Everyone is (obviously) talking about Cheltenham at the moment and that doesn't surprise me at all as it does bring a bit of spring excitement into the arena. And it's always worth a flutter of sorts at the big festival with so many big priced horses often taking the honours. 

I certainly wish I was going this year because St Patrick's day falls on the last day of Cheltenham and that always makes it even more special. But, for my part, I do want to quickly mention two "Cheltenham" related matters.

I don't just want to add to the Cheltenham "noise" for the sake of it and it's certainly been a while since I was cheeky enough to add my own thoughts to the mix in terms of Cheltenham tips, especially when there are others so much more geared up for that than I who do so much better. So, with Cheltenham front and centre, let me just mention a couple of things:

The one place over the last few years that I have always kept an eye on is Matt B's Gee Geez site.  With the gold member deal going on over there currently you'd be crazy not to check in so, if you are not a gold member at Gee Geez already, it is absolutely the best place to go for Cheltenham advice. In fact it is even if you are a gold member - but I'm sure you already knew that.

And with 60 days access currently being given for just £20 there is no better time to get in. To be honest if you did it purely for the Cheltenham period it would be worth that incidental cost.

My second comment about Cheltenham is this:

What few people talk about much at all is solid alternatives to Betfair. And I know I am not alone in thinking that Betfair isn't the place it used to be since Paddy Power took over. To be totally accurate, Betfair hasn't been the place it used to be for a few years now even before it became Betty Power.

Unfortunately, they have had it all their own way for too long and with no serious competition it is hard to see anyone knocking them off of their pedestal. However there is some up and coming competition and one I am very keen on is Smarkets.

This is a great exchange to use and, during Cheltenham, they are doing 0% commission deals on the first race at Cheltenham each day. 

I've found myself looking more and more to use them instead of Betfair these days when the right markets are there for me. Frankly, I feel that the more of us that use alternatives, the better it will be in the long run and Smarkets can only really compete if we give them the support they need to do so. 

It helps that it is a nice clean site to use to begin with.

Whatever you choose to do, enjoy your Cheltenham. I know I will (especially Friday with my couple of pints of Guiness).