jacket Colours Allocated?

Greyhound racing in Great Britain follows a specific colour scheme. The traps allocated to each runner determines the colour of racing jacket.

While eight colours are included in the standardised list, no UK tracks feature eight runner races at this moment in time:

Trap 1 – Red with White number
Trap 2 – Blue with White number
Trap 3 – White with Black number
Trap 4 – Black with White number
Trap 5 – Orange with Black number
Trap 6 – Black and White stripes with Red number
Trap 7 – Green with Red number
Trap 8 – Yellow and Black with White number

Sports Betting During Coronavirus Crisis

UK Greyhound Tracks

There are 21 active tracks registered for greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, with an additional three independent venues across the country. You can find your local greyhound track via the list below:

Belle Vue Stadium, Manchester
Brighton And Hove Stadium, Brighton And Hove
Central Park Stadium, Sittingbourne
Crayford Stadium, London
Doncaster Stadium, Doncaster
Harlow Stadium, Harlow
Henlow Stadium, Stondon
Kinsley Stadium, Kinsley
Monmore Green Stadium, Wolverhampton
Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle upon Tyne
Nottingham Stadium, Nottingham
Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield
Pelaw Grange, Chester-le-Street
Perry Barr Stadium, Birmingham
Peterborough Stadium, Peterborough
Poole Stadium, Poole
Romford Stadium, London
Shawfield Stadium, Shawfield
Sunderland Stadium, Sunderland
Swindon Stadium, Swindon
Towcester Stadium, Towcester
Yarmouth Stadium, Great Yarmouth

As of April 2020, the three independent stadiums are:

Askern Stadium, Doncaster
Thornton Stadium, Thornton
Valley Stadium, Ystrad Mynach

How Are Greyhound Races Classified?

Greyhound racing in the UK works in a similar way to horse racing.

Certain categories of race are more valuable than others, with Minor Open Races ranking as the lowest standard while Greyhound Derby level is as lucrative as it gets in the sport.

The minimum prize money for winning in each greyhound racing category is as follows:

Minor Open Race - £150
Invitation Race - £750
Category Three Race - £500
Category Two Race - £5,000
Category One Race - £12,500
Greyhound Derby - £50,000

Most Popular UK Greyhound Races

The Greyhound Derbies are the biggest races in the sport. There are two derbys held in Britain, with the Scottish Greyhound Derby at Shawfield Stadium and the English Greyhound Derby taking place at Nottingham.

Across the Irish Sea, the Irish Greyhound Derby is open to British greyhounds should owners wish to enter for the event. The Welsh Greyhound Derby was a major event in the area but the event was cancelled in 1997 after the Cardiff track closed down.

Upcoming Greyhound Betting Meetings

Greyhound racing is still taking place around the world, with daily meetings in America and Australia. Punters should follow the designated greyhounds betting section on 888sport for information on upcoming races and events.

What Sport Is On Today?

888sport is the place to be for daily sport updates, with news and tips on the biggest events of the week.

The Belarusian Premier League and Nicaragua Primera Division are still ongoing but there is plenty of eSports, horse racing and table tennis tournaments if football isn’t your thing.

Keep an eye on our blog for the latest sport quizzes, betting guides and interesting articles as we wait for the 2020 sporting calendar to return.

April 10, 2020

All Sports

By Alex McMahon

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Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible.

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Horse Racing: A Beginner's Guide To Racing In The United States

From daily racing at random tracks such as Churchill Downs, Tampa Bay and Turf Paradise taking global punters through an entire race meeting, to some of the biggest events on their sporting calendar, there’s a bit of something for everyone in US horse racing.

US Horse Racing History

The sport as we know began to take shape in the late 19th century.

Tracks featuring Thoroughbred racing began springing up at that point all over the country, and the American Jockey Club was formed in 1894 to oversee it all.

However in those early years, those who were concerned about the pitfalls of gambling did all they could to put an end to horse racing across the United States.

The introduction of a pari-mutuel style wagering system (tote) in 1908 put an end to all those determined to stamp out the sport.

The system eradicated the need for unscrupulous bookies to be involved in any capacity at the tracks, and the risk of any races being rigged disappeared overnight.

As all this legislation and momentum was coming to fruition, major races began to grip the American public’s imagination, especially the so-called “Triple Crown” series, which was a sure fire winning formula.

The Triple Crown

Just as golf has the Masters and tennis has the Grand Slam, US horse racing has the Triple Crown as its showpiece event. The Triple Crown is unsurprisingly made up of three races: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.

All three races feature three-year-old horses competing for large prize money, but the Holy Grail for the trainers, owners and jockeys alike is to be involved with a horse that can complete the clean sweep and claim the lot, something that has only happened 13 times since 1919.

Many of those Triple Crown winners have become some of the most famous racehorses in the world, including legends like Citation and Secretariat and the most recently American Pharoah and Justify.

The betting interest in these races is always immense even on the years when there is no Triple Crown winner. In 2019 $500 million was wagered on this racing triumvirate, with the Kentucky Derby leading the way on that score.

Breeders’ Cup

The Breeders’ Cup takes place every year in November and effectively rounds off the American horse racing season. The event always makes the horse racing betting news in a global capacity.

A series of championship races take place over the course of two days, with the honour of hosting the event spread out across the various premier racetracks in the United States each year.

