Racing Post

Further reflections on the sport's top jumps meeting, first thoughts on the new Flat season and a footballer no longer wanted on Britain's racecourses are the stories up for discussion in this week's edition of The Front Page.

Jonathan Harding looks at Chris Cook's special report on a Cheltenham Festival that delivered plenty of excellent racing but also considerable criticism and shrunken attendances. The panel discusses what went wrong and where improvements could be made. 

Lee Mottershead examines last week's news that Championship footballer Ashley Barnes has been indefinitely disqualified by the BHA as part of investigations into the controversial Hillsin affair.

Maddy Playle wraps up the programme by examining the opening week's action in the British and Irish turf Flat campaigns and reflects on impressive starts for Silvestre de Sousa and David Egan.

Sam Hart is joined by Keith Melrose, Jonny Pearson and Unibet's Brett Williams to preview the action at Doncaster and Newbury this weekend.

In the first part of the show the panel assesses the first British Flat turf meeting of 2024 at Doncaster. The Lincoln is the feature and a strong field, including the winners of the last two runnings, has been assembled.

The second part of the show switches attention back to the jumps action at Newbury, with three competitive races to get stuck into.

To finish, the team provide their other weekend racing tips before giving their weekend NAPs.

The Cheltenham Festival takes the spotlight on this week's show with James Stevens, Paul Kealy and David Jennings reviewing all the big events of the week.

The panel analyse the big performances of the week from Galopin Des Champs, Ballyburn and Lossiemouth and assess their futures.

Cheltenham's crowd dropped during the week and David and Paul share their suggestions on how to improve the meeting. 

The dominance of Willie Mullins was a big talking point and David charts his rise to the pinnacle of jump racing - and what it means for the wider sport.

David, Paul and James also give their best ante-post bet for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.

Sam Hart is joined by Graeme Rodway, Robbie Wilders and Unibet's Ed Nicholson to provide their best bets for the 2024 Cheltenham Festival

Let us know in the comments who your best bet is for the Cheltenham Festival 2024.

Sam Hart is joined by Keith Melrose, Tom Park and Unibet's Ed Nicholson to preview the action at Sandown and Wolverhampton this weekend.

In the first part of the show, the team preview the action at Sandown. The highlight on the card at the Esher track is the Imperial Cup. Will Bad finally get his head in front in one of these big handicap hurdles?

The second part of the show analyses the card at Wolverhampton. The Flat season is just around the corner, and the Lincoln Trial Handicap could give us a few big-field handicap clues for the 2024 season.

To finish, the team talk all things Cheltenham Festival before giving their weekend NAPs.

Join the Front Page panel for a gallop through all the big talking points ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, including the breaking news that Constitution Hill will miss the Champion Hudle. 

Tom Kerr, Maddy Playle and Peter Scargill also discuss the fallout from last week's key parliamentary debate on affordability checks, and the news of redundancies at Saeed Bin Suroor's Newmarket stables.

-------

🚨 FREE ACCESS EVENT 🚨 Log in to your Racing Post account to access free premium tips, news and race replays for a limited time only (no payment details required). 

Sam Hart is joined by David Jennings, Maddy Playle and Unibet's Ed Nicholson to preview the action at Newbury, Doncaster & Kelso this weekend.

In the first part of the show, the team preview the action at Newbury and Doncaster. Newbury hosts the Greatwood Gold Cup, while up at Doncaster there is a competitive mares' Novice hurdle to dissect. 

The second part of the show analyses the card at Kelso. The Morebattle Hurdle is one of the highlights on the card up in Scotland where Nicky Henderson has the current favourite in Under Control. The panel discuss the current stable form as well as an update on Henderson's star Constitution Hill.

To finish, the team provide their other weekend racing tips before giving their weekend NAPs.

In this special edition of The Front Page we reveal how we exposed an illegal bookmaker operating in British racing that claims over 1,000 customers and is getting set for a "ridiculously busy" Cheltenham Festival.

Lee Mottershead tells Tom Kerr how he spoke to the bookmaker's 'commercial manager', posing as a prospective customer, and heard how affordability checks and account restrictions were causing the illegal operator's business to boom.

They're joined by Jon Harding and Maddy Playle to discuss the significance of the story and what it tells us about the betting black market. It comes as MPs are set to debate affordability checks in Westminster on Monday evening.

The panel also discusses the Grand National weights and shares the one thing they'd change about the Cheltenham Festival.

Sam Hart is joined by Robbie Wilders, Jonny Pearson and Unibet's Brett Williams to preview the action at Kempton, Newcastle and Southwell this weekend.

The first part of the show analyses the card at Kempton. Grade 2 galore on the card at Kempton with the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle, Pendil Novices' Chase and the Dovecote Novices' Hurdle. We also have the competitive Coral Trophy Handicap Chase to get stuck into.

In the second part of the show, the team preview the action at Newcastle and Southwell. Newcastle hosts the Eider Handicap Chase, while on the Flat at Southwell the feature is the Group 3 Winter Derby Stakes.

To finish, the team provide their other weekend racing tips before giving their weekend NAPs.

Tickets that are selling slower than usual, races being run faster than usual and a European snub for York and Ascot are the subjects up for debate in this week’s edition of The Front Page.

James Stevens asks why the Cheltenham Festival is proving a harder sell than in previous years, with Gold Cup day not yet sold out and the meeting’s first three days in danger of suffering another attendance drop.

Lee Mottershead looks at claims made by Harry Fry and Aidan Coleman that British jumps races are being run at too fast a pace, producing unappetising contests in which the last man standing wins. Both men believe the sport needs a culture change.

The BHA wanted to change the City of York Stakes and British Champions Long Distance Cup from Group 2 to Group 1 status. Maddy Playle examines the European Pattern Committee’s failure to support the proposals and the wider fear over a reduction in quality of the top European prizes.