The Investec Derby Festival, known internationally as the Epsom Derby, is the first official engagement of the royal festivities and will be held over two days with Investec Ladies’ Day on Friday, June 1 and Investec Derby Day on Saturday, June 2.

The Queen came to the throne on February 6, 1952 and her coronation took place on June 2, 1953 – three days later she attended the Derby.

The only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1897.

Sixty years on, with the race in its 233rd year, Her Majesty will be in attendance on Saturday, June 2, to see the £1.25 million Investec Derby, the fastest 5 furlong race in the world, the Investec ‘Dash’ and the renamed Group 1, Diamond Jubilee Coronation Cup.

Mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins and the band of HM Royal Marines will perform the national anthem to the Queen at the event, which is expected to draw crowds of over 125,000. 

The Derby Group 1 flat horse race is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, ran over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards.

First run in 1780, the Derby takes its name from Edward Smith Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby. It is the most prestigious of the country’s five Classics, with famous faces always in the crowds including Charles Dickens from the 1850s onwards.

The leading jockey with nine wins at the Derby, which has been sponsored by Investec Bank since 2009, is Lester Piggott, his first win was in 1954 with Never Say Die and his last win in 1983 with Tennoso.

The fastest winning time at Epsom is 2m 31.33s by Workforce in 2010 and the widest winning margin by 10 lengths was Shergar in 1981, the most runners was 34 in 1862 and the least was four runners in 1794.

Last year’s winner of the world’s greatest flat race was Pour Moi with jockey Mickael Barzalona.

Punchestown is packed with great races including 11 Grade 1 contests over the 5 day event. There aren’t many rivals to the Punchestown Festival (the home of Irish National Hunt Racing) and its great race schedule including the famous La Touche Cup run over the cross country course.

Tuesday kicks off the event with Champion Chase Day and includes three Grade 1 races; The Boylesports.com Champion Chase, the Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle over 2 miles and the Growise Novice Chase over 3 miles.

Gold Cup Day is on Wednesday and as the name suggests hosts the highlight of the chase calendar, the Grade 1 Gold Cup alongside of the betchronicle Champion Bumper and the Grade A Handicap Chase over 2 miles 4 furlongs.

The World Series Hurdle day is on Thursday and has 2 Grade 1 races for you to enjoy including The Ladbrokes World Series Hurdle and the Ryanair Novice Chase over 2 miles not to forget the thrilling La Touche Cross Country race.

Friday brings us the fans favourite day with the crowd of race goers swelling to enjoy the party atmosphere of the Champion Hurdle.

The festival ends on Saturday with the AES Champion 4 Year Old Hurdle where you just might see a champion of the future compete. Saturday is also a great day out for the family with the Junior Jockey Fun Club entertaining the children with pony riding, bouncy castles and face painting.

Tipperary Tim was the first horse to beat the odds and win the race at a 100-1 back in 1928 although it took a major pile up to narrow the field and give the rank outsider a chance. It was Easter Hero who fell at Canal Turn causing the pile up that gave Tipperary Tim his chance with Billy Barton coming in second and were the only two horses to finish this year.

The following year saw sixty-six starters begin the race which inevitably lead to chaos seeing only ten horses finish the race with Greglach taking the honours. 1929 had the highest number of horses taking part in the race, a number unlikely to be surpassed as a maximum of forty horse are no allowed to compete.

With a long list of strong contenders 1947 didn’t seem like a year for an upset. But once again a high number of competitors casued favourites like Prince Regent, who had finished third in 1946, to get stuck in a congested pack and give the Irish trained Caughoo a chance to become the third horse to win the Grand National at 100-1.

1967 brought another memorable race with Foinavon taking his place in history as well as giving his name to the fence that follows the famous Becher’s Brook. The fence in question is the cause for his victory as several horses that had lost their riders on the previous jumps pulled up and in turn stopped the closely following leading pack. This gave John Buckingham who was riding Foinavon to catch up and steer clear of the pile up, Some riders were able to remount but it was already to late and Foinavon finished with fifteen lengths to spare.