The only exception to this was in 1996 when the event took place at Woodbine Racetrack in Canada.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series consists of the best races from around the world and awards each winner an automatic free spot into the Breeders' Cup Championships – the scoring system is also known as “win and you’re in”.

The Challenge Series schedule is released early each season and the trainers begin to plot their best horses for the season, with a view to making it to this top fixture of the year.

Yearly US Racing Schedule

As in all Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions around the world, the US season tends to follow a regular pattern of races across the yearly calendar. Here is what you can expect to see each month of the year stateside on the sports betting front:

January

The Sham Stakes, Santa Ynez Stakes, La Canada Stakes, Pegasus World Cup.

The Sham Stakes is used as a prep race for the Kentucky Derby, allowing the trainers of any decent three-year-olds to see just where they are with them.

February

Sam F Davies Stakes, El Camino Real Derby, La Coneja Stakes.

February’s feature is the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields. This is the main prep race in northern California for big race contenders, such as those who might be entered for the Kentucky Derby.

March

Tampa Bay Derby, Beholder Stakes, The Louisiana Derby, The Rebel Stakes, Florida Derby, Santa Ana Stakes, Santana Mile.

The Rebel Stakes gives us important clues to the upcoming Triple Crown Series whilst the Louisiana Derby offers the participants a purse of $1m.

April

Ashland Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial Stakes, Carter Handicap, Jenny Wiley Stakes, Arkansas Derby, Apple Blossom Handicap, Champagne Stakes.

May

Kentucky Oaks, Kentucky Derby, Virginia Gold Cup, Runhappy Stakes, Preakness Stakes.

After a few months of preps, May finally delivers the goods. The first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, is quickly followed a fortnight later by the second leg, the Preakness Stakes.

June

Belmont Stakes, Acorn Stakes, Stephen Foster Handicap.

June in the US sees the third and final leg of the US Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes and the first stage of the Triple Tiara, the Acorn stakes.

July

Hollywood Cup, Whitney Handicap, Coaching Club American Oaks

August

Alabama Stakes, Ballerina Stakes, Pacific Classic Stakes, Saratoga Special, Woodward Stakes, Arlington Million, Travers Stakes, Sword Dancer Stakes, Del Mar Debutante.

September

Las Virgenes Stakes, Santa Anita Handicap, Vosburgh Stakes.

October

Alcibiades Stakes, Beldame Stakes, Breeder's Futurity Stakes, First Lady Stakes, Frizette Stakes, Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes.

November

Breeders’ Cup (Friday) Juvenile Turf Sprint, Juvenile Fillies Turf, Juvenile Fillies, Juvenile Turf, Juvenile.

Breeders’ Cup (Saturday) Filly & Mare Sprint, Turf Sprint, Dirt Mile, Filly & Mare Turf, Sprint, Mile, Distaff, Turf, Classic.

Horse racing aficionados around the world love the Breeders’ Cup and it’s quite easy to understand why. 14 elite races take place across two action-packed days, with the best Thoroughbreds around taking each other on.

There are five races for 2-year-olds on the Friday with nine big races all taking place the day after.

December

Malibu Stakes

The Malibu Stakes race is always really interesting as several of the horses that took part in the Breeder’s Cup the previous month usually enter it.

The prize-pot may not be massive but the prestige of winning it is way more important to the connections.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Lynne Sladky / AP Photo*

April 10, 2020

Horse Racing

By Steve Mullington

https://twitter.com/mulldog">

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Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.

Steven graduated from the University Of Lancaster in 1996 with a B.A (Hons) in Urban Policy & Race Relations (major) with Contemporary Religions & Belief Systems (minor) and still wonders if any of these help him find the winners?

He writes for a number of websites and online publications and you can sometimes hear him at the weekend discussing racing on a number of local radio stations.

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Belarusian Premier League Betting: Tips, News & Belarus Football Guide

Belarus Premier League clubs have been competing in the Champions League for a number of years now, with teams like Dinamo Minsk and BATE Borisov often coming up against the English Premier League sides during the knockout stages of the tournament.

As of the 2019/20 season, the Belarusian Premier League format is fairly traditional.

There are 16 teams competing in Belarus football’s top flight, with two teams dropping down to the Belarusian First Division with two also earning promotion to replace the relegated clubs.

In recent times, the popularity of Belarus Premier League betting tips and news has soared – as has been the case with a number of domestic competitions around the world.

Here, we look at the Belarusian Premier League history, as well as tips on upcoming Belarus football matches.

When Was Belarusian Premier League Formed?

Founded back in 1992, the inaugural Belarus Premier League had a very different look to the modern-day competition.

Dinamo Minsk are the only current Belarusian Premier League side who competed in the initial round of matches, alongside five teams from the Soviet Top League and 10 clubs from the Belarusian SSR First League.

The general format was a success though Belarus football officials made the decision to try and emulate a winter-summer schedule. However, those plans were scrapped after three years in favour of a summer Belarusian Premier League competition.

Most Successful Belarus Football Clubs

Dinamo Minsk enjoyed plenty of success during the early Belarusian Premier League football betting years, winning the title in each of the first five campaigns. However, that success dried up soon with only two titles since 1996.

Belarus football fans were then treated to a decade of unpredictability, with no back-to-back winners between 1995 and 2005. In 2006, BATE Borisov came along and the Belarus Premier League was about to change forever.

