The Alconbury Handicap Chase is to take place at 2.10pm and there are some few surprises which among them would see a rare runner in the event. According to trainer Nicky Henderson, the event will feature one of his own steeplechaser Special Agent who scooped the Ascot Racecourse in 2015. Special Agent becomes the second jumps runner in history for The Queen which dates since the initiation of the 2015/206 season in spring.

More often than not, the Special Agent has been outstanding when it comes to Flat grounds and these ‘flat course’ oriented horses are rarely used when it comes to jump racing tracks. Moreover, it has been five years since Special Agent was involved in a racecourse with jumps. Nonetheless, it is believed that she will go against all odds and perform better in the event.

Henderson claimed that he will have two of his runners in the Friday’s Huntingdon showdown. He expected to field in one of his best runner Buveur D’Air. He will be on the verge of making it perfect for him after his 100% record across the season which will showcase during the Racing UK Novices’ Hurdle at 1.35pm.

Both Special Agent and Buveur will be Henderson’s main runners at the main event. However, there is a possibility that he may field in the Call The Cops the same afternoon in a rather rare race of the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle in which the winner will walk home with cash prize of £18,500 as well as qualifying for the Pertemps Final to be held during the Cheltenham Festival. Call The Cops will be the favorite to clinch the award having won the race last year.

The general manager at Huntingdon Racecourse Sian Williams claimed that the Queen has for long been the number one supporter of horseracing in the nation. This would be made more enticing to the fans that will have a chance to see one of the Queen’s horse’s take to the field.

Racing will officially start at 1pm this Friday with accompanied children being awarded with a free entry while adults’ ticket will cost £13.50.

Sunday 31st would see a total of 10 entries in the Keith Gee Memorial race named in memory of the late Keith Gee, who was the former executive director of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association. Each horse should be three years and will be hoping to scoop the $50,000 prize.

The event attracts some notable entries including Sheikh of Sheikh owned by Abdulla Saeed Almaddah, who will be on the verge of taking his form to a better start after he ranked third during the Grade III $1000,000 Hutcheson Stakes held at Gulfstream Park in January 2nd.

Twirling Cinnamon trained by Brad Cox is another contender at the event. Cinnamon also comes off a late defeat at the $51,000 Sugar Bowl staged on a Fair Ground’s main course. He has however made some tremendous comeback in different classes having narrowly won at the Indian Grounds back in October.

Dell Ridge Farm’s Tiznoble and Dede McGehee’s Dolphus who are both trained by Joe Sharp are other notable rivals at the event. Dolphus has made an outstanding comeback after making a mile cross-entry under the command of jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. to finish off with a 70-yard distance. Tiznoble too has been in excellent form having won the Churchill Downs on November 1st in a Fair Ground.

The son of Tiznow came in fifth during the $75,000 Pulpit Stakes at Gulfstream Park West on November 28 and had since worked hard to improve his form. Among his trials is the five furlongs on the 17th day of January.

The sons of Kitten’s Joy will be on stage too as he comes off the two victories of the $75,000 from Bill Mott. He has been preparing for the event at Gulfstream Park. The four-time winner of the Fair Grounds in the last 13 months Miguel Mena will be picking the post six from the mount.

Other entries in the event include; Gotsomemojo (Mitchell Murrill, post seven), One Mean Man (Colby Hernandez, post four), Cashel Rock (Florent Geroux, post two), Wild Man (Shaun Bridgmohan, post five) and Mending Fences (Richard Eramia, rail).

It is said that hard work will always pay. In most cases achieving an objective is not enough to be deemed as the best of the best. Maintaining that objective and never subsiding in any way is fundamental for the glorious trend each individual will die to have. In essence this high form and morale maintenance will bring in other top awards to anyone or anything that has the guts to keep rolling high.

Horse racing has been one sport that has seen heroes and heroine in the last two centuries. If you ask many of these heroes, some will disclose the main secret of being at the top is maintaining the top form and winning one race after another. The 2015 LONGINES World Best Racehorse went to American Pharaoh. The US three times Crown winner broke the silence kept by American horses in the last seven years as it was back in 2008 when an American horse scooped the title.

