For some people April may seem months away but for others it is just right around the corner. That is right. It is time to get ready for the 2012 Grand National. This horse race is a most exciting time for horse lovers and race fans both. There are three days of fun and exciting things to do. From women and children to the racers themselves there is something for everyone. It holds appeal too many people and now is the time to purchase your tickets for the anticipated three day event in April.

The first Grand National Championship was held in 1839. It was one by a horse named Lottery. It is now a three day event starting with Liverpool Day on April 12, Ladies Day on April 13, and Grand National Day on April 14. These three days are full of music, fashion, racing, and fun. The race itself is the highest quality of jump racing in the UK. Forty horses will line up and jump 30 fences in four and a half miles. This is a test of the toughest horses and jockeys in the world. You will find many people betting on their horses each year, whether they study the horses and jockeys and their abilities or whether they just pick names and place bets. It is a great tradition and race to watch and will leave you wanting more.

Liverpool Day is in its third year and provides entertainment off the track for this wonderful event. There are concerts held on this day, parades, and sporting legends have also been known to make an appearance. This year on April 12, 2012, Liverpool Day is supposed to be bigger and better than ever.

For the ladies of the races, Ladies Day will be held on April 13. This second day of the three day entertainment package is going to be more stylish than ever. A flourish of fashion shows, make up samplings and giveaways, and grab bag giveaways are going to make up the best Ladies Day ever held. There will be splashes of color in the Red Rum Garden that will be sure to spice up the excitement.

Last, but certainly not least, there is Grand National Day. It only happens once a year and only lasts approximately fifteen minutes. It is that fifteen minutes that will leave you coming back year after year. If you are simply watching the race on television with millions of other people, or if you are one of the lucky ones that can actually be at the Aintree Racecourse in person, it is an experience you are not likely to forget.

So, everyone mark your calendars. April is not too far away. The three day event is quickly approaching and it is time to prepare. The festivities, the entertainment, and the racing are definitely not something that you want to miss. Tickets for this festive three days went on sale in August. It will be a rush of fun and flash for these memorable few days. It is not something that you are going to want to miss.

There is always plenty of focus on Irish horses and trainers at the Cheltenham Festival and having put some of the trainers under the microscope it quickly became clear that leading Irish trainer Noel Meade has a very disappointing Festival record.

Going back as far as 1997 he has had just three winners from 116 runners, a strike-rate of just 2.59% which even given the strength of depth of the Cheltenham races is a disappointing return. In fact if you had backed all of the Meade runners in that time span to a £1 level stake you would have ended up losing £78.50 to the returned SP. That return is especially disappointing if you consider the quality within the Meade string.

If you look at the Meade record in the run-up to the Cheltenham Festival and especially pre-Christmas it shows that he has a good record, in the past four years he exhibited a 20% strike-rate before the turn of the year. So it’s possible that he targets the early part of the year aiming to have his horses fit and healthy for early season strikes. Where he struggles though is maintaining that sharpness throughout the season. The perfect example of a Meade horse is probably Go Native, who incidentally is one of his three Festival winners since 1997. Favourite in the Champion Hurdle betting last year, Go Native arrived at the Festival on the back of two career-best performances when winning the Fighting Fifth and Christmas Hurdle, only to disappoint totally when finishing 10th in the big race.

Meade’s post-Christmas record has always been poor and we always use this as a barometer for his Cheltenham chances, so when he recorded 6 winners from 38 runners in January it looked as though he could have turned the corner. However, February has not brought a success so far from seven runners and we would still be treading very warily with Noel Meade’s Festival runners. Breaking down his figures further it’s notable that all of his winners have come in the novice races and we would treat all of his handicap contenders with extreme caution – the overall record is 0/40, with just four of those 40 making the frame. Anyone with even the vaguest interest in sports betting will know this shows he’s one to avoid.

Monitor his runners closely in the remaining days to the Festival but it looks as though it could be another barren Festival for Noel Meade.

Buzz surrounds the Aintree Grand National all year around with rampant speculation as to who will win months before the entrants have even been named so what are the prospects for one of the more seasoned horses – Comply or Die?

Comply or Die is trained by David Pipe and made his racecourse debut in a novices hurdle at Taunton, in October 2003. In March 2005 he managed to finish second to Trabolgan in the Grade One Royal and Sunalliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and finished the 2004/05 season with a sixth placing in the Befred Gold Cup. The following season was cut short after a setback in the Coral Welsh National and it would be two years before he was put on a racecourse again. Back at Cheltenham in October, 2007, Comply or Die lacked race fitness and only managed to finish in 16th place. He also disappointed on his next run when pulled up in a Grade Three Handicap Chase at Cheltenham on November 17.

It was the application of blinkers that produced a huge turnaround in Comply or Die, and he ran his best race up to that point, in the Tommy Whittle Handicap Chase at Haydock in December, finishing second behind the Grand National favourite Cloudy Lane. In the 2008 Grand National he beat off a strong challenge from King John’s Castle to take victory by four lengths, with Irish jockey Timmy Murphy riding the David Pipe-trained nine-year-old for his first Grand National win after 11 previous attempts. He followed up in the 2009 Grand National with a second place behind Mon Mome. He came out of the race in good shape so it looks likely that owner David Johnson will see fit to put him the 2010 National.

Age – generally we recommend horses who are 9 or 10 years old and Comply or Die will be 10 for the 2010 Grand National, making him a very good age.

Stamina – we know he can run the distance – he’s done it twice before without faltering…

Weight – could go against him with his previous great performances – he may get one of the top weights which could slow him down, limiting his chances for a second win.

Season – he hasn’t run in a single race since the 2009 Grand National so he’s either being groomed for the next one or he’s showing poor form and being given a bit of a break, only time will tell.

There have been horses that have gone down in Grand National history for their repeat performances – think Red Rum and Hedgehunter – can Comply or Die reach those dizzy heights of success? He was joint favourite at 7/1 in 2008, and odds fell to 14/1 in 2009 but I expect short odds on him again this year – somewhere around 10/1 or less if the bookies have their way so he could be good for an each-way bet…

For Ante-Post odds on Comply or Die, check out Paddy Power and don’t forget your free bet!