BATE had already won league titles in 1999 and 2002 but nobody expected the club to embark on a period of dominance.

Winning 13 successive titles is no easy feat and the rest of the Belarusian Premier League had to sit and watch BATE dominate year after year.

Previous Belarus Premier League Winners

As previously mentioned, BATE are the most successful team in Belarusian Premier League history with 15 domestic titles.

Prior to the 2019 campaign, BATE had won the Belarus football title in 13 consecutive years – a run that stretched all the way back to 2005.

However, 2019 wasn’t to be for the Belarusian Premier League giants as Dinamo Brest claimed a shock victory.

Despite winning the coveted Belarusian Cup in 2017 and 2018, the club’s first league title came as a surprise across the country.

Here is a list of the previous Belarusian Premier League winners since 1992:

1992 – Dinamo Minsk
1992/93 – Dinamo Minsk
1993/94 – Dinamo Minsk
1994/95 – Dinamo Minsk
1995 – Dinamo Minsk
1996 – MPKC Mozyr
1997 – Dinamo Minsk
1998 – Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev
1999 – BATE Borisov
2000 – Slavia Mozyr
2001 – Belshina Bobruisk
2002 – BATE Borisov
2003 – Gomel
2004 – Dinamo Minsk
2005 – Shakhtyor Soligorsk
2006 – BATE Borisov
2007 – BATE Borisov
2008 – BATE Borisov
2009 – BATE Borisov
2010 – BATE Borisov
2011 – BATE Borisov
2012 – BATE Borisov
2013 – BATE Borisov
2014 – BATE Borisov
2015 – BATE Borisov
2016 – BATE Borisov
2017 – BATE Borisov
2018 – BATE Borisov
2019 – Dinamo Brest

Belarus football betting 2020 — Photo credit: Sergei Grits / AP Photo

Belarusian Premier League Betting

BATE Borisov are the overwhelming Belarus Premier League betting favourites despite a slow start to the current campaign.

To be fair, BATE have been the dominant force in Belarus football for over a decade so many punters will be willing to forgive their recent form.

Having said that, BATE cannot afford to give their title rivals too much of a lead. Belarus football is now very competitive, especially in the top flight.

As of April 9th 2020, the latest Belarusian Premier League outright winner betting odds are as follows:

BATE Borisov – 13/10
Dinamo Brest – 2/1
Shakhtyor Soligorsk – 3/1
Dinamo Minsk – 14/1
Torpedo Zhodino – 25/1
FC Isloch – 40/1
Bar – 100/1

Bet On Belarusian Premier League With 888sport

Here at 888sport, we strive to keep punters updated on the most important daily sport updates.

The Belarusian Premier League is currently the focus of our FREE football predictor game Up For 8, with up to £8,000 available to players who can correctly predict the outcome of eight Belarus football matches.

For those massively into their Belarus football, 888sport also offer odds on the Belarusian Premier Reserve Championship.

Despite the continued success of the first team, BATE claimed only their second reserves title in 2019 and punters will be expecting them to go close again this season.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Sergei Grits / AP Photo*

April 9, 2020

Football

By Alex McMahon

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Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible.

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Ability To Spend Will Challenge Chelsea’s Youth First Approach

Sitting fourth in the Premier League, Chelsea’s first season under the guidance of Frank Lampard has been a positive one.

Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Mason Mount have become first team regulars. Fikayo Tomori and Callum Hudson-Odoi have had plenty of minutes. They have defied football betting expectations.

There have been concerns too, as you’d expect for a team that has won under 50% of its league matches.

The defence is vulnerable, particularly from set pieces, and they can slip into safe possession comparable to Maurizio Sarri’s football rather than the risk-taking football of the early days of Lampard.

The transfer ban, which was lifted for the January window, gave Lampard an insurance policy. It was a good time to take over for an inexperienced manager, a season with the license to experiment and discover what players could do.

The pressure increased once the ban was lifted, and Lampard showed public frustration at there being no new signings in January - though Hakim Ziyech’s summer arrival, the biggest Chelsea news of the season, was confirmed soon after the window shut.

Chelsea are back to being mentioned in transfer rumours every day. Alex Telles, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho have often been linked.

Timo Werner has popped up on the odd occasion too. It’s extremely unlikely that Ziyech is the only arrival this summer - or whenever the next transfer window opens.

What is an opportunity to increase the ceiling of this squad also presents peril.

Chelsea’s transfer dealings have been patchy over the last few seasons, and in the entire Roman Abramovich era, the club has favoured deals for experience even when they have young players who could take a role.

Such decisions have halted development and spelled the end for several Chelsea careers. Though perhaps it was simply that those players aren’t as good as this group.

The minutes they have accumulated this season should help their respective causes, but it would be no surprise if some of the younger Chelsea players are trepidatious about the next transfer window.

Ziyech, while a replacement for Willian and/or Pedro, takes minutes away from Christian Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi.

Would a new centre-back push Tomori further down the pecking order? Could a player of Werner’s standing force Abraham to look elsewhere?

There’s a daunting balancing act, a tightrope to walk, between adding proven talent to improve the squad and undoing the near-revolutionary work Lampard has done this season.

Chelsea have prioritised young players more than they have in recent decades.

While Lampard still had to favour Abraham over Olivier Giroud, Hudson-Odoi over Pedro and Mount over Ross Barkley, there’s no question that the transfer ban played an important role in the club’s approach this season.

