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Kathryn Bigelow was divorced from James Cameron in 1991. They continued to work together, however, Bigelow directing Strange Days in 1995 to Cameron’s script and, according to Hollywood sources, remain good friends. Cameron, director of Titanic and the Alien franchise, may have to swallow a little pride however if, as expected, his sci-fi epic Avatar is pipped at the post by Bigelow’s powerful Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker for the Best Picture at this year’s Oscars. The Hurt Locker’s budget pales into insignificance alongside the $300million splashed out on Avatar, but Bigelow’s film about US bomb disposal teams has hit all the right notes with critics whereas Cameron’s spectacular animated yarn has been more popular with cinema-goers, who nowadays seem to prefer adventure to gritty drama. The Hurt Locker (evens with bwin) wiped the floor with its likely chief rival at the Baftas, which are usually a decent guide to how the voting will go in Hollywood, but Avatar remains popular with punters who think the’blue’ movie will come out on top this week and it’s now no bigger than 5-4 (bet365 and betfred) to scoop the Best Film award. Whatever her fate in this section, however, Bigelow will surely win the Best Director award for which she is best 1-4 (victor chandler, Paddy Power, bwin). Colin Firth earned rave reviews for his performance in A Single Man but can be backed at 18-1 on betfair to be handed the Best Actor award with most pundits predicting Jeff Bridges already has that category sewn up with his portrayal of a fading country and western singer in Crazy Heart (Bridges‘ best price is 1-6), while the Brits may also be left out in the cold in the Best Actress category. Both Dame Helen Mirren (66-1 with Coral) and relative newcomer Carey Mulligan (12-1 with bwin) have been nominated but face Hollywood big guns Sandra Bullock (4-6 with betfred, blue square and 888sport) and Meryl Streep (a general 2-1). I must admit, I thought Streep, who last won an Oscar in the early 80s, was brilliantly funny as chef Julia Childs in Julie And Julia, almost funny enough to make me forgive her for Mamma Mia, and she’d be my choice ahead of Mulligan, who still has a big future in the movie business if her early work is an indicator.

Miko De Beauchene, 10-1 with sponsors Blue Square and 888sport to win this year, managed the feat and Dream Alliance can follow in his hoofprints in 2010. What am I talking about? The Coral Welsh National/Blue Square Gold Cup double! Philip Hobbs has been unstinting in his belief that his gelding would one day develop into one of the country’s leading staying chasers and Dream Alliance finally appeared to come of age at Chepstow in December. Runner-up to subsequent Gold Cup winner Denman in the Hennessy in 2007, connections of the nine-year-old than had to endure a frustrating sequence of runs in which Dream Alliance failed to complete. But it transpired he had a tendon injury that required complete rest, indeed there were fears that the horse may never race again. But, after 18 months on the sidelines, he delighted his trainer with a second over hurdles in November and proved he was back to his best when storming to victory in the Welsh National, beating Silver By Nature, Le Beau Bai, Miko De Beauchene, Ballyfitz and Coe in the process. Now some would argue that a few of those behind have every chance of turning the tables here with the winner racing off a 9lb higher mark and Le Beau Bai (6-1 with Blue Square and 888sport) has won over hurdles since to prove his wellbeing. But I think Dream Alliance (7-1 with Blue Square, 888sport and William Hill) will be even better over this slightly shorter trip and could yet prove he is a high-class stayer. Of those behind at Chepstow, Coe (a general 7-1) is arguably the most interesting this weekend as he travelled strongly for a long way in front before tiring and has a decent record around Haydock. Another with a proven track record is Our Vic (20-1 with Victor Chandler and Stan James) who had 2009 Grand National winner Mon Mome (a general 12-1) trailing under a similar weight over 3m here last month. His welter burden may bog him down over this extra half-mile, however, and a more interesting each-way prospect could be Nick Williams‘ mare L’Aventure (a general 16-1) who is a former Welsh National winner herself. She won over 4m at Kelso in December so clearly retains plenty of ability and is the type to run a big race off a light weight in the mud around here.

