New Year’s Day is always a big day of racing in Australia and this year is no different. If you’re not too hung over come Friday morning, then be sure to check out some of the racing markets available for you to bet on. There are no fewer than 18 meetings!

The biggest race of the day is the Group 2 Perth Cup at Ascot (click the link for a preview), while the Group 3 Standish Handicap at Flemington sees a more than handy field taking the field. There is also a listed race at Gold Coast.

Racing on New Year’s Day comes from the following venues; Ascot, Ballina, Darwin, Flemington, Gilgandra, Gold Coast, Gundagai, Hanging Rock, Innisfail, Inverell, Longford, Mornington, Murray Bridge, Pakenham, Port Macquarie, Randwick, Sapphire Coast and Terang. View Form Guides and Odds for all these races by clicking these links.

BEt on the above race meetings at Centrebet

Today's NBA Bets

With Christmas now over, we only have New Years Eve to look forward to now this year. Well, that’s note entirely true, we have a five games of NBA today with what appears to be a bit of value on the cards.

We’ll start with San Antonio -3.0 at $1.91 at Sportingbet. The Spurs are playing well at the minute having won 7 of their last 9 games overall, and they take on New York who slumped on Christmas day and have won just 3 of their last 6. The Spurs have been hitting 50% from the field in their last 5 compared to that of New York 41% during this time and they’ve won 8 of the last 9 encounters between the two sides. We expect that trend to continue and suggest taking Spurs on the line.

Houston are $4.55 to win at Cleveland $1.23, but there looks a bit of value in the Rockets. Hosuton have won 4 of the past 5 clashes between the two, covering the spread in four of those games. In fact, they beat the Cavs by 10 pots only a fortnight ago. This one is a tough ask, but the IASbet are giving the Rockets a 8.5 head start which we believe is great value. Look at taking Houston +8.5 at $1.91.

The other games are a little less compelling. Indiana +7.5 could be value given the Pacers have form over their opponents Miami, but it’s hard to ignore their poor form throughout December. Denver have won their past 10 against Dallas, covering the spread in 9 of those games. Denver -5.0 could be the bet here. Boston travels to LA to take on the Clippers in today’s final game. The Celtics are firing at the minute, but their record against the Clippers in recent times is less than flattening. We’d suggest not betting in this one.

Bet on today's games at Sportingbet Australia

Todays NBA Tips

Seven games in the NBA today, but only a couple take my eye. I’m looking at Detroit who appear way over the odds at $3.00 to beat Charlotte in Charlotte at $1.42. These two sides have met regularly over the past several year’s, with the Pistons winning 7 of 8 of 9 since January 2007. The most recent being a 98-75 win only five weeks ago.

Both sides are in poor form, but Detroit will be looking to return to the form that saw them win 5 straight games earlier this month. I think they can do so here, they showed plenty of grit in their last match, keeping title favourites the Lakers to only 10 points in the last quarter. Be sure to check out Detroit to win at $3.00, if take the +5.5 spread for added confidence.

There is not much else I like today, maybe Indiana +14.5 at $1.92 against Boston. The Pacers have covered the spread in their last three against the Celtics and actually beat them by 9 points only five weeks back. The 14.5 spread looks tough for the Celtics to cover. Also, Golden State looks a bit better than the $3.90 being offered at Centrebet, having already beat the Grizzlies last month, and having a win record of 7 of their last 10 over the Grizzlies. The line looks a safe option here, take Golden State +7.5 at $1.92.

Today's Best Bets

Welcome to our best racing bets of today! This is a feature we’ll try and post regularly here at BettingBlog. If your not aware, this Blog is run in conjunction with our partner and dedicated racing website at RacingZone.com.au who offer free form guides, along with the unique RacingZone Rating.

Today we’ve browsed through all the races at today’s meetings in Bairnsdale, Cessnock, Dubbo and Launceston. Speedy Sky looks today’s best bet, rated at 225 in Race 10 at Launceston. He has a record of 4-0-3 from 10 starts and is a winner at this track over the journey. He averages three times the prize money of any other horse in the race and is hard to ignore.

