Runners and riders still hopeful in graphite

摘要

This edition of Paydirt hits newsstands at the height of UK horseracing's national hunt season with the Cheltenham Festival just completed and the Grand National just days away. National hunt racing - hurdles and steeplechases in which horses jump over obstacles - is much more popular in Britain than Australia where animal welfare concerns have seen the sport pushed out of the mainstream. Bookmakers take more bets on the Grand National than any other event during the year - it is the closest Britain has to the Melbourne Cup - with odds often generous because even the favourites are no guarantee of making it to the finishing post.