What is patently obvious, looking at the stats of this week’s Totesport Trophy at Newbury, is that anything trained by either Nicky Henderson or Gary Moore deserves the utmost respect. Henderson saddles four in this year’s renewal of the UK’s most valuable handicap hurdle with stable jockey Barry Geraghty partnering Spirit River, an impressive winner on his latest outing at Cheltenham in December. Spirit River (a general 7-1) has only had five career starts to date so is probably open to more improvement than most and it’s easy to see why he currently heads the market. Stablemate Fairyland (22-1 with sportingbet) is also an interesting runner, however, in that she’s a recent C&D winner (beat Frontier Dancer here last time) and stays further than this 2m, a valuable asset to possess in a race which is always run at a tremendous pace. But I think the Moore yard has tremendous prospects of landing a third consecutive Totesport Trophy via Harry Tricker. The six-year-old displayed a tremendous turn of foot to beat an in-form Zabeel Palace at Sandown in November before splitting Champion Hurdle prospect Khyber Kim and subsequent Grade 2 winner Medermit in the prestigious Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham shortly after. The handicapper saw fit to raise Harry Tricker (8-1 with Ladbrokes, Betfred and on betfair) 12lbs for that but regular jockey Andrew Glassonbury reduces that burden by 3lb and this appears to have been his target for a while. Given luck in running, Harry Tricker’s speed could be the deciding factor in this. Other contenders to watch out for include the novice Manyriverstocross (11-1 with Stan James and Coral) whom Alan King rates highly. He was a decent stayer on the flat and has carried that form into his hurdling career though he weakened quickly over a longer distance here last time, and Mamlook (a general 9-1 chance). The latter won a shade cosily at Ascot last month after travelling strongly throughout but he isn’t that big and there’s a chance he may get bullied in this big field over a trip that is probably on the sharp side for him nowadays and punters have been preferring stablemate Ronaldo Des Mottes (10-1 on Coral and sportingbet) so far. Takeroc (11-1 with Coral) has proved popular with punters since it was announced he was to be partnered by Ruby Walsh but he hasn’t shown enough over hurdles for me to warrant his price and neither has Tony McCoy’s mount Get Me Out Of Here, 8-1 with bet365 and Stan James, who may be unbeaten but has never met opposition of this calibre before. Songe (a general 40-1) has reportedly been rejuvenated by a soft palate operation and is well treated on his best form. If the ground turned really heavy he would be of real interest and certainly makes more appeal as an each-way investment than some at much shorter odds.

It’s probably fair to say that the Winter Olympics didn’t figure too highly when British bookmakers were compiling their list of potentially lucrative sporting events in 2010. Full marks to a few, however, who have priced up most of the major competitions and have made an effort to attract UK punters unfamiliar with many of the athletes by also quoting on things like which country will top the final medal table and what will be Britain’s eventual medal haul. One also gets the impression that a few of the odds compilers are rather fencing in the dark when it comes to some of the markets and there are opportunities for backers with a little knowledge to back up their judgement. For example, all talk pre-Games in the women’s alpine skiing events has centred around Lindsey Vonn. Undoubtedly, the American is a talent as a record of nine World Cup victories this winter suggests. But bookmakers seem to be almost brushing under the carpet the fact that Vonn has a shin injury which may yet mean her missing the Olympics. One would presume, therefore, that the blonde pin-up would be concentrating her efforts on winning her favourite event the downhill (for which she is a best 2-1 with Paddy Power) rather than risk all in the women’s combined which contains a slalom section. Now I can’t profess to having an insight into the best technique for the slalom but I’m pretty sure all that twisting and turning at high speed is the last thing you’d need if your shins were aching. Slalom, anyway, isn’t Vonn’s speciality and she shouldn’t be able to challenge Maria Riesch in the women’s combined. Riesch has finished on the podium in six of her last seven World Cup starts overall and has made the frame in four of seven slalom events, while her likely main rival hasn’t even managed to complete in three of this winter’s races in the more technical event. Riesch can still be backed at 2-1 with betfred to win the women’s combined, that price will almost certainly contract in the days ahead. The men’s downhill is the Games‘ blue riband event with skiers bidding to carve their name on a role of honour that includes superstars like Jean-Claude Killy, Franz Klammer and Fritz Strobl. Didier Cuche is the market leader (9-2 with coral) as he bids to become the first Swiss winner of the Olympic downhill since the great Pirmin Zurbriggen in Calgary in 1988. Home favourite Robbie Dixon has been showing up well in training on the Dave Murray piste in Vancouver as he bids to emulate Ed Podivinsky, the only previous Canadian to have won a medal in the downhill, and might be worth an each-way interest with coral at 25-1 as he is only half that price with many of the other leading layers. But this could be the competition in which young gun Carlo Janka finally comes of age. The 23-year-old Swiss showed what he is capable of when winning three World Cup races in as many days in Colorado at the start of the season and, with Cuche slightly hampered with a broken thumb and desperate to succeed in what is probably his last Games, may be able to cash in on the weight of expectation on his team mate’s shoulders. The 14-1 on offer from Victor Chandler and William Hill is simply too good to resist.

