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The Sun
19-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
BetMaze Royal Ascot betting offer: Get £20 in free bets on horse racing
PUNTERS can grab £20 in free bets when signing up to BetMaze and staking £20 on horse racing – just in time for Royal Ascot! New customers can claim this horse racing-exclusive offer, which gives you 50% of your stake back (up to £10) as a free bet if your first and second qualifying bets lose. BetMaze – Bet £20, get £20 in free bets Royal Ascot 2025 is off and running – and BetMaze have launched a great welcome offer that could give your betting a flying start. Simply register for a new account, deposit at least £20, and place a £20+ single bet on any horse racing market at odds of Evens (2.00) or greater. ✅ If your first qualifying bet loses, you'll get 50% of your stake back (up to £10) as a free bet. ✅ Then, if your second qualifying bet loses, you'll get another 50% back (up to £10) – meaning £20 in total. 📅 With Royal Ascot offering five days of elite racing, there are plenty of chances to use this offer throughout the week. BetMaze sign-up offer: How to claim New customers can follow these simple steps to claim: Free bets can be used on sports singles only, at odds of 2.50 (3/2) or higher. Royal Ascot 2025 – Where to use your offer The five-day Royal Ascot festival is one of the most prestigious meetings on the British racing calendar – and BetMaze's offer is perfect for new punters looking for extra value. From Tuesday's Queen Anne Stakes to Saturday's Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, there are plenty of top-level races and big fields to target with your free bets. Whether you're backing favourites or fancying an outsider, this offer gives you two second chances if your first picks don't land. BetMaze Bet £20 Get £20 Offer – Terms and conditions 18+ New UK customers only Opt-in required Min deposit: £20 Place a £20+ single bet on horse racing (min odds 2.00) E/W markets excluded First and second qualifying bet only Get 50% of stake back (max £10 each) if bets lose Free bets min odds: 2.50 Free bets valid for 14 days Free bets for singles only, not valid for each-way, multiples, or Cash Out No wagering on winnings from free bets Deposits via PayPal, Skrill, Neteller or Paysafe excluded Bonus Policy and Full T&Cs apply About the author Craig Mahood Craig Mahood is an expert in sports betting and online casinos and has worked with the company since 2020. He joined the Betting & Gaming team at The Sun in June 2022 and works closely with the leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to provide content on all areas of sports betting and gaming. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter at the Scottish Sun, covering Scottish football with particular focus on Celtic and Rangers, As well as football, he has covered horse racing, boxing, darts, the Olympics and tennis for the Sun. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ascot can lift mood after Derby doom and gloom with five days of royal glamour, star runners and a racing spectacle fit for the world stage, writes ED CHAMBERLIN
What a difference a week will make. From the doom and gloom of Epsom and its empty hill to the promise of something quite spectacular at Royal Ascot, five days that will illustrate everything great about British racing. Why are the two occasions so different? It would have been unthinkable during the late Queen's reign for her not to be at Epsom on Derby Day but the lack of a Royal presence seven days ago certainly contributed to how flat everything felt. The occasion, for so many reasons, isn't resonating with the nation. We had an audience of 1.3million on ITV, an improvement from 12 months ago but still nothing to write home about. In contrast, when we started covering racing in 2017, our ambition was to get one million-plus watching on midweek afternoons — we hope to do that on all five days next week. People can't get enough of Ascot and that's because the course has moved with the times, making it an occasion for everyone. When the Royal procession goes down the track, it passes a complete cross section of society within 500 yards. You have the picnickers on the Heath to those dining in the restaurant of Yannick Alleno, a chef with 17 Michelin stars; you'll have students there for a good time rubbing shoulders with aristocrats. Tickets are selling fast and Ascot expect close to 300,000 across the five days. It was all doom and gloom at Epsom on Derby Day just seven days ago This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Royal procession and Ascot, a racecourse in tune with their local community, have invited 500 kids from local schools on course to see the spectacle. It remains as relevant as it has ever been. My hope is the Princess of Wales will be there with the Prince on Wednesday for the blockbuster race named in his honour. I'd love to see David and Victoria Beckham in the carriages one day, too, as they would carry racing on to the front pages. I argued on these pages last year how I would love to see places reserved in the procession for the NHS heroes and heroines, to spread the love around, but the meeting is so successful I'll leave all decisions for the powers-that-be. Ascot's biggest selling point, however, is that Felicity Barnard — the new chief executive — knows what matters. For all the pomp, pageantry and popping corks, everything revolves around horses. Everyone wants to be here, with runners arriving from America, Japan, Australia, Spain and Norway. And, at the heart of it, we will be looking for a winner. Betting will be central to our coverage and my idea of a 'good thing' is Shadow Of Light in Friday's Commonwealth Cup. I can't wait. This is Ascot: historic and in fashion — and the reason everyone will be watching. BETS OF THE WEEK: Aside from Shadow Of Light, I expect REACHING HIGH to win Tuesday's Ascot Stakes for the King and Queen. I'm also hearing positive vibes for FITZELLA in the Albany Stakes on Friday.