The ability to spend freely once again will be an examination of how committed Chelsea are to building around academy products.

The competition for places even among Chelsea’s homegrown talents already presents testing circumstances for some up and coming players.

Tariq Lamptey departed in January, his progression at the club blocked by Reece James. Ethan Ampadu is set to return this summer without an obvious place in the squad.

A former Chelsea youngster, Jeremie Boga, could be back in London before long. A buyback clause in his contract looks particularly appealing given his performances at Sassuolo.

Even if Chelsea miss out on Sancho, that would leave three players competing for the left wing spot if Ziyech starts every match on the right.

Left-back and backup striker are the two neediest positions. Telles, who turns 28 in December, fits the bill. His age could be a concern for a marauding full-back, however. Chelsea might be paying a lot of money for only one or two peak seasons.

Maybe a similar case could be made for Ziyech, who celebrated his 27th in March.

On the other hand, it can easily be argued their experience at the top level is a necessity around what could be a very young Chelsea squad next season.

Chelsea could make more signings along the lines of the Pulisic deal, adding pre-peak players on the same timeline as their homegrown core.

Pulisic - Chelsea young players — Photo credit: Frank Augstein / AP Photo

Or, as the Ziyech deal perhaps suggests, they can acquire proven players to make the team as strong as possible in the next one or two seasons, but who are unlikely to be key players in five years’ time.

The lifting of the transfer ban was a requirement for Chelsea to become a team that competes for league and Champions League titles.

It presents a challenge too, a challenge of not just spending for the sake of it (which Chelsea have been guilty of in the past), but investing sensibly in the right areas of the squad.

Lampard’s first few months in the job have illustrated the depth of young talent at Cobham.

A lot of gaps in the squad can be plugged by academy products, as Billy Gilmour showed a few weeks ago. Signing the 2020s equivalent of Danny Drinkwater would have halted Gilmour’s progression.

There are other spots, like left-back, that need investment. There’s no Reece James ready to step in.

Again, though, picking up a player like Emerson Palmieri or Davide Zappacosta, while cheaper than Alex Telles or Ben Chilwell, wouldn’t be a transfer window success.

Chelsea are in a fortunate position. They have the skeleton of a very good team with a group of players that should be improving through the next decade. Translating a promising squad into a seriously competitive one requires focused investment.

Quality, not quantity, of signings is the priority – the board and ownership should be willing to spend extra on players who will immediately improve the starting XI.

Saving money is not as important when only two or three players are required and settling for the third or fourth option on the market – as they have done in the past – will undermine the strong foundations the academy and Lampard have built.

Chelsea are expected to spend big in the next transfer window.

Doing so without blocking the path for their younger players is critical for the team’s long-term future. Buying players for the purpose of depth could derail the youth-first approach.

How the Blues approach recruitment will have a big difference with how people bet on the Premier League.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Kirsty Wiggleworth / AP Photo*

April 8, 2020

Premier League

By Sam Cox

https://twitter.com/SamRCox_">

https://www.tiktok.com/@srcsport?_r=1&_t=ZN-91fAo7Hr7CA">

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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

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Football QUIZ: Can You Name The Top 20 Players To Have Scored The Most Premier League Goals?

The debate surrounding the greatest strikers in Premier League history rages on but you cannot argue with the ‘goals scored’ statistic. On paper, Alan Shearer is the most prolific forward with an incredible 260 Premier League goals during an illustrious career.

However, you can make a solid argument for the likes of Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney and even Sergio Aguero as better players than the Newcastle legend. It all depends on how you measure success – whether that’s trophies, total goals or goals per minute.

Here at 888sport, we’ve come up with a series of football quizzes to keep fans entertained as we wait for the 2020 sport calendar to resume. Can you name the top 20 goal scorers in Premier League history? Scroll down and put your knowledge to the test!

We’ve already started you off with a few players who feature on this list – but it’s only going to get tougher. Meanwhile, you can follow the latest football updates and bet on English Premier League games with 888sport throughout the 2019/20 campaign and beyond.

Time for the answers…

Alan Shearer – 260 Premier League goals
Wayne Rooney – 208 Premier League goals
Andrew Cole – 187 Premier League goals
Sergio Aguero – 180 Premier League goals
Frank Lampard – 177 Premier League goals
Thierry Henry – 175 Premier League goals

Thierry Henry - 175 Premier League goals — Photo credit: Tom Hevezi /AP Photo

Robbie Fowler – 163 Premier League goals
Jermain Defoe – 162 Premier League goals
Michael Owen – 150 Premier League goals
Les Ferdinand – 149 Premier League goals
Teddy Sheringham – 146 Premier League goals
Robin van Persie – 144 Premier League goals
Harry Kane – 136 Premier League goals
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – 127 Premier League goals

Hasselbaink - top Premier League goals striker — Photo credit: Bas Czerwinski / AP Photo

Robbie Keane – 126 Premier League goals
Nicolas Anelka – 125 Premier league goals
Dwight Yorke – 123 Premier League goals
Steven Gerrard – 120 Premier League goals
Romelu Lukaku – 113 Premier League goals
Ian Wright – 113 Premier League goals

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Bobo Lauhage / AP Photo*

April 8, 2020

Premier League

By Alex McMahon

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Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible.