Many of us won’t need reminding that the highlight of the National Hunt season is taking place in March, with Cheltenham providing us with four days of high quality horse racing that represent one of the busiest periods of the UK betting calendar.

Starting on Tuesday 16th March and finishing on Friday 19th March, this four-day period will see the bookmakers really go to town with their free bet offerings. With so many people wanting to bet on the Cheltenham Festival these days, you will see many bookies increase their new customer bonus, while existing customers can also expect to see a few emails in their inbox which offer them a free matched bet.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not the world’s biggest horse racing enthusiast as the bookmakers don’t always specifically require you to place qualifying or free bets on a particular market. Therefore, if you’re predominantly someone who bets on soccer, tennis or cricket, then you can often simply take advantage of the firms wanting to appeal to the many potential customers who will be betting on some or all of the twenty-six races that are being run at Cheltenham.

It’s particularly worth keeping your eyes peeled for what William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral are prepared to offer new and existing customers. The ‘Big Three’ in terms of UK high street presence aren’t renowned for being overly generous with their free bet offering, although horse racing is a hugely important sport for these firms and we might expect to see them double their current £25 free bet offers or even quadruple them. Therefore, this might be the perfect time to open an account with these bookmakers if you haven’t already done so.

As far as betting on the Cheltenham Festival is concerned, the races are very competitive and it’s hard work to make a profit. If you are looking to place some horse racing wagers and increase your balance, you need to be disciplined and only pick a handful of races in which to place a bet. There are many ‘bankers’ that get tipped ahead of the Festival, although previous years have shown us that very few of these good things actually finish first in their race!

The highlight event of the week is the Gold Cup, which takes place on Friday 19th March. There’s the exciting prospect of Kauto Star and Denman going head-to-head once again, with Paddy Power offering a best price 11/8 that the former wins this race for the third time, although it was Denman who won the event in 2008. Ladbrokes offer 9/4 that no other runner lives with the high cruising speed of the Paul Nicholls horse.

Dunguib runs in the first race of the Festival and will be heavily backed to get the punters off to a flyer. Paddy Power and Coral both offer 5/6 that there plenty of hats thrown into the air as the horse passes the post in first place, and this appears to be one of the few occasions where an odds-on favourite merits the price.

One of the main featured promotions on Coral, is the irrepressible Jeff Stelling, who contributes to the online bookmaker, by making suggested selections for the weekend’s football action. The specials from the Coral contributors are automatically set up, so you just have to click on their special bet to add it to your slip. This is a great way to get set up for the weekend, usually running in the form accumulators, or three games selections. As with anything it’s a risk, but it feels good backing selections made from someone as prominent as Stelling, who is close to the game.

Coral’s on going reward for customers, is one of the more unique ones online. Coral offer a 10% cash back each month, on the monthly aggregate losses of your bets with them. This is applicable to all sports and gaming, and represents some great value for the account holders. Having used Coral for years, from personal experience, this is a nice little bonus at the end of the month if things haven’t quite panned out. The offer is extended to all new customers, as well as existing ones, and they are the only online bookmakers to extend this generous 10% offer.

Coral run a great online bookmaking service, with plenty of promotions happening over a busy site. There’s a great column of all the sporting headlines which are happening around the world, down the left hand side of the screen, so you are unlikely to miss anything. Their sports book is great, with submarkets on spots like football, reaching as far as the eye can see, or so it seems on some occasions. They are very good with getting their ante post markets up, and they also offer Guaranteed Prices on their horse racing. Making selections and adding to your betting slip is easy, as everything is laid out clearly, and prices can be seen in either decimal or fractional odds.