Daily Mail
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
CALUM McCLURKIN: Half-empty hill at Epsom on Derby day should be the final warning that racing needs to get its act together to stay in the mainstream consciousness
Away from the grandeur of Derby weekend at Epsom, there are hints of a power shift in the governance of British racing. Or is there? It's not unusual for new bosses to be in situ in the background just before the big occasion arrives. It's a useful distraction and a quiet introduction to the role while all the eyes are on the Oaks and Derby. Jim Mullen is the new chief executive of The Jockey Club. They own plenty of the high-profile racecourses across Britain, including Cheltenham, Aintree and Epsom. While watching top-class horses whizz around the tight bends of Epsom will be a source of delight, Mullen would no doubt have been more alarmed with the half- empty hill in the middle of the racecourse. The Derby has been around for almost 250 years and it's never felt more culturally irrelevant as it does now. This was a national occasion marked in the diary by pretty much anyone who follows sport. Not anymore. Epsom looked and felt silent, its undercard to the Derby was all relatively uninspiring stuff. This race desperately needs to find its resonance again. So does the sport. Charging kids £50 and £70 to get into the stands is shocking from Epsom's chiefs. £85 and £165 for the Grandstand and Queen Elizabeth Stand hardly represents value. Access to the hill is free but, with everyone on weather watch and expecting a heavy rain shower, there isn't much fun standing around the middle of the racecourse stuck and exposed to the elements. It could be worse. You could have paid £40 to watch Scotland's diabolical friendly defeat Iceland at Hampden on Friday night. The cost of access to top-level sporting events is sky high and racing faces challenges along with every other sport. Rip off Britain is in full bloom. Ordinary punters, who are already being taxed to oblivion, are paying through the nose for everything between supermarket essentials and leisure interests. More and more are disillusioned with the political system and feel barely recognised in the sports they once adored. Racing is no different in people paying more but getting less in return. But it's also struggling to resonate with the general public. The Derby undercard proved it. Two sprint handicaps you can watch any other day of the week and a couple of weak Group Threes is not befitting of the main event. Punters take so much time and energy to spot the right price and get the right value in the right races. It also applies to gate prices. Don't be so shocked when people that spend most of their spare time poring through race form and weighing up whether to back a horse at 9/4 or wait for 5/2 are astute enough to not pay over the odds for the entry fee or £14 for a bad burger. Racing's core audience has been insulted for too long. More and more people and voting with their feet and keeping their hard-earned in their pocket. Credit to Hexham for being one of too few exceptions to the rule. You can get in for as less as £12 at the independently run course who had a royal visit earlier this week. A chief executive at Ladbrokes-Coral and newspaper group Reach, Mullen is no stranger to making brutal decisions. Speaking this week, the 54-year-old Glaswegian said: 'There will be hard decisions that have to be made.' Too right. The Jockey Club, and indeed racing's finances, have been taking a whacking. Attendances have fallen and profits have tumbled due to the gambling regulation that is being impinged on punters and declining attendances. Only a cursory glance over the hill yesterday would tell you that. Nevin Truesdale was in his position before Mullen took over last Sunday. It wasn't so long ago that Epsom was invaded by animal rights protestors, Truesdale took out a court injunction against them and they've not been seen since. He also started the petition that engaged a parliamentary discussion against affordability checks and their impact on the racing industry. Those two public acts of valour were greater than any chief executive or chairman in anyone in any body of British racing's absurdly bloated governance structure. Truesdale left with some frustrated parting words at the system's dysfunctionality and, quite understandably, rode off into the sunset. Mullen facing a major task in taking up the mantle and is destined to meet the same obstacles. The hope for real change is racing's governance curiously sits with the position of Mullen's fellow Scot Lord Charles Allen. He was supposed to take up his position as chairman of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) last week but delayed his arrival. He was appointed to the role he has not yet taken up last November. A double bluff to get exactly what he wants or one look into the shambles in the corridors of power and doing a runner? Time will tell but it's the kind of initial unorthodox move that might finally jolt signs of life into a paralysed governing structure that he wants to change. The BHA, for