Bet on a dead cert

The new year promises to provide a variety of big race thrills guaranteed to pull in the punters. Noli Dinkovski reports

It is said that horses come of age on Gold Cup day, and in 2007 this was never truer. Kauto Star went into Cheltenham Festival's blue riband race the hot favourite, having demonstrated a devastating turn of hoof in previous Group 1 outings. But there were doubters - a tendency to stumble at the final fence led many to believe the horse was vulnerable going into the big race.

In the event Kauto Star - with the aid of jockey Ruby Walsh - romped home, securing jump racing's first £1m bonus jackpot along the way. The festival win was followed up by classy victories in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, and King George VI Chase on Boxing Bay, setting the six-year-old up for another £1m bonus prize if he retains the Gold Cup and so completes the treble for the second successive year.

Kauto Star won't be the only star at this year's Cheltenham Festival, which runs over four days from 11-14 March. Denman - another Paul Nicholls-trained horse and last year's Sun Alliance Chase winner - will undoubtedly push the champion close. After his memorable victory in the Hennessy last year, where the

giant seven-year-old defied a top weight of 11st 12lb, Denman has rightly been installed as a close second favourite. Come Gold Cup day favouritism may easily have switched.

Appaling record

Nicholls may be in dreamland with his Aintree three-milers, but his record in the John Smith's Grand National - held on 5 April this year - is quite appalling. In fact things went from bad to worse in 2007, after it emerged he had previously sold 33/1 winner Silver Birch to trainer Gordon Elliot for just 20,000 guineas.

The Grand National remains one of the highlights of the year, not just in racing, but sport as a whole. It's a race that pulls in people who would never otherwise look twice at the sport, many basing their betting rationale on a name they like or a favourite number. And, of course, it remains a perfectly logical approach to a race in which less than half of the starting horses usually finish and from which professional gamblers tend to steer well clear.

The 2007 season was a vintage one for flat racing. It kicked-off in ideal style with the win that everyone wanted to see - Frankie Dettori finally nailing the Derby on his 15th attempt. He rode Authorized - a horse of dazzling class trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam - to a five-length victory that fateful day in June.

This year's Epsom Derby takes place on

6-7 June, and as ever it is the perfect warm-up for the showcase of flat racing, Royal Ascot, at the end of the month. Spread over five days, the world's oldest meeting brings together the best horses from around the world and is a chief part of any racing aficionado's calendar.

Fallon's fate

One jockey noteworthy for his absence from last year's Royal Ascot was six-times champion jockey Kieren Fallon. Fallon spent the entire year off UK racecourses awaiting trial, along with five others, for alleged race-fixing between December 2002 and June 2004.

Last December the trial collapsed when a judge dismissed the evidence of the main prosecution witness - an Australian racing expert deemed not familiar enough with the rules of British racing to be considered authoritative in the case.

So Fallon went free and was handed back his right to ride in the UK, only to walk straight back into another storm by failing a drugs test in France - for the second time. The fate of one of racing's most colourful characters now rests in the hands of the French racing authorities.

Last year, Fallon could only watch and admire Seb Sanders and Jamie Spencer battle out an epic flat-jockey championship, which came down to an extraordinary final day's racing at Doncaster in November. Sanders went into the day two races up, but Spencer fought back, taking the final race of the day on favourite Inchnadamph to force a tie.

It was a fitting conclusion to a campaign in which both jockeys had fought tirelessly, and both agreed neither deserved to lose. If this year's contest proves anything like as thrilling, punters are in for a treat.

Getting it right: The Engineer, Brighton

When licensee Philip Reeves took over as lessee at Enterprise pub, the Engineer in Brighton three years ago, he wanted to create a theme with a difference. "There were plenty of rugby and football-themed pubs around so I thought, why not horse racing?" says Reeves.

Reeves got to work immediately by subscribing to TV channels Racing UK and At The Races. Both channels are left playing continuously on screens at the front bar, irrespective of any other sporting occasion that may be taking place at that time.

"Racing may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it works for us," says Reeves. "Part of our success is understanding our regulars. Many place bets at one of the bookies down the road and then come to the more relaxed confines of the pub to watch the race."

That success was confirmed last year when the Engineer won the Racing UK Pub of the Year - an award that recognises the pub's commitment to horse racing and efforts in providing the ideal environment in which customers can enjoy it.

Clearly passionate about racing, Reeves has built up an impressive array of horse and jockey memorabilia. His love of the sport has even led him to invest in four racehorses as part of a syndicate.

Staff at the Engineer also work hard to raise money for charities, including the Martlets Hospice, and the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. "It's nice when people win a few quid, because they become quite generous with their money," says Reeves.

J Philip's top tip: "You've got to put the effort in if you want your pub to appeal to a certain crowd. If you go that extra yard to make the changes, you'll reap the rewards. We have people visiting us from as far afield as London and Portsmouth to see what we're about."

Racing UK: a firm favourite

Pubs have enjoyed a long relationship with the sport of horse racing - walk into many pubs on a weekday afternoon and you'll find a clutch of racing fans.

It is a sport guaranteed to pull in a crowd, offering live action during the traditionally quiet period of weekday afternoons in addition to weekends.

So how do you become a racing pub? According to experts at Racing UK, there are four main areas on which you should concentrate:

Marketing

Your regulars may know you screen the races but are there others out there that you could attract? Racing UK posters and external banners will help you pick up passing trade.

Specialist channels

Racing UK is essential for any premises wishing to attract a racing crowd. Racing UK holds the exclusive TV rights to the UK's top 30 racecourses, which means it is the only channel where you can watch every race from the best racing events.

Your own club

Create a club atmosphere to increase loyalty. Use the 210 free Racing UK tickets each year to treat your regulars to a day at the races, or generate extra revenue by holding quiz or race nights using the tickets as prizes.

The big meetings

Make an extra effort during the big meetings such as the Cheltenham Festival or the Aintree Grand National. Spread the word that your pub is showing every race from the big meetings with Racing UK.