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Horse Racing: A Beginner's Guide To French Racing

Horse racing in France a very popular sport and it is the home to some of the biggest races in the world. France has produced some of the world’s leading horses, trainers and jockeys over the years with many becoming household names in their own right.

French horse racing itself is entirely governed by France Galop, a central authority which oversees everything from the organisation of 6,500 races across the country to several aspects of breeding, training and riding.

Big French Races

Just like in any other horse racing jurisdiction the most prestigious thoroughbred races are the Group One races. Each year, France Galop organises 27 such races on the flat, and nine over jumps and the majority of them are available in our horse racing betting section throughout the course of the year.

Flat Highlights

From May through to July, the Classics for three-year-olds take place, starting with the Poules d’Essai (Poule d’Essai des Poulains and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches), two races for colts and fillies individually over a mile. These are the equivalents to the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas in the UK.

Next up in the calendar are the Prix du Jockey Club and the Prix de Diane Longines at Chantilly, both run over 1 mile and 2½ furlongs a month later in early June.

The third instalment of the Classic season takes place at Paris Longchamp in mid-July with the running of the Grand Prix de Paris (1½ miles), also for three-year-olds. Shortly after this, the Classic generation must finally meet their elders on the track.

Deauville’s Summer Meeting dominates the French Flat programme at the end of July and throughout the month of August. The Prix Morny is the first championship race for two-year-olds, taking place close to the yearling sales.

The Prix Jacques Le Marois, run in mid-August, is one of top three races in the world over a mile and three other Group One’s are contested during this popular meeting.

The Grand Prix season returns to Paris in the autumn, with the seasonal highlight coming every year on the first weekend of October, with the world famous Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting at Paris- Longchamp.

The prep races for Europe’s richest turf race take place on Arc Trials Day three weeks earlier at the same venue.

Jumps Highlights

All the Group One jumps races take place at Auteuil, either in the spring or autumn.

From March to July, the best horses in each discipline from every age group (three, four, and five years old upwards) prepare their climb towards the top-tier meetings in Paris.

These take place on the second last weekend of May with the running of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, and the second weekend in June, when the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil takes place.

The International Jumps Weekend, which takes place at the beginning of November, is another highlight on the jumps calendar.

At this meeting an equivalent of the Grand Steeple (Prix La Haye Jousselin) is run, as well as the Grande Course de Haies d’Automne.

Auteuil keeps on racing until it closes its gates at the beginning of December. After that point, some trainers then decide to go south for the winter to venues such as Cagnes-sur-Mer or Pau to ply their trade.

So in summary, the calendar for the key French races each year is as follows:

May - French 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas (Paris-Longchamp)
May - Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris (Auteuil)
June - French Derby and Oaks (Chantilly)
July - Grand Prix de Paris (Paris-Longchamp)
August - Deauville's month long Group One meetings (Deauville)
September - Arc Trials Day (Paris-Longchamp)
October - Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting (Paris-Longchamp)
November - 48 Heures de l'Obstacle (Auteuil)

You can find the full schedule of French Group One’s, Two’s, Three’s and Listed Races via the French Black Type Season.

Main French Racecourses

With well over 200 racecourses in France there is generally something available for punters to bet on with Flat fixtures, Jumps, and Trotting cards, with most of them being particularly plentiful at the weekend.

During the summer months, the big Flat yards switch their attentions primarily to the coastal town of Deauville where the two tracks (Deauville and Clairefontaine) stage a plethora of fixtures, including a Group One every weekend in August.

Any summer jumps action away from Paris takes place primarily at Clairefontaine, which also holds Flat racing too.

From December to February the all-weather tracks at Chantilly and Deauville keep the north of country ticking over, while the south tend to race on the all-weather at Marseille and Lyon.

The winter jumps meetings take place at Cagnes-Sur-Mer from the beginning of December until mid-January, and at Pau which continues through to February. A popular Christmas Day fixture regularly tales place at Pau.

Top French Jockeys & Trainers

France has produced a number of world-class jockeys and trainers over the decades, but none more famous than Yves Saint-Martin.

He won French Champion Jockey a total of 15 times and his stellar racing career included four Arcs, four Grand Prix du Paris and five Prix de Diane races among all the countless other high-profile victories he amassed.

On the French training scene, one of the greats is still training to this day. Andre Fabre was a highly successful jumps jockey before turning his hand to training. He has been crowned the champion trainer no less than 30 times and his CV is just mind blowing.

Not only has he captured the Arc and Grand Prix du Paris, but also the Breeders Cup and Arlington Million in the US, along with the Derby and the St Leger in Great Britain.

France currently has a great crop of jockeys riding at the top of their game in the country. As of March 2020 the top Flat riders include Pierre- Charles Boudot (last year’s Arc winner), Christophe Soumillon, Maxime Guyon and Cristian Demuro.

As for the current top Flat trainers, these include the legendary Andre Fabre, Jean-Claude Rouget, Henri-Alex Pantall, Carlos Laffon-Parias and Frederic Rossi.

You can find out if any of the French racecourses are racing today by checking our daily sport updates.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Michel Euler / AP Photo*

April 7, 2020

Horse Racing

By Steve Mullington

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Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

He writes for a number of websites and online publications and you can sometimes hear him at the weekend discussing racing on a number of local radio stations.

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Football QUIZ: Can You Name The 20 Players With Most Premier League Appearances?