instance, are powerless over the bloated fixture list in Britain that sees massive races such as the Derby given precious little wriggle room from lesser meetings elsewhere. A Labour peer, Allen, 68, has voiced concerns about British racing's governance model. Mullen said: 'When and if he starts he's got my support because if we don't have proper governance of the sport it all falls off. I wouldn't dare to speak on his behalf but when and if he's here I will look forward to working with a fellow Lanarkshire man.' Allen has sent out a soft marker and needs to feel that the sport is willing to change for the better. If not, then he doesn't need the hassle. And he wouldn't be the first to walk away if racing's chiefs take the easy option and continue with the rudderless status quo. Even the insular racing bubble can burst. One look at the hill at Epsom yesterday tells you that. PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK… LAMBOURN produced a relentless galloping display from the front to make all in the Derby. An 11th victory in the race for trainer Aidan O'Brien, jockey Wayne Lordan set solid fractions and was never going to be caught in blowing what looked like an open Classic apart. SELECTIONS OF THE DAY… It's Perth Gold Cup day but the outstanding play lies in the Silver Cup (3.22). SCHMILSSON (6/5, William Hill) won nicely over course and distance last month and is open to further progress for the Olly Murphy-Sean Bowen trainer-jockey combination that have such a successful strike-rate at the racecourse. Bowen can double up in the Gold Cup (Perth, 3.57) with last year's winner STATUARIO (7/2, William Hill) back for more in the feature. he's still reasonably treated at the age of 10 and can at least go close again at a venue he adores for trainer Micky Bowen.
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
British racing's leadership in disarray after Lord Allen delays arrival at top
The administration of British racing appeared to be in disarray on Friday following confirmation by the British Horseracing Authority that Lord Charles Allen, who was due to take over as the BHA's new permanent chair in three days' time, will delay his arrival to an unspecified date in order to 'better inform his vision for the sport'. In a brief statement, the BHA said: 'Since Lord Allen was named as the new chair of the BHA last November, he has engaged in an extensive round of meetings with stakeholders to develop a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the issues facing the sport. 'The BHA can today confirm that Lord Allen will not now start on June 2 as he wishes to continue meeting stakeholders to better inform his vision for the sport and he looks forward to starting his new role once these have concluded.' Lord Allen, whose business career prior to becoming a life peer in 2013 included senior roles with Granada TV, EMI, Virgin Media and Endemol, was also a member of the bid team which secured the 2012 Olympics for London, and chair of the Manchester Commonwealth Games from 2000 to 2003. Lord Allen was described as 'a candidate whose record speaks for itself' by David Jones, the chair of the BHA's Nominations Committee, when his appointment was announced seven months ago. Dissenting voices soon emerged among some stakeholders, however, most notably when Ralph Beckett, a former president of the National Trainers' Federation (NTF), told the organisation's annual meeting in March that Lord Allen did not have an obvious background in the sport and that 'anybody going into that role is not going to grasp hold of the role straight away', adding: 'it takes time in the role and we don't have time.' At the heart of concerns among trainers, owners and other racing professionals – whose views are represented by the Thoroughbred Group (TG) – is a long-standing conviction that the balance of power in the industry is tilted heavily towards racecourses. A new governance structure for the sport which was introduced in 2022 aimed to shift ultimate authority in significant decisions towards the BHA, but the TG remains sceptical over the extent to which racecourses are returning a fair amount of their income to participants in prize money. The apparent implication of Friday's announcement is that Lord Allen concurs with Beckett's critique in March and needs more time to get to grips with the industry's overall structure and factional internal politics. The concern for the BHA is that he will ultimately conclude that the role is a poisoned chalice and better left untouched. Audience, the narrow favourite for the John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock on Saturday, registered wins at both Group One and Group Two level last year, but he has been well below form over six furlongs on his last two starts and makes little appeal at around 7-2 for what could be a strong renewal of this Group Three contest. Owen Burrows's Alyanaabi, successful over course and distance last time, and the evergreen Kinross, the winner of this race four years ago, both have strong claims, but at longer odds, Kevin Ryan's Volterra (3.33) is an interesting each-way