Finally 2009 saw Mon Mome win in a strongly contested race with around a dozen horses still in with a chance with only two fences remaining. Jockey Liam Treadwell kept Mon Mome out of trouble and a good run towards the last fence left him at the head of the pack alongside Comply or Die but Mon Mome had the weight advantage that proved crucial in determining the outcome.

Trainer Paul Nicholls is no strangers to success having already won Gold Cups, World Hurdles and King Georges yet after 53 horses entered to the Grand National he had yet to win it. However jockey Daryl Jacob did Nicholls proud and rode Neptune through a thrilling race to become the first Grey in 51 years to win the race in.

However this years race couldn’t avoid controversy as two horses died due to injuries sustained after falling. Gold Cup Winner Synchronised, ridden by AP McCoy and According to Pete, ridden by Harry Haynes both suffered fractured legs and had to be put down, again calling into question the safety of the world famous race.

Two horses died during the previous years Grand National and was in part the reason for a raft of safety measures taken in the lead up to this years race. Changes had been made to three of the fences along with stricter pre-race screenings and a higher minimum age for entry all totaling around £250,000. Part of these changes included raising the landing side of Becher’s Brook although many now feel this wasn’t enough and are calling for the jump to be removed. Gavin Grant, the chief executive of the RSPCA, said the grueling race is ‘clearly not safe enough’ adding ‘Becher’s Brook has claimed another casualty and perhaps it’s time for that to go.’

If there is a horse listed that shares a name with a friend or family member or even someone from your favourite band then that could be the one for you. Remember it doesn’t really matter what odds the horse has been given as there have been many horses that have won on long odds.

Choose a ‘grey’ (the colour of the horse for all you novices) this will make it easy to choose your horse as there were only 4 greys who lined up in 2011. Now while the last grey to win was Nicolaus Silver in 1961 but King John’s Castle was runner up in 2008.

Maybe you spot a link between the horse and your favourite football, rugby or other team sport you follow, it could be a visual link such as strip colour or it could be that the horses name is similar to your team or home ground. Horses such as Cappa Bleu, Becauseicouldntsee, West End Rocker or even Organisedconfusion could ring true to you.

If you look at the colours (know as silks) the Jockey wears can you find a connection? If you do then with a bit of luck the Jockey will be riding a decent horse.

Choose the horse with a name that might have meaning for you such as ‘Seabass’ for all you anglers out there or maybe for the terminally single ‘On His Own’, alternatively for those with a partner that has to have the last word ‘Always Right’.

One sound piece of advice amongst all these alternative ways to pick a horse is to pick a Irish horse, trainer or jockey or if possible all three! This is a particularly good selection method as 6 out of the last 12 Grand National winners were Irish. Midnight Club or Alpha Beat could be in with a chance this year and worth having a punt.

Keep away from the French! There is a reason for this and it isn’t casual racism as a French horse hasn’t won the Grand National for well over a 100 years. That piece of advice only applies to French horses not trained in the UK as in 2008 Venetia Williams’ horse Mon Mome took the race in 2008.

And if there isn’t anything amongst these suggestions then you could always stick a pin in a list of the runners.

Once you have selected your horse you should place your bet with a bookie that has a Free Bet offer (there will be conditions). Paddy Power are giving a Free 20 Pound bet if you open an account on line and stake 10 Pounds of you’re own money. It wont feel half so bad if you lose using someone else’s cash and as they pay out on the first 5 horses (instead of the traditional 4) you have a better chance of collecting some cash.

Make sure you bet ‘Each Way’ this ensures you pick up some cash even if your horse comes in as low as 4th (5th with Paddy Power).

Now you have taken in all this Grand National trivia maybe its time to pick the horse you think will win this year. The line up is already looking pretty good with bookies favourites such as this years Gold Cup winner Synchronised or maybe last years Grand National winner Ballabriggs will retain the trophy.

No matter which horse you go for the 2012 Grand National is shaping up to be a fantastic race and if you can’t make it to Aintree then you can watch the great event live on the BBC with coverage starting at noon with the big race starting at 4.15pm.

Last year’s big race field also encountered quicker than usual conditions, and with the weather seemingly set fair for most of the country, Giles Cross, along with a number of other mud lovers such as Le Beau Bai, West End Rocker, and Rare Bob, will need a significant change in the expected going to be granted conditions that will give him a serious chance of getting in amongst the principals at the business end of the four-and-a-half-mile contest. Those who bet Grand National money need to bear this in mind.

