Category Archives: Horses

A graduate of the British Racing School, Tom Marquand became apprenticed to Richard Hannon in 2014 at the age of 16. He rode his first winner, Mecado, in a lowly selling stakes race at Kempton in December that year. In his first full season, 2015,  much to the delight of horse racing betting fans, he rode 67 winners and won the apprentice jockeys’ championship. In 2016, he rode a further 63 winners, thereby riding out his claim and, during the winter, enjoyed a brief, but successful, spell with Australian trainer David Hayes.

In 2017, increased his winning tally to 86, including his first Group winner, Anna Nerium, in the Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury. In his next three seasons, Marquand rode 105, 136 and 147 winners, finishing fourth in the Flat jockeys’ championship in 2019 and third in 2020.

In early 2020, he returned to Australia, joining Sydney trainer John O’Shea, for whom he won both the Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on Addeybb, thereby recording his first Group 1 successes.

It’s no surprise really that he was drawn to Australian racing and experienced his first Group 1 success there, with its reputation for both top class Group 1 and feature races. This month alone, we have the likes of the Cox Plate and the Victoria Derby to look forward to. Held at Moonee Valley, Melbourne the Cox Plate is a 2040 meter race steeped in history – its origins can be traced back to 1920. Prize money for the race is a staggering $5,000,000 AUD and this year it will be held on 23rd October. Current favourite to win is the Sir Michael Stoute trained and Ahmad Alotaibi owned Zaaki at 2/1 (despite his current shock defeat coming third to Probabeel and Nonconformist at Caulfield). Racing fans will no doubt be using the best betting apps in Australia to place their wagers on this much anticipated race.

The Victoria Derby, held a week later on 30th October, is a group one race held at Flemington racecourse with still impressive prize money of  $2,000,000 AUD. Dating back to 1855 (yes you heard that right!) last years winner was Johnny Get Angry.

Both events really though can be considered somewhat secondary to the Melbourne Cup which is held early in the following month. Even in these covid times, such is the excitement and anticipation of the events that it is due to have an attendance of 10,000 as part of Australia’s re-opening plan. The Melbourne Cup, held at Flemington racecourse in Melbourne, and first held in 1861 is known as the richest two miler handicap in the world  and has prize money of a very weighty $8,000,000 AUD. Those in the running to win this years race (Held on 2nd November) include the Peter Moody trained Incentivize and Spanish Mission.

Outside of Australian racing, Marquand rode his first Group 1 winner on home soil, Galileo Chrome, in the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster that September, having picked up a ‘spare’ ride after original jockey Shane Crosse tested positive for Covid-19. On New Year’s Eve, 2020, Marquand announced his engagement to fellow jockey Hollie Doyle, whom he originally met at pony camp ten years previously.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are here to stay. Once an abstract concept, NFTs now permeate music, art, and sports. The rise of crypto technology has made it possible to buy, breed, and virtual racehorses. Those horses cost real money, and some of them can reach quite impressive sums. Learn more about this new and promising trend in this article.

Understanding the Concept

NFT is a kind of digital asset stored on a blockchain, ensuring this asset is unique. Blockchain technology also guarantees proof of ownership for every NFT. Recently, The Burned Picasso project has turned one of the master’s works into an NFT. Afterwards, the original burned in a stunt.

The main point behind the project was that Picasso’s works could live forever unchanged as NFTs. The concept of the digital asset has migrated to other fields, and horse racing seems to be a hot trend. Through a platform called Zed, people can buy digital horses, breed them and train them.

Once you’ve worked your stallion to a competitive level, it’s time to try it out. Digital horses don’t get tired, so races are going around the clock, 24/7. It’s even gone so far as being open for gambling enthusiasts to wager on their favourite horse on platforms such as NetBet.

A Multi-Million Dollars Market

Digital horse racing is gaining traction and attracting jaw-dropping investments. Investors are willing to pay as much as €100,000 for breeding horses online. Never-stopping races have also created a gambling market for enthusiasts. Transactions are usually made in Ethereum, being Bitcoin a second option.

Digital Breeds

Breeding a champion is a complex and expensive process. Horses can be bred or bought according to their bloodlines. There are 4,000 original bloodlines and countless variations of them.