alternative at around 16-1. The four-year-old is stepping up from handicaps to take on seasoned Group-race performers, but was a winner first time up last season, has just eight races in the book and stormed clear of a deep field in the style of a fast-improving colt on his final start at three. Haydock 1.48 The lightly raced four-year-olds Durham Castle and Fine Interview head the betting and both have scope for significant progress through the handicap ranks this term. Hamad Al Jehani's gelding has had a run already, however, and that could tip the balance in his favour here. Chester 2.10 A double-figure draw is never ideal here but Yanifer, in 10, was a winner from stall 12 over this trip last summer, when Never So Brave, the early 3-1 favourite for this race, was behind him in seventh. Never So Brave has since been gelded and switched to Andrew Balding, but he has been off the course for 239 days and 10-1 about Yanifer is too big. Haydock 2.23 Jasour ran in four consecutive Group Ones after a successful seasonal debut last year and while his form tailed off after finishing sixth in the July Cup, he returns after a wind operation with an obvious chance dropping in grade. York 2.40 All 13 runners have an each-way chance at least but Kodiac Thriller was a comfortable winner at Thirsk earlier this month and William Pyle's 3lb claim could tip the balance his way. Haydock 1.13 Naqeeb 1.48 Fine Interview (nap) 2.23 Jasour 2.58 Shaha 3.33 Volterra 4.08 Arabian Leopard 4.43 Organ York 1.30 Bona Fortuna 2.05 Tadej 2.40 Kodiac Thriller (nb) 3.15 Term Of Endearment 3.50 Singoura 4.25 Urban Glimpse 5.00 Delicacy Chester 1.35 Breckenbrough 2.10 Yanifer 2.45 Tricky Tel 3.20 Surrey Belle 3.55 Spirit Of Acklam 4.30 Nazuki 5.05 Magella Cloud 5.35 Yellow Card Southwell 4.20 Agent Mayfair 4.55 Master Zack 5.25 Imperial Guard 5.55 Young Endless 6.25 Coedana 6.55 Down To The Kid 7.25 Create Stratford-On-Avon 5.30 Old Bridge 6.00 Iskar D'Airy 6.30 Clear Storm 7.00 Fillyfudge 7.30 Up For Parol 8.00 Ashtown Lad 8.30 Nickelforce 9.00 Supreme Yeats Lingfield 5.40 Golden Phase 6.10 Cavalry Call 6.40 Twilight Star 7.10 Assaranca 7.40 Havana Whisper 8.10 Harbour Vision 8.40 Mart Haydock 2.58 Two of the last three winners of this Group Three have gone on to win at Group One level later in the campaign and the impeccably-bred Shaha promises to be a filly to follow after a comfortable success at Goodwood last time. York 3.15 Term Of Endearment, last year's winner of this race, went through the ring for 1.3m gns (£1.37m) in the autumn and remains relatively lightly raced for a six-year-old. This looks an ideal contest to register a first success for her new trainer, William Haggas.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Did Horses Trigger The 1918 Flu Pandemic?
NEWMARKET, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 11: Veterinary Clinician Jeremy Allen swabs a Polo Pony to test for ... More Equine Influenza on February 11, 2019 in Newmarket, England. The sample will be sent to the 'Animal Health Trust', whose testing lab first confirmed the recent outbreak.. The NEH is the largest and most state-of-the-art equine hospital in Europe. The clinic focuses on personalised high quality veterinary care and emergency care for horses from all over the world. The facility offers a specialised 24-hour emergency service by a highly skilled team of equine veterinary specialists, nurses, interns and yard staff, offering a range of services including MRI scans, x-ray and arthroscopic surgery. Horse racing across the UK continues to be suspended due to an outbreak of equine influenza. 174 yards are being tested after cases of influenza were detected in a stables in Cheshire among already-vaccinated horses. Four more positive tests for equine influenza have also been returned in vaccinated thoroughbreds stables in Newmarket. This is the biggest shutdown in British racing since the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001. (Photo by) The 1918 influenza pandemic remains the deadliest in modern history, killing tens of millions—and leaving scientists with enduring questions about where it began. For decades, many researchers assumed the virus emerged in pigs. But when scientists sequenced the virus's genome in 2005, they found it was primarily avian in origin. One possibility was that the virus originated in birds, passed through pigs—where it adapted to mammalian cells—and then jumped to humans. However, more recent evidence has cast doubt on this so-called 'mixing vessel' hypothesis. Studies show that avian-to-swine transmission is rare, that pigs and humans have similar distributions of sialic acid receptors in their respiratory tracts to which influenza viruses bind, and that the 1918 virus's genome shows little sign of prolonged adaptation in pigs. Based on this, scientists Martha Nelson and Michael Worobey concluded that seven avian genes in the 1918 virus were probably transmitted from birds to humans at the start of the pandemic, and from humans to swine once the pandemic was widespread in humans. View of victims of the Spanish flu cases as they lie in beads