The Premier League is widely regarded as the best domestic football competition on the planet. While some doubt how competitive the Premier League is these days, it is hard to argue against the view that England’s top flight is the greatest in football.

Some of the greatest footballers of all-time have played in the Premier League, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard and Thierry Henry putting on a show for the millions of fans around the world.

But which players have made the most appearances in Premier League history? Scroll down to take our Premier League appearances quiz and put your football knowledge to the test. A few of the top spots may surprise you...

We’re generous here at 888sport with offers and promotions so we’ll get you started. The footballer in the image at the top of the page makes the cut – though we’re pretty sure that 99.9% of players wouldn’t have forgotten him!

So, what are you waiting for? Get stuck into our football quiz while we wait for the English Premier League betting odds to return in the near future. Best of luck – let us know how you get on!

Time for the answers…

Gareth Barry – 653 Premier League appearances

Gareth Barry - most Premier League matches — Photo credit: Dave Thompson / AP Photo

Ryan Giggs – 632 Premier League appearances
Frank Lampard – 609 Premier League appearances
David James – 572 Premier League appearances
Gary Speed – 535 Premier League appearances
James Milner – 534 Premier League appearances
Emile Heskey – 516 Premier League appearances
Mark Schwarzer – 514 Premier League appearances
Jamie Carragher – 508 Premier League appearances
Phil Neville – 505 Premier League appearances

Phil Neville - premier League appearances — Photo credit: Jon Super / AP Photo

Rio Ferdinand – 504 Premier League appearances
Steven Gerrard – 504 Premier League appearances
Sol Campbell – 503 Premier League appearances
Paul Scholes – 499 Premier League appearances
Jermain Defoe – 496 Premier League appearances
John Terry – 492 Premier League appearances
Wayne Rooney – 491 Premier League appearances
Michael Carrick – 481 Premier League appearances
Sylvain Distin – 469 Premier League appearances
Peter Crouch – 468 Premier League appearances

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Jon Super / AP Photo*

April 5, 2020

Premier League

By Alex McMahon

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Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible.

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What Is A Football WAG: Our Guide To Famous Wives & Popular Girlfriends In Soccer

Everybody wants to keep up with the latest football gossip. Whether that’s players falling out on the training pitch or the latest transfer rumours, speculation is part of the sport – and that is evident when it comes to the personal lives of footballers around the world.

We all want to know the latest hints and gossip and WAGs news is always popular in the football world. Who are the hottest WAGs in the Premier League? Which WAGs attended the 2018 World Cup? Who are the most popular WAGs in football? These are just a few of the questions that people want to know.

Here, we look at the most famous football WAGs, as well as a look at when the term was first used and how its popularity has grown around the world. Without further ado, let’s dive into the world of footballers’ wives and girlfriends.

Football WAGs – Where Did The Term Come From?

Cast your minds back to the 2002 World Cup. The term WAGs was coined in the build-up to the tournament in Japan and South Korea, with the England wives and girlfriends spending time together during the competition.

According to football betting and news reports, the first use of WAGs can be attributed to staff at the Jumeirah Beach Club in Dubai. The England camp did indeed spend time at the resort prior to the 2002 World Cup.

The use of WAGs rocketed in the coming years and it was common practice by the time the 2006 World Cup came around. Newspapers and publications all over the world were using WAGs as a term for the partners.

WAGs have sometimes been painted in a negative light – mainly due to tabloids producing cringey, judgemental headlines. However, it is important to remember that many WAGs are successful in their own right and don’t simply rely on their footballer for the lifestyle.

Premier League WAGs:

Looking back through the history of Premier League WAGs, Victoria Beckham and Coleen Rooney stand out as the most popular and famous wives in football.

Victoria made a name for herself as a member of the Spice Girls in the early 1990s before marrying the then-Manchester United midfielder David Beckham in 1999.

Victoria is the dominant figure in WAGs culture and the couple have an estimated net worth of $450 million. The Beckham brand is now one of the most popular in the world…

Meanwhile, Coleen met Wayne when she was just 12 years old and they’ve been a couple since the age of 16. They got married in Italy back in 2008 and have four children together.

If you asked someone to name the first WAG to come into their head, Coleen Rooney would probably be the answer. She is undoubtedly the nation’s favourite WAG.

Arsenal WAGs:

Leonita Lekaj

Lekaj married Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka in July 2017 before giving birth to daughter Ayana in October 2019. She is a frequent match-goer at the Emirates Stadium.

She is one of the most well-known Arsenal wives and Lekaj is a real hit on Instagram, with over 200,000 followers as of April 2020. Xhaka has struggled at times on the pitch but he’s certainly a winner off it.

Vjosa Kaba

Kaba tied the knot with Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi in the summer of 2016 – more or less the same time the Germany international agreed to join the north London club from La Liga side Valencia.

The couple have two children together and this brunette beauty has over 24,000 followers on Instagram. Kaba and Mustafi have managed to keep their private life under wraps but she is easily one of the top Arsenal WAGs to follow.

Liverpool WAGs:

Alex Curran

A model and columnist for the Daily Mirror, Curran was part of the original WAGs brigade at the 2006 World Cup. She has been married to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard since 2007 and the couple have four children together.

Curran and Gerrard are two huge figures in the football world; the latter will go down as one of the club’s best players while the former is one of the most popular Liverpool WAGs.

