Upping the Ante : The perils of too much Christmas spirit at the racecourse

It may be having a few tipples too many, or panicking from missing out on a couple of days’ action, but punters tend to bet a little less wisely over the festive season

Road To Respect has a good chance in the Gold Cup

First there was the Black Death, then the Christmas racing of 2018.

As one of the most erratic years of Irish weather came to an end, Leopardstown punters were allowed to bask in conditions entirely at odds with late December. We had the Beast from the East, a prolonged heatwave and drought, good ground at Christmas and bees witnessed in the capital on December 30.

Global warming worries aside, racegoers – and the ...