Pharaoh deserved to be crowned the winner of the LONGINES honor in 2015 after his amazing form and effort saw him scoop three outstanding trophies at the same time. His three wins starting with the US Grand Slams held at Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes as well as the Belmont Stake were enough to make him the first ever horse to scoop the three awards in 37 years. He now adds the LONGINES title to his name having claimed the American Horserace of the 2015 year.

It was amazing to see the Pharaoh dominating the American horse races under the command of jockey Victor Espinoza and the ownership of Ahmed Zayat. The three awards prompted the media to accord the Pharaoh with the Grand Slam King and Once in a lifetime horse titles.

In his last race before retiring, Pharaoh scooped $5 million during the Breeders Classic Cup held at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He now holds the gold stallion fame among the Zayat Stables in Hackensack in NJ.

Coral had tried to incorporate the 7.5% flat offer on its online as well as retail horseracing profits which was later dispelled by the British Horseracing Authority. This follows the introduction of the Authorized Betting Partner Scheme (ABT). This scheme by the British Authority claims that all bookmakers should pay a substantial amount that the authority stipulates failure to which they will be subjected to no event sponsorship deal.

The Authority however failed to bring out the real percentage that bookmakers should pay which is seen by these bookmakers as a way their profits are being exploited. This comes after the betting shops were awarded with 10.75% pay to British Horseracing Authority with the exception of the online business.

Chief Executive at Coral Carl Leaver sent a letter to the Authority claiming that his firm was willing to pay 7.5% of all the profits accrued. He further cited his negative idea on the new scheme of ABT which he claimed to be a way of making bookmakers pay more than what they are supposed to. 7.5% is between 10.75% which betting shops pay as well as 5% paid by online operators. This seemed to be an appealing value in standardizing all profits that a company should be levied by the British Authorities.

Nick Rust, Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority claimed that they remained firm on their scheme and he hoped that that entire firm at loggerheads will see the benefits accrued by ABT and all bookmakers have the right to be open and stage their queries.

A spokesperson from Ladbrokes came out in defense of Coral who will be their future merge claiming that the arguments represented by Coral are genuine and this will be fundamental in recognizing the main viable reality represented in their daily market as well as bringing justice to the present.

Ladbroke may also lose its sponsorship of the Cheltenham festival if it fails to abide to the new policies stipulated by the ABP before March. Sponsorship deal have now become the subject of the day as bookmakers will be forced to dig deep into their pocked by the racing in order to acquire the right to sponsor certain events.

Back in 2014, the People for Ethical treatment of Animals went to court to sue trainer Steve Asmussen for charges on animal cruelty and mistreat. This prompted the Hall of Fame in eradicating his name from the main contenders of the inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Nonetheless, these charges were dropped and brought a new beginning for Asmussen who now is eligible to take part in the final listing for the top awards in the Hall of Fame calendar year.

Two times has Asmussen scooped the Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Trainer and conditioner of Horse of the Years Curlin and Rachel Alexandra. This was followed by a recent break through after one of his own horses Untapable scooped the 2014 Kentucky Oaks. Asmussen is currently ranked second in the all-time winning as a trainer in the US after he achieved the 7,000 win mark last year.

Investigation conducted undercover by Kentucky investigators could not verify the accusations made by PETA which prompted the New York State Gaming Commission in clearing Asmussen from the charges. However, he would be found guilty of directing the use of thyroxin hormone to his horses two days before the races.

It was during this investigation by the New York and Kentucky investigation that his Hall of Fame matter was put into consideration. In the end, Asmussen was cleared to vie in the hall in Saratoga Springs in New York. He will be among other trainers who have been operation for at least 25 years including Shug McGaughey, Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas.

However, the case is yet to be over as on Tuesday the PETA senior vice president Kathy Guillermo claimed that they had clear prove that shows Asmussen injecting his horses with sedatives and other drugs which kept them running on daily basis. And for this reason, he went against the new legislation to protect horses from drug abuse and thus would be fined $10,000 by the New York State Gaming Commission.