Perrie Edwards

Edwards has been dating Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain since February 2017 and she could soon be partner to a title winner if the Premier League Odds are right.

The two went viral on social media after The Ox uploaded a TikTok of the pair dancing while in self-isolation. Edwards is part of the biggest girl band on the planet and she is forming quite the football power couple alongside Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Manchester City WAGs:

Paige Milian

Milian met Raheem Sterling during his time at Queens Park Rangers and she made the hard decision to move to Liverpool with the England youngster back in 2010. Since then, the couple have got engaged and have a three-year-old son named Thiago.

The two are often pictured out and about in Manchester together, with Milian taking a focal role in Sterling’s private life. Milian is a social influencer while also heading up the Milian Property Group.

Lais Moraes

Married to Brazil goalkeeper Ederson for well over three years, Moraes is easily one of the most attractive Manchester City WAGs. Her partner is known for his performances on the pitch but Moraes is just as eye-catching off it.

The couple have been touted as the most loved-up pair in the Premier League and they already have two children together. Moraes is an ever-present at the Etihad Stadium to watch her husband play.

Manchester United WAGs:

Edurne Garcia

Known as Edurne, the Spaniard has been in a long-term relationship with Manchester United shot stopper David de Gea since 2010. They are one of the Premier League’s top power couples in recent years.

Supremely talented, Edurne is a successful singer and she represented Spain at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. In addition, she is also a television presenter and also acts and models on the side. Just like her partner, she’s a keeper.

Premier League hottest WAGs - Edurne — Photo credit: Ronald Zak / AP Photo

Melanie Da Cruz

Engaged to Manchester United forward Anthony Martial since last spring, Da Cruz is a real stunner. Look at any list of the hottest Manchester United WAGs and she will almost certainly make the cut.

Martial isn’t a leading contender in the Player of the Year odds but he’s onto a winner with Da Cruz off the pitch. Watch this space, this pair can shine in Manchester for years to come.

Serie A WAGs:

Italy’s top flight is one of the most popular leagues in world football and the WAGs culture is similar to that of the Premier League. Here are two of the most famous Serie A WAGs…

Wanda Nara

The wife and agent of Inter Milan and Argentina forward Mauro Icardi, Nara is a jack of all trades. She has enjoyed success in the theatre, as a television personality and as a model.

According to reports, Nara is pushing for Paris Saint-Germain to allow Icardi to return to Inter Milan – the San Siro side are well fancied in Italian Serie A betting odds to claim the title.

Sam Cooke

Cooke was a successful glamour model for various magazines in the UK and she quickly developed her brand across the world – she was the poster woman for a number of popular publications.

Now married to AS Roma defender Chris Smalling, Cooke has close ties to modelling agency Girl Management. She is one of the most stunning Serie A WAGs in football.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Claude Paris / AP Photo*

April 5, 2020

Football

By Alex McMahon

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Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible.

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Grand National QUIZ: Test Your Horse Racing Knowledge!

The Grand National has been a sporting institution since its inaugural running in 1839. Rather aptly a horse called Lottery won the very first race and Captain Becher fell at the brook which dissects the racecourse, and of course the rest is history!

In those early days, horses jumped a stone wall, crossed over fields and finished over two hurdles, but fortunately health and safety and the welfare of horses has made the contest a much fairer spectacle in the subsequent years.

The Grand National has made household names out of the likes of Red Rum, Aldaniti, Ginger McCain and Jenny Pitman, whilst fences such as Becher’s Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn are that familiar to worldwide audiences that they regularly feature in general knowledge quizzes around the globe.

In honour of world’s greatest steeplechase, here is our very own Grand National Quiz. Let’s see how you get on?

Grand National Quiz: Questions

Sir Anthony McCoy finally won the 2010 Grand National aboard Don’t Push It, but how many unsuccessful attempts did he have prior to his victory?
Who was the first female jockey to complete the Grand National?
Complete the missing runner from the 1988 result 1.Rhyme ‘N’ Reason 2. ______ 3.Monanore 4.West Tip
Which winner of the race, since the turn of the millennium, was named after his owner’s holiday home?
The legendary Red Rum was successful in 1973, ‘74 and ’77 but where did Ginger McCain do most of his training with him?
Which horse holds the record for the fastest winning time in the Grand National?
How many times did jockey Paul Moloney finish in the top four places without winning?
Which horse “won” the void Grand National in 1993?
How many female trainers in total have won the Grand National?
Lots of interesting names have been allocated to the Grand National fences over the years, but what is the fence jumped as the 3rd and the 19th know as?

Grand National Quiz Answers...

Sir Anthony McCoy finally won the 2010 Grand National aboard Don’t Push It, but how many unsuccessful attempts did he have prior to his victory?

Answer: McCoy won the National on his 15th attempt, so the answer is 14. McCoy’s win was also a just reward for his legions of fans that had kept the faith with him through thick and thin over the previous 14 years.

Who was the first female jockey to complete the Grand National?

Answer: Geraldine Rees became the first woman to complete the course in 1982 when riding a horse called Cheers. The pairing managed to finish the race in eighth and last place.

Complete the missing runner from the 1988 result: 1.Rhyme ‘N’ Reason 2. ______ 3.Monanore 4.West Tip

Answer: Durham Edition. The Arthur Stephenson trained Durham Edition was to miss out twice, firstly to Rhyme ‘N’ Reason then again in 1990 to Mr Frisk.

