Alastair Bull

Alastair Bull has been writing on sports and horse racing for many years. Starting in his home near Auckland, New Zealand as news editor for several papers and since contributing for BloodHorse, The Associated Press and Churchill Downs, Inc after relocating to Cleveland, Ohio. Other sporting events Alastair has enjoyed covering are the 2012 London Olympics, Dubai World Cup, Melbourne Cup, Royal Ascot, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National.

Caulfield Racecourse

Caulfield Racecourse. (Photo courtesy of Wiki Creative Commons)

Betting Selections for Australia Horse Racing on August 29, 2026

Fri Aug 28 2026Alastair Bull

Australian Group One racing switches to Melbourne for its first top-ranked contest of spring, the Memsie S. It’s not as hot as last week’s Winx S. in Sydney – there’s no Autumn Glow or Sheza Alibi – but the 12 runners paid up for the seven furlong contest includes nine Group 1 winners and between them they have earned $37.75 million – that’s an average of more than $3.1 million, so it’s full of quality.

Wagering

Nitrogen wins the Alabama at Saratoga.

Nitrogen wins the Alabama at Saratoga. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)

Kentucky Derby Alumni at the Travers: Do Derby Winners Win the Midsummer Derby?

Thu Aug 27 2026Alastair Bull

The Travers Stakes has been around since 1864, and the Kentucky Derby has existed since 1875.

Wagering

Courtesy of Sky Racing World

Australia preview for August 22, 2026

Fri Aug 21 2026Alastair Bull

Group One racing for the new Australian season has drawn a hot field and will provide a great guide to Australian middle-distance racing for the spring.

International

Saratoga: A Graveyard for Punters, or Not?

Thu Aug 20 2026Alastair Bull

For this exercise, we’re going to look at feature races from 2000 to 2025 at Saratoga, Churchill Downs, Belmont Park, Santa Anita, Keeneland, Del Mar, and Gulfstream Park.

Analysis

Caulfield Racecourse

Caulfield Racecourse. (Photo courtesy of Wiki Creative Commons)

Australia Preview for Aug. 15

Fri Aug 14 2026Alastair Bull

Spring racing in Melbourne starts to heat up this weekend. Three graded stakes races and one ungraded stakes highlight the card at Caulfield, with several top prospects beginning their campaigns.

International

Randwick Racecourse in Australia (Courtesy of Sky Racing World)

Randwick Racecourse in Australia (Courtesy of Sky Racing World)

Australia Preview for Aug. 8

Fri Aug 07 2026Alastair Bull

The path towards the $14 million Everest (G1), begins in earnest August 8 with the Missile Stakes (G2) at Randwick.

International

Wikimedia Commons

Australia Preview for August 1, 2026

Fri Jul 31 2026Alastair Bull

The season begins with racing at Rosehill in Sydney and Flemington in Melbourne, and as the latter is the only one of the pair to feature a graded stakes race, we’ll focus our attention there.

International

Rebel's Romance was much the best in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1)

Rebel's Romance was much the best in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) (Photo by Chelsea Durand/Coglianese Photos)

Rebel's Romance Highlights Godolphin Geldings

Thu Jul 23 2026Alastair Bull

Rebel’s Romance is a reminder that Godolphin is not afraid to race geldings, and to race them for some time.

Horse

2025 Royal Ascot Scenic from day one of racing.

Royal Ascot scenic (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

Betting the Handicaps at Royal Ascot for Day 5 on June 20

Fri Jun 19 2026Alastair Bull

The big handicap is the time-honored Wokingham Stakes, first run in 1813.

Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot scenic from day two of racing.

Royal Ascot scenic (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

Betting the Handicaps at Royal Ascot for Day 4 on June 19

Thu Jun 18 2026Alastair Bull

Day four at Royal Ascot has another great selection of handicaps for punters.

Royal Ascot

Bow Echo winning during Royal Ascot weekend.

Bow Echo winning during Royal Ascot weekend. (Photo by Coady Media)

Betting the Handicaps at Royal Ascot for Day 3 on June 18

Wed Jun 17 2026Alastair Bull

With large fields of well-weighted horses, it's not easy to figure out which is largely why we’ve decided to look closely at one handicap per day rather than taking a light look at all of them.

Royal Ascot

2025 Royal Ascot Scenic from day three of racing.

2025 Royal Ascot Scenic from day three of racing. (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

Betting the Handicaps at Royal Ascot for Day 2 on June 17

Tue Jun 16 2026Alastair Bull

There are 30 horses in an over-one-mile cavalry charge over the straight course, and finding the horse you backed during the running is a challenge.

Royal Ascot

2025 Royal Ascot Scenic from day three of racing.

Royal Ascot racing (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

Betting the Handicaps at Royal Ascot for Day 1 on June 16

Mon Jun 15 2026Alastair Bull

The Ascot Stakes is an interesting race, but I’m going with Kizlyar to put up a nice performance at generous odds.

Royal Ascot