Horse race gambling is still our favourite gambling activity

We often comment on the fact that the introduction of sports gambling online has greatly expanded the range of sports we can easily follow, but in Ireland there is no doubt that two sports gambling activities remain the overwhelming favourites for us. Gambling on football and gambling on horse racing far outstrip any other sports gambling activities in Ireland, with horse race gambling top of the list. It may be a little bit of a myth that the whole of Ireland decamps to Cheltenham during the Festival, but we certainly make our presence felt both in terms of attendance and gambling turnover. Irish horses and trainers also regularly lead the field and this year of course was no exception. The 2016 Cheltenham Festival was also a very good meeting for horse race gambling fans in general, with a string of favourites coming home and the bookies taking a bit of a hit. Although the flat season has already started, most horse race gambling fans will be turning their attention to Aintree over the next few days, culminating in the Grand National on Saturday. The Grand National is undoubtedly the most high profile horse race in the world, and despite its critics it is also one of the biggest sports gambling events in the world attracting thousands of people who do not even regularly follow horse racing but always have a flutter on the National. It has to be said that many serious horse race gambling fans give the National a miss because the nature of the race is such that it is pretty unpredictable. Even the best horses can be taken down by a faller in front of them in such a big field. Nevertheless the odds are usually fairly generous to reflect the uncertainty, and there is always a chance of a rank outsider being placed.