Behind the scenes with the Betfred’s live racing bloggers

Cheltenham 2017 proved to be a rollercoaster ride for some bettors. One day it was the underdogs breaking through to make history, the next the favourites showed why they’re so highly-rated.

A month later, the Grand National festival at Liverpool’s famous Aintree course was no different. Betfred’s live blogging team were on hand to provide minute-by-minute updates throughout both meetings.

The live blog didn’t just include Betfred horse racing results; there were also quotes from the trainers and jockeys, non-runner updates, and market changes.

The breakout success, however, was the panel of pundits Betfred’s Matt Hill assembled from company executives, VIP managers, Betfred TV and Totesport.  Their enviable knowledge proved to be quite profitable for punters, as they accurately predicted a number of winners.

The Cheltenham panel correctly predicted 9 of the winners, including Artic Fire, which triumphed in the Randox Health County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3), on Friday, at odds of 20/1.

Matt, said: “We realised that punters really only want two things - recommended bets and why they are worth backing. With this illustrious panel, we could provide both. It proved that our players read our online content throughout the entire Festival, which just goes to show the importance of engaging with a readership.”

It’s a far cry from the first ever Cheltenham races, which took place on a single day in 1815. In those days, news was reported via local newspapers such as the Cheltenham Chronicle, the Cheltenham Mercury and the wonderfully named Cheltenham Looker-on, all of whom merely reported on the results with little editorial insight.  

These days, it’s a far more exciting process, with multiple channels being used to ensure Betfred customers have absolutely everything they need at their fingertips.

As technology progresses, the way we report news and sport will continue to evolve. However, the race to be the first ‘on the scene’ even in a virtual capacity will never diminish.

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