Dog racing fans have the BCR Print Management Easter Cup to look forward to on 18 April at Shelbourne Park, as well as the Scottish Derby which is just around the corner.

The €120,000 Easter Cup is already underway – the Round 2 heats were contested on Grand National Day.

Antepost betting is offered from Corals, Victor Chandler, Boyles and Paddy Power. 

Shelbourne Aston is the 9/2 favourite – unsurprising given that he’s Dog of the Year. He has won both the Irish Derby and the Champion Stakes.

He swept late to beat Advantage Johnny (14/1) late in his first heat in 29.89, but Johnny reversed that form on Saturday.

Shelbourne Aston was sent off at odds of 9/4, but could only manage 3rd behind Advantage Johnny and Fatboyz Nodrog, who won in 29.96.

Fatboyz Nodrog is 7/1 with Paddy Power, but Shelbourne Aston tends to improve as the competitions progress.

That said ADVANTAGE JOHNNY is the tip, having finished 2nd in both of his heats from wide draws. He should make the final cut.

Faypoint Man is also fancied at 5/1, but he could only manage 2nd in his weak first round heat. Trainer Owen McKenna also has 16/1 Blackstone Gene and Side Bet left in the Easter Cup.

Oran Classic is 6/1 and has won both of his heats from Trap 3 so far. 

Victor Chandler are taking on Ballymac Under at 14/1, who is as low as 8/1 with Boyles.

The semi-finals are at 9.40 and 9.55 this Saturday: 25/1 Tip And Tin, 14/1 Side Bet and 14/1 Mid West Blue are all drawn wide. 

Recommendation:

2pts win @ 14/1 Advantage Johnny (Corals)

bookies.com compares antepost greyhound racing odds:

• Easter Cup Betting
• Scottish Derby Betting
• 2009 Greyhound Derby Betting

Phil Taylor is unsurprisingly the red hot 1/2 favourite, with layers taking no chance this year about the 13 times world champ. He failed to reach the final for the first time last year after making some changes to his game, such as a new set of arrows. He drifted out to 4/1 to win the 2009 edition, which looks like a huge price now. ‘The Power’ is back to his best throwing insane averages, meaning that punters are happy to take short prices about him. He made few mistakes in his opener against Steve Grubb, and he should breeze past his next opponent, Michael van Gerwen. 

Next in the betting is Raymond van Barneveld, 7/1 with Victor Chandler and Hills. He was on fire against Mark Stephenson, where he averaged an impressive 100.8. He rarely missed a double and looks like a decent bet to repeat his 2007 heroics. Unfortunately for me, neither of the best-priced bookmakers are offering each way terms.

Boylesports are refunding all outright winner bets on the tournament if 3rd seed James Wade wins. They are also the only firm to offer each way terms on quarter betting.

Also priced at the top end of the markets are 10/1 James Wade and 26/1 Andy Hamilton, who averaged 101.59. Mervyn King needs to be considered at 33/1 and 50/1 Jelle Klaasen has been cut from 240/1 after beating 10th seed Colin Lloyd.

Hamilton reached the semis 2 years ago, but he’ll have to see to Raymond if he’s to progress past his quarter. I am tempted to back 30/1 Anthony Lewis, who beat Barney 9-2 at the European Championship and has a seemingly safe passage into Round 3. 

79/1 Colin Osborne was clinical against Charles Losper on Tuesday night, and looks like a player to follow. I will be particularly interested in his price for ‘Most 180s’ in his next fixture. 

In other darts news, Eric Bristow has agreed to take on women’s champ Anastasia Dobromyslova in a ‘battle of the sexes’. Anastasia is the 4/9 favourite to win the £10,000 match, which won’t be the only thing at stake. Anastasia has recently been averaging about 80, so she should have too much for the 13/8 ‘Crafty Cockney’, who averaged 74 in the Betfred League of Legends. 

bookies.com compares Darts odds from the best UK bookmakers:

PDC World Championship Outright Winner Betting

PDC World Championship Match Betting

BDO World Championships Outright Winner Betting

Here are just some of the highlights from this weekend in terms of betting opportunities or just simply unmissable TV:

Saturday 13th December

Racing:

14:30 Boylesports Gold Cup

2/1 Imperial Commander could be a superstar in the making whilst 5/1 Silverburn will be popular with Ruby Walsh supporters. 15/1 Three Mirrors or 28/1 Abragante could be each way alternatives. Wait to see what the weather does tomorrow.

15.05 Boylesports International Hurdle

7/4 is way too short for Binocular who may not stay, perhaps Katchit is the value at 5/1 with a great course record.

Football:

12.45 Middlesbrough v Arsenal

Boro have a knack for conceeding late goals, whilst Arsenal tend to score them. Paddy Power offer 5/6 that the last goal is scored past the 75th minute.

17.30 Tottenham v Man U

Berbatov is doubtful, and I’d be keen to take on Man U. Spurs are unbeaten against the ‘Big 4′ this season, and Harry Redknapp had a great record against Man U with Pompey. Lay Man U at 1.93 on Betfair.

21.00 Barcelona v Real Madrid

Juande Ramos’ new side 11/2 to keep his 100% record.

TV:

19.10 X Factor Final

Bookies.com Betting Preview

Fingers crossed for 3/1 JLS!

20.55 Strictly Come Dancing

Lisa Snowdon will need an amazing performance to stay in the competition – 4/6 to be evicted.

Sunday 14th December

Football:

16.00 Chelsea v West Ham

1/4 Chelsea will be in plenty of punters’ accies this weekend.

19.30 Juvenuts v Milan

Both sides are 6 points adrift of Inter, so this one is absolutely crucial for the title race.

20.00 Lyon v Marseille

7/2 Marseille are more than capable of winning this, but it should be a close game.

TV:

19.00 BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Bookies.com Betting Preview

Rebecca Adlington now odds-on!