Which winner of the race, since the turn of the millennium, was named after his owner’s holiday home?

Answer: Named after his owner Bernard Carroll’s holiday home in Portugal, Numbersixvalverde gave jockey Niall “slippers” Madden a thrilling win on his first Grand National ride, aged just 20, in 2006.

The legendary Red Rum was successful in 1973, ‘74 and ’77 but where did Ginger McCain do most of his training with him?

Answer: People have been captivated by the tale of the people’s champion who exercised on Southport Beach for many years, and in 2020 a mural was commissioned by Sefton Council in his honour.

It was painted by Paul Curtis and can be found by the promenade on a gable end wall at the top of Scarisbrick Avenue, Southport.

Which horse holds the record for the fastest winning time in the Grand National?

Answer: The horse with the fastest time was the Kim Bailey-trained and Marcus Armytage-ridden Mr Frisk in 1990. He completed the course in a staggering 8 minutes and 47.8 seconds on going described as firm.

Could we see a faster time in the 2020 Virtual Grand National this weekend?

How many times did jockey Paul Moloney finish in the top four places without winning?

Answer: Maloney finished in the first four seven times and came closest to success aboard Cappa Bleu, who was the runner-up to Auroras Encore in 2013.

Remarkably all of those seven places were in the colours of William and Angela Rucker, who owned his other two mounts, State Of Play and Alvarado.

Which horse “won” the void Grand National in 1993?

Answer: Esha Ness. The 1993 Grand National was declared void after two false starts reduced the race to a horse racing farce.

When 30 of the 39 riders failed to realise a false start had been called and set off around the racetrack, the Jockey Club had no option but to void the race.

Esha Ness, a 50-1 outsider trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by John White, was called home by Sir Peter O'Sullevan as the winner of "the National that surely isn't".

How many female trainers have won the Grand National?

Answer: Jenny Pitman, Venetia Williams, Sue Smith and Lucinda Russell have all saddled Grand National winners, making a total of four women in all.

Jenny Pitman became the first woman to train a Grand National winner when Corbiere was successful in 1983. She then gained compensation for the 1993 debacle when Royal Athlete became her second winner, at odds of 40/1 in the Grand National betting.

The next Grand National winner trained by a woman was Venetia Williams’ 100/1-shot Mon Mome who was successful in 2009.

Sue Smith became the third woman to join that esteemed list of female trainers when Auroras Encore came home first in 2013, whilst Lucinda Russell became the last female name on the Grand National’s roll of honour when her One For Arthur took the 2017 spoils.

Lots of interesting names have been allocated to the Grand National fences over the years, but what is the fence jumped as the 3rd and the 19th know as?

Answer: At 5ft high, this open ditch is also known as ‘Westhead’ after the late Steve Westhead who was one of Aintree’s fence builders and worked at Aintree Racecourse in the 1970’s.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Jon Super / AP Photo*

April 8, 2021

Grand National

By Steve Mullington

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Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

He writes for a number of websites and online publications and you can sometimes hear him at the weekend discussing racing on a number of local radio stations.

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What’s On: 888 Guide To Sporting Events That Are Still Taking Place

With the 2020 sporting calendar impacted around the world, sport fans will be looking to find a list of events that are still going on – either with matches behind closed doors or online competitive e-sports.

The Premier League, Champions League, US Masters and French Open are just a few of the upcoming sport competitions that are postponed for the time being but 888sport is the place to be for daily updates regarding future sport events.

Here, sport fans can find the latest information regarding matches, tournaments and events that are happening in the next few days. We will be updating this page daily so be sure to check back to get your sporting fix throughout the week.

WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY

Football ?:

Club Friendly Matches

Horse Racing ?:

Various meetings around the world

Greyhounds ?:

Various meetings throughout the day

E-Sports ?:

FIFA Pro League

Dota 2

League Of Legends

CS: GO

Table Tennis ?:

Various tournaments

THURSDAY 21ST MAY

Football ?:

Club Friendly Matches

Horse Racing ?:

Various meetings around the world

Greyhounds ?:

Various meetings throughout the day

E-Sports ?:

FIFA Pro League

Dota 2

League Of Legends

CS: GO

Table Tennis ?:

Various tournaments

FRIDAY 22ND MAY

Football ?:

German Bundesliga Matches

Belarusian Premier League Matches

Club Friendly Matches

Horse Racing ?:

Various meetings around the world

Greyhounds ?:

Various meetings throughout the day

E-Sports ?:

FIFA Pro League

Dota 2

League Of Legends

CS: GO

Table Tennis ?:

Various tournaments

SATURDAY 23RD MAY

Football ?:

German Bundesliga Matches

Belarusian Premier League Matches

Club Friendly Matches

Horse Racing ?:

Various meetings around the world

Greyhounds ?:

Various meetings throughout the day

E-Sports ?:

FIFA Pro League

Dota 2

League Of Legends

CS: GO

Table Tennis ?:

Various tournaments

April 10, 2020

All Sports

By Alex McMahon

Body

Alex is a sports betting tipster, specialising in Premier League football, the Champions League and horse racing.

He loves placing a weekly accumulator on the football at the weekend and dreams of landing the big winner that will take him back to Las Vegas.

As well as writing sports betting tips for 888sport since 2015, Alex has produced content for several international media companies, such as Goal.com and The SPORTBible.

Alex McMahon

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