at a barracks hospital on the campus ... More of Colorado Agricultural College, Fort Collins, Colorado, 1918. (Photo by American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs/PhotoQuest/Getty Images) Now a new hypothesis, put forth by medical historian Martin Furmanski and virologist Pablo Murcia published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, suggests a different intermediate host was spreading a prepandemic avian-origin virus before 1918: the horse. The idea is biologically plausible and historically grounded—and it reframes how we think about the origin of the 1918 pandemic. Influenza viruses infect hosts by binding to sialic acid receptors in the respiratory tract. Avian viruses preferentially bind to α2,3-linked receptors, while human viruses target α2,6-linked receptors. Most mammals express one type or the other, but some—including pigs and horses—express both. This dual susceptibility has led scientists to propose that these species may act as 'bridge hosts,' enabling avian and human viruses to co-infect the same cells and exchange gene segments through reassortment. They may also provide an environment in which avian viruses can acquire additional mutations that affect processes besides receptor binding enhancing replication, cell entry, and transmission in mammals. While pigs have long been considered for this role (although, as noted above, that notion was challenged by Nelson and Worobey), horses have only recently received attention. But a growing body of evidence shows that horses exhibit both α2,3 and α2,6 sialic acids. Moreover, all three known equine influenza viruses are believed to have derived from avian strains. The new hypothesis draws on more than just receptor biology. It also points to an overlooked historical episode: a large epizootic of equine influenza that began in North America in 1915. Reports at the time described unusually severe respiratory illness and pneumonia among horses—a feature also seen in human cases during the 1918 pandemic. BOSTON - MARCH 18: Police horse Sweetie Don't first came into the department in 1913. He helped keep ... More order in the Haymarket district. He was being retired as he had caught a "horse flu" which caused him to become lame. He spent the rest of his days on a rest farm. horsesgetty (The Boston Globe via Getty Images) The timing is notable. Between 1914 and 1918, World War I drove one of the largest mobilizations of horses in U.S. history. The U.S. Army purchased over 300,000 horses and mules after joining the war effort, in addition to 68,000 used during the 1916 Mexican Punitive Expedition. Furmanski and Murcia provide evidence that over two million animals were mobilized by the military between 1914 and 1918, the majority of which were eventually exported to Europe. These animals were housed in crowded stables, transported in train cars across the country, and shipped overseas. Such conditions created ample opportunity for viruses to spread, mutate, and reassort. Ultimately, at some point seven segments from an avian H7N1 virus combined with an H1 hemagglutinin gene that was already adapted to humans, producing the 1918 pandemic virus. Reconstructions of 1918 influenza viruses support the idea of gradual adaptation to humans. As reviewed in a forthcoming paper in the journal Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, an early strain isolated in New York has been found to bind both avian-type (α2,3-linked) and human-type (α2,6-linked) sialic acid receptors and failed to transmit efficiently in ferrets—a standard model for human infection. Such a virus might have been well adapted to horses. By contrast, a later strain from South Carolina primarily binds to human-type receptors and transmits readily via aerosols, suggesting that it had by then acquired adaptations permitting human-to-human spread. Camp Funston in Kansas is often cited as the site of the first well-documented outbreak of 1918 flu in humans. It was also a major staging ground for military horses. Tetanus was common, and millions of doses of antitoxin serum were produced using horses—another point of close contact between humans and equids during wartime. 1918 or 1919 - Camp Funston, interior (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Conclusive evidence is still lacking; confirming past infections or reassortment events would require archived horse tissue or serum from the 1910s. But taken together, the historical and biological clues offer a compelling case. Understanding how pandemic viruses emerge is key to anticipating future outbreaks. If horses can serve as a bridge between avian and human influenza viruses, they warrant closer surveillance—particularly where they are kept near poultry or people. The recent spread of H5N1 among dairy cattle, another unexpected mammalian host, underscores how little we may yet understand about the pathways influenza can take. Influenza pandemics are shaped by more than viral mutation. They emerge at the intersection of biology, human behavior, and historical circumstance. In 1918, that intersection may well have been in a horse stable.