The gelded son of Saddler’s Hall has enjoyed another good season, beating Rey Nacarado at Fontwell in November in the Southern National Handicap Chase before filling the runner’s-up spot for the second year in succession when beaten seven-lengths by Le Beau Bai in the Coral Welsh National at Chepstow in late-December. The previous year he had chased home this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Synchronised, a horse he may well renew rivalry with at Aintree in April. People with a Free Grand National bet should keep a close eye on the weather forecast though as he may not take his chance.

Last time out the 10-year-old put up a tremendous performances on heavy ground at Haydock in February when proving too good for the classy Neptune Collonges in the Betfred Grand National Trial Handicap Chase over three-and-a-half-miles, a victory that came after the publication of the Aintree weights so the handicapper was unable to take that performance into account when assessing the winner of five of his 16 career starts. Bookmakers rate Giles Cross a top priced 25/1 shot, but with every day that passes without rain his chance of glory becomes just a shade less likely.

For horse racing fans there is the Grand National, known as the “Greatest Steeplechase In The World’ taking place in the middle of April at Aintree. Will the favourite Prince De Beauchene win the race or will Donald McCain’s Ballabriggs retain his title.

For all you petrol heads who love the thrill of Formula One, the season continues throughout April with the China and Bahrain races. Jensen Button picked up the first win of the season at Melbourne and Fernando Alonso took the second win Malaysia, but it is still early days and drivers and teams alike are still finding there feet. So who will win this year?

April’s Sporting Events

• Apr 4 CRICKET – Indian Premier League starts
• Apr 5 CRICKET – LV= County Championship starts
• Apr 14 RACING – Grand National
• Apr 15 FORMULA ONE – Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai
• Apr 22 FORMULA ONE – Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir
• Apr 24-28 RACING – Punchestown Festival

Currently, about 90% of UK bookies are headquartered outside the country. Ladbrokes, a popular online gambling site, just moved its headquarters to Gibraltar to skirt operations-based tax regimes. It, along with other offshore bookmakers, will be hit hard by the new ruling.

Opponents of the ruling argue that it would ultimately harm the consumer, who will be forced to pay more for gambling. There are fears that consumers could enter into the shady realm of unregulated gambling as a result of this tax change. Opponents are also concerned that licensed services might take their business elsewhere if demand and revenues go down in the UK. While several European countries have passed similar measures, the offshore gambling tax is by no means universal.

The offshore taxation rate will be 15%, the same as for UK-based gambling operations. The UK treasury predicts that £55m will be raised by this measure in 2014, £240m will be raised in 2015 and £270m will be raised in 2016. While there has been no official timeline statement, analysts see this prediction as an implicit guarantee that this tax change will not be implemented for at least another two years.

A parallel scheme was presented earlier in 2012 to force offshore bookies to be licensed if they took bets from UK punters, and there was a recent imposition of tax duties on fixed-odds betting machines. These seem to indicate a stricter regulatory direction for gambling, which represents a change from the last government’s liberalised online gambling rules. While this new direction is still being determined, analysts are eager to see where it ultimately ends up.

There is nothing quite like the sensation of building anticipation as the jockeys persuade their horse into line. Then the tape rises and the race is on as 40 horses hurtle down towards the first fence. At this race more than any does the nation have a flutter on the outcome, novices and seasoned gamblers alike, with a staggering £80,000,000 bet on the Grand National every year.

So with that in mind how do you pick a winner? Well, here are a couple of tips to help you pick the horse for you. Always check the horses age, a horse of twelve years of age is considered beyond its prime. Too young and the horse could be inexperienced, so choose a horse aged between 8 and 12. Can it go the distance? Check to see if the horse has won a previous race over a comparable distance of 3-4 miles. Finally, is it Irish? Throughout the history of the Grand National Irish horses have won more times than any other.

The favourite for the race is currently Prince De Beauchene after winning the John Smiths Handicap Chase last year, Junior and Ballabriggs are also favoured to take the race with Treacle, West End Rocker and Burton Port all under 25/1.