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UK and Ireland Racecards for Today


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Today’s Betting Tips & Daily Racing Stats

Today’s Racecards

We’ve got you covered with our racecards, check out the detailed racecard on this page as you pick out your best bets for the day’s action.

On top of this, during each day, we’ll bring you tips from our resident horse racing experts, as they guide you through the big races.

Racecards Guide

A racecard can give you valuable information ahead of making your selections. With a racecard for today, you can make your picks, work out what their chances are, and take valuable snippets such as the weight each horse is carrying, if they’ve won over course and distances, official ratings and much more.

What is a Racecard?

A racecard is a list of the final declarations heading to a race meeting. Here you will find the name and number of all runners taking part, their jockey and trainer plus vital information, including recent form, age, weight, rating, and much more.

The racecards we have won’t offer tips, but they will help you make your selections, giving you the all important facts before you finalise your picks.

What Information is Included on a Racecard?

You’ll get the stats and facts you need on a racecard. The name of the horse, jockey and trainer are the basic bits of information you need. For a more in depth look, you’ll also get the following:

  • Age of the horse
  • Rating of the horse
  • Weight carried
  • Recent form
  • If the horse has won on the ground, course or over the distance
  • If the horse has been a beaten favourite in the past

How Do You Read Horse Racing Cards?

The aim of racecards is to provide punters will all the information they need to make an informed choice with their horse racing bets.

The top of the racecard includes key information about the race itself. This includes basic info such as the name and time of the race, the track where the race is taking place and how many runners there are.

Other details found at the top of the racecard are more important such as the race’s distance, what sort of race it is (for example a steeplechase, hurdle or flat race), what level the race is (is it a Graded race, or a Listed race for example) and what restrictions are in place (some races are open only to horses of a certain age or sex for example).

When you look through the horses, you will also find key information that will help you with your selections.

The draw can be very important at certain tracks, and this is listed below the silks. If you are looking for in form names to follow, then you can see the name of the trainer and jockey too, underneath the name of the horse.

In the next column, information here includes the age of the horse, weight it has to carry, and recent form figures.

Lastly, the days since the horse last ran, plus the overall rating of the horse can be seen, before the odds for the horse to win the race are shown in the final column.

How Do I Use Horse Racing Cards to Place Bets?

Today’s horse racing cards hold a huge amount of information, which you can use to narrow down the selections you are betting on.

Things such as going with horses that have won at the course, won over the distance, won last time out, are all only known if you get the information from a racecard, and are all reasons that people have used in the past to bet on a horse.

Here at Freebets.com, you will always find the freshest horse racing guides, and also horse racing free bets from the best betting sites in the UK.

Feel free to check out our horse racing free bets and promotions here every day, and we will have a lot more offers during the major horse racing festivals such as Cheltenham Festival Betting, Grand National free bets, Royal Ascot free bets, York Ebor free bets, Epsom Derby and many more.

Racecard FAQs

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When are Cheltenham racecards confirmed?

The Cheltenham racecards are confirmed 48 hours before, at 11am. For example, the racecard for Friday at the Cheltenham Festival is confirmed on Wednesday at 11am.

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How are runners racecard numbers decided?

Numbers in a race are determined by weight, the top weight has number 1, and those below go in weight order. If weights are the same, alphabetical order is used to decide between those carrying the same weight.

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How many days ahead do racecards get published?

Racecards are published as soon as they are confirmed, which means two days before the race.

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How many favourites on a single racecard?

This depends on the betting. Usually, we have one favourite, but there are instances where joint-favourites and co-favourites exist, which means multiple horses could be classed as the favourite.

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Should I lay each favourite on a single racecard?

This is entirely up to you and how you approach your betting, but laying favourites is a tactic that some people use.

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How do you pick a winning horse?

This is the million-dollar question.

Punters are always looking for something to give them the edge over the bookies on the racecard. It could be a previous performance on the same course, a piece of form that doesn’t stand out at first but has held up due to the subsequent performances of the other horses in the race or a horse who is well treated in the weights.

There’s always an element of luck when it comes to picking a winning horse but most of the information you need to seek out some value can be found on the racecard.

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When are racecards released?

The final racecard for a race is released when the final declarations come in, usually 48 hours before the race is scheduled to start. You will find online racecards earlier than that for the biggest races but the final, printed copies are released much closer to the off.

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What does 7lb claimer mean?

It’s not just the horses that you’ll want to keep a close eye on when reading a racecard. The jockeys booked for the ride can have a huge impact, especially if they are a ‘claimer’.

A claimer is the name given to jockeys who, for one reason or another, get to carry less weight than the other jockeys in a race. Apprentice and conditional jockeys get to claim 7lb until they have won 20 races. The difference between the two is that apprentices ride in flat races whilst conditionals ride in National Hunt racing.

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What does S mean in horse racing?

There are many letters used on a racecard which give punters important information about a horse’s previous form. When you see S on a racecard it means that a horse slipped up in that race.

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What is Group 1 race?

Group 1 races are the pinnacle of flat racing. All of horse racing operates on a grading system. On the flat, horses can work their way up via a whole host of different races before reaching Listed races, Group 3 races, Group 2 races and the finally Group 1s.

Group 1s tend to carry the biggest prizes (with the exception of the biggest handicaps). A similar system operates in National Hunt races but except the top level is called Group races.

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What is a black type race?

Black type is a racing slang term for Group level races. It refers to the fact that horses who win Group level races have their name printed in bold in sales catalogues. You’ll also often hear these contests referred to as Pattern races.