The first and most costly ‘generation’ of those lines counts 38,000 horses. People also buy and resell those horses in a secondary market. Top-race awards can reach six figures, while smaller ones will return only a few bucks.

Hall of Fame

Zed platform already has a few successful cases. Pinkman’s won over 12.5 ETH (32,600 USD), while Steph Curry’s brought home 11.8 ETH (30,800 USD). Horses like Pinkman and Steph Curry can breed three times a month and charge for it. A mare can breed only once in the same period.

Controversies

Digital horse racing is incredibly famous among crypto enthusiasts. It’s an environment where cryptos are more than welcome, after all. Here are the main points for and against NFT horse racing.

No Animal Suffering Involved

Fans and investors defend that digital breeding and racing can potentially end animal suffering in this sport. Because no animal is involved, races can happen all day long. The breeding process is incredibly realistic, and users can be sure to own a truly unique item.

Environmental Impact

Cryptocurrencies aren’t generated for free. An NFT transaction in Ethereum can consume up to 8.7 megawatts/hour. Comparatively, it’s more than double an average British household consumption in one year. The pressure for a ‘green cryptocurrency’ is rising, but there’s no release date at sight.

Conclusion

NFT horses have been attracting fans and investors lately. Some companies and startups are investing in full ‘stables’, up for breeding and reselling. Still, there’s space for those after a hobby, esports betting, or simply watching the race.

We can all look forward to some excellent racing at Doncaster this week. On Thursday September 9, it’s the Cazoo May Hill Stakes with Inspiral the hot favourite to win this Group 2 race. It’s a race for two-year-olds, run over a straight mile and the forecast going is Good to Firm as the UK finally enjoys some good weather.

According to DailyMail, the winner of this race will receive £63,799 in prize money. Last year, the May Hill Stakes was won by Indigo Girl, trained by John Gosden. Who will be the winner in 2021 and will we see a future Classic winner?

It is possible that may well be the case. Inspiral is the current 12/1 favourite to win the 1000 Guineas next year and 16/1 to win the Oaks. A win in this race will see those odds shorten, so it might be worth taking them now.

Inspiral is trained by John and Thany Gosden and has won both of her races this year. June saw a first win for Inspiral in a Class 4 race run on Good to Firm ground. That was followed by a move up to Listed race company at Sandown. Inspiral ran out a three-and-a-half length win over Wild Beauty (second in a Group 3 race since) over seven furlongs.

The filly went clear in the final 110 yards, so getting an extra furlong isn’t looking like it will cause Inspiral any problems at all. You can get odds of 4/6 at present on Inspiral winning this Group 2 contest reports horse.bet.

The main opposition to the favourite is the Joseph Patrick O’Brien trained Albula. It was only last month when this runner made its racecourse debut at Naas That was on good ground and over a mile with no problem getting the distance. Such a good debut wasn’t expected by racing experts as Albula went off at 12/1 that day.

Albula then raced in the Group 3 Manguard Plus Irish EBF Flame Of Tara Stakes at The Curragh on August 21 on good ground. The odds-on favourite was two lengths clear going into the final furlong but couldn’t stay ahead of Magical Lagoon and finished second. At 11/2 for this May Hill Stakes, Albula may well finish second behind Inspiral as long as the ground isn’t too fast for this runner.

Andrew Balding runs the third favourite, Speak. This runner has only had one race to date, and it was a Class 4 event on the all-weather at Kempton last month. Speak finished a length-and-a-half clear of Natasha and proved that staying a mile is not a problem. nagshead.co.uk

This is a big step up in class for Speak. We also have to take into account that debut race was on Standard to Slow ground on the all-weather. How will Speak cope now racing on Good to Firm ground on turf in a Group 2 race? With horse racing betting apps you can get 8/1 on this runner and that can be a good bet both ways.

Others to consider include Wild Beauty at 12/1 but has a lot to find on the favourite having been beaten at Sandown. The extra furlong may bring some further improvement. Another contender is Seisai who was fourth in a recent Group 2 race. That was on soft ground, how will the filly (available at 8/1) fare on Good to Firm?