For quick navigating, there is tabbed menu bar which can take you to All Events, Today’s Events, Live Betting or Football, Horse Racing or Greyhounds. This really makes finding the right selection in a market easy, and most importantly quick. A punter will easily be led into a flash-driven Live Betting section, which covers all of the major sports, as to be expected. Coral’s Live In-Play service is neatly laid out with all the options for betting, right to hand. Even if you click on a cricket match for example for Live Betting, there is a ticker bar running across the screen keeping you updated with scores from other sports. This way you won’t miss any other of the live action.

The Coral website is loaded with other gambling opportunities, from Casino, Poker, Lotto, Bingo and an awesome Virtual Sports section. If you are looking for something to place a wager on while waiting for real life action to start, then you can find virtual football, virtual horse racing and virtual dogs to play with. Along with their 10% Cashback, Coral really have the online sports betting and gambling world, all packaged up in a very neat bundle. Check out the Coral homepage and you will be lead easily into the world of an excellent online bookmaker.

I can’t remember a time when the music scene was so dominated by female artistes and that fact is mirrored by the Brit Awards nominations which lean heavily towards the female persuasion this year. Take, for example, the market for best British single. Reality TV escapees JLS are just about hanging onto favouritism, Coral offering 7-4 that ‘Beat Again‘ picks up the main gong. But it’s obvious that Cheryl Cole’s debut solo single ‘Fight For This Love‘ will be a serious challenger on the night. Indeed, Skybet make the Girls Aloud star and X Factor judge their 11-8 favourite, though she can be backed at 15-8 with bet365 and boylesport. ‘Bad Boys‘ (Alexandra Burke featuring Flo Rida) is another single that caught the public’s imagination and is a 10-1 chance with bet365 and Paddy Power to win the award, while others prominent in the betting include Lily Allen’s ‘The Fear‘ which is a general 12-1 shot and Pixie Lott’s ‘Mama Do‘, 16-1 with bet365 and boylesport. The best album category is more clear cut if you believe the bookmakers, with Florence & The Machine’s ‘Lungs’ backed to almost the exclusion of all others. Bet365 and Paddy Power’s 4-9 is the biggest price you’ll get now but that sounds plenty short enough to me. This is an album which you’ll either love or hate and something with propensity to divide opinion to such a degree can’t be value at such restrictive odds. ‘Lungs‘ may have been in the album top 40 since last summer but I’ve an inkling that the innovative Paolo Nutini’s ‘Sunny Side Up’, which the Daily Telegraph described as ‘ragtime swing with horny energy’, could usurp it on the big night. Bet365 are quoting Nutini’s second album, a quirky mix of soul, jazz and country, at 20-1 but its chance of polling the most votes shouldn’t be underestimated.

I know how much of a trek it is from Devon to Doncaster. I used to go to school within hailing distance of Town Moor and most years our annual holiday consisted of an 11-hour drive down to the west country to spend two weeks in a static caravan, usually to stare at puddles in Ilfracombe. Nowadays, of course, a much-improved road network means you can cut that journey time in half but it still represents a significant undertaking transporting a horse those 270 miles and not one that a trainer like Victor Dartnall would consider without good reason. Therefore, I’d ask you to mull over carefully the reasons why the aptly-named Exmoor Ranger is in South Yorkshire this weekend. For starters, this is a chaser very much on the upgrade judged on his comfortable win at Newbury in late November. That didn’t look a great race at first glance but third Victorias Groom has won twice since to boost the form and, going on previous runnings, Exmoor Ranger slots nicely into the ideal weight/age range for this week’s Skybet Chase and should be suited by the easy 3m. With his jumping problems apparently behind him now and top Irish jockey Davy Russell booked, the general 9-1 is well worth the gamble. Theatrical Moment steps out of novice company and onto a reasonable mark for his handicap debut over fences but his best price (Coral’s 9-1) reflects this, while layers are being similarly avaricious with the prolific Seven Is My Number (a general 7-1). My worries about the latter would be that he is too high in the weights considering he was effectively handed his two most recent wins on a plate and is up against far more experienced rivals here. Allied to that, David Pipe’s gelding may struggle to confirm Bangor form with Khachaturian on 8lbs worse terms and I certainly wouldn’t put anyone off backing the latter, who looks well treated, at Paddy Power’s 12-1. Soft ground would bring Gone To Lunch (a general 25-1) into the equation, providing he’s fully recovered from his Welsh National exertions, but those conditions wouldn’t suit last month’s C&D winner Calgary Bay (11-1 with bet365), who is 11lbs higher today, while Killyglen (widely available at 11-1) has questions to answer after a shocking effort in the Hennessy at Newbury in November. General 12-1 chance Trabolgan looks a light of former days so we are sticking with Exmoor Ranger to bring home the spoils.

It was once drummed into me that value is all a matter of perception. Take, for example, this week’s Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot. Twist Magic is a general 11-8 favourite to land this prestigious Grade One contest and, on form, you’d probably say deservedly so. He won at this level at Punchestown last season and was most impressive in accounting for Forpadydeplasterer and Well Chief in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown last month. The third re-opposes here but has 24 lengths to find on Tingle Creek form and at the age of 11 can hardly be expected to find the improvement to reverse the placings. Not only that, David Pipe’s charge traditionally doesn’t stand a lot of racing so the fact that this is already his fourth run of the campaign may count against him. Twist Magic is much more resilient and also seems happier on a right-handed track like Sandown and Ascot. Evidence this week suggests the cold snap hasn’t set Paul Nicholls‘ string back as far as some yards so there shouldn’t be any doubts surrounding a fitness but let me introduce, nevertheless, a note of caution about the favourite. He was beaten in this at odds-on two years ago off the back of a win in the Tingle Creek and is a horse that can be pressured into mistakes. So will be the one that takes him on be Petit Robin? Nicky Henderson has always held this French import in high regard and he began to fulfil his potential last season, progressing from handicaps to finish third in the Grade One Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Always prominent when beating Well Chief by just under four lengths on his reappearance at Kempton over Christmas, Tony McCoy will be under orders to ensure there’s a fast pace here to bring the seven-year-old’s stamina into play and Coral’s 11-4 is likely to come under pressure given connections. Back, though, to the question of value. Imagine you have £40 to wager, do you lump it all on Twist Magic at 11-8  for winnings of £55 – or would it be better invested as £20 each way on a 25-1 chance with Ladbrokes who looks to have been underestimated. The latter would win you £80 for making the frame and, while I’ll admit at first glance Oh Crick has no chance of reversing Exeter running in November with either Cornas (a best 9-1 here) or Twist Magic, first appearances can often be deceptive. Alan King’s yard was woefully out of form when Oh Crick finished fifth in the William Hill Gold Cup and his trainer freely admitted afterwards that his charge was in need of the run more than most. One only has to cast one’s mind back to Cheltenham and Aintree last spring to recall how much untapped potential lies within Oh Crick. Few handicappers are progressive enough to defy a penalty at the Grand National meeting after winning one of the big handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival but the seven-year-old achieved the task and also had the form of the second success franked by the runner-up shortly after. King reports that Oh Crick is as fit as he can get him and is promising a much-improved performance from Exeter. Given that the master of Barbury Castle isn’t normally given to rash statements, that 25-1 quote will be enough to tempt me this weekend.

The decision to leave Andrew Strauss out of England’s touring party to Bangladesh was surely one of cricket’s worst-kept secrets. Strauss is being rested following his team’s creditable draw in South Africa with selectors no doubt having one eye on next winter’s Ashes as well as the summer series against Pakistan. Alastair Cook, Strauss‘ regular partner at the top of the order and his current vice-captain, will take charge of the team for the Test series against Bangladesh as well as three one-day games, though Paul Collingwood will continue his role as T20 skipper for warm-up games against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. Jimmy Anderson will also be rested in an attempt to sort out a nagging knee problem but otherwise the England Test line-up will have a largely familiar look about it, despite the addition of uncapped pace bowler Ajmal Shahzad of Yorkshire, Kent off-spinner James Tredwell and Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry. There’s also a recall for Durham’s Liam Plunkett but most of all the selectors will be viewing the Bangladesh tour as an opportunity for some of their under-performing batsmen to get some runs under their belt .Given that, Jonathan Trott (5-1 with Stan James and William Hill) and Kevin Pietersen (11-4 with Coral) will be popular choices to finish as England’s top runs scorer. Given the international rankings, this really is a Test series that England should win at a canter so William Hill’s 2-7 will almost certainly attract the big hitters, especially as they are as short as 1-7 to win the series in places. Coral’s 12-1 is the best price you’ll get on the home side causing an upset. Looking ahead, England have been pushed out to 3-1 (Betfred) to win in Australia next winter following their capitulation in Johannesburg at the weekend, with the Aussies into a general 4-7 to regain the Ashes.