Ashie’s Costa (Race 5 at Cessnock) is another who stands out to us, rated at 210. This horse has a win ratio of 26%, with the next best in the race at 12% and he’s the only horse to win over this distance or at this course. Yarralight (Race 5, Dubbo) is another rated over 200 and is the only horse in this race that has won at the course and distance and is averaging twice the prize money of any other horse in the race.

Today’s Best Bets

• Speedy Sky 225 (No.5, Race 10, Launceston)
• Ashie’s Costa 210 (No.1, Race 5, Cessnock)
• Yarralight 203 (No.1, Race 5, Dubbo)
• Taiyin 173 (No.11, Race 7, Launceston)
• Western Wager 169 (No.1, Race 9, Launceston)

Bet on these horses at IASbet today

Melbourne v Sydney

Well it’s finally here, the battle of two bitter rivals in Melbourne and Sydney in the most anticipated match of the season. The Dome will be rocking come Saturday night with a packed house, as top spot is on the line. Should Melbourne win, they will go 6 pts clear at the top, whereas a Sydney will see them take top spot.

This indeed could be a warm up for what could be the A-League Grand Final to be held in less than two months. Both sides are in hot form, but looking back to their earlier match in the season, it was Sydney who won 3-0 and Melbourne’s shaky home form this season will have Sydney primed to come in and cause an upset here.

Sydney will be missing John Aloisi (injury) and Simon Colosimo (suspended) for this game which are crucial losses. Melbourne will be without Surat Sukha, but receive a massive boost with Nick Ward returning. The Victory will be spurred on by their inspirational captain Kevin Muscat playing his 500th domestic league game and in front of 35,000 people, they will be tough to beat.

• Melbourne – $2.15
• Draw – $3.30
• Sydney – $3.25

I like the odds of $2.15 about Victory here at IASbet, that’s great value in my eyes. I recommend taking this. IASbet are your best bet for the soccer, so be sure to register with IASbet if you don’t already have an account.

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Get the best odds on Melbouren vs Sydney at IASbet today!

There appears to be plenty of value today if your like betting over the odds, with 11 games today in the NBA. Indiana ($3.10) really stand out against Memphis ($1.40). The Pacers have a good recent record over the Grizzlies winning 4 of the past 6 encounters, while they have also turned their form around this past week winning 3 of 4, their only loss coming at Orlando. Indiana to win at $3.10 is great value, or take them +6.0 on the safer option.

Denver ($1.83) are also real value at New Orleans ($2.00). They’ve won 5 of their past 6 against the Hornets and come into this game with solid form with wins this week already against Houston, Phoenix and the tricky Oklahoma Thunder. They will be without star Chauncey Billups, but they have good depth and we recommend them here. There could be better value on the line with Denver -1.0 at $1.91. Interestingly, the Nuggets have covered the line in their last 6 games against the Hornets, so check out Denver -1.0 at $1.91.

Others that stand out as value to me are Washington $2.35 and Detroit $2.80, while the lines of Milwaukee +9.5 and New Jersey +7.5 are big chances. We recommend betting with Centrebet on the NBA today and you can get a $100 Free Bet by registering with them by clicking visiting Centrebet at the banner below.

Bet on today's NBA games at Centrebet

Wenger not happy again

So Arsène Wenger thinks the fixtures have gone against his team after they failed to beat Burnley in midweek? Boo hoo – we reckon Arsenal should have won and Wenger just threw his toys out of the pram again. They’ve got an easier task this weekend though at the Emirates as they face Hull City; they are priced at $1.16 to do the job and you can get Hull with the draw at a huge $4.80 (but don’t).

Elsewhere, it’s not what we’d call a vintage round of fixtures, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to making cash. The first match of the weekend on Saturday night comes from Fratton Park where Pompey take on Liverpool who stopped their slump somewhat with a win over Wigan in midweek. Liverpool are a short priced $1.62 to win it, which we think they will, but won’t be getting involved at that price away from home.

The Sunday first thing games come from Fulham ($6.50) against Man United ($1.53) – this is a fixture United lost last year, so it might be slightly foolhardy to get involved in yet another very short price away. Fulham +0.5 at $2.60 certainly looks worth a sneaky few dollars. Man City really have to beat Sunderland if their over-hyped Champions League place is to become a reality (it isn’t) – again though they are short priced at $1.50. Darren Bent has been in great scoring form, and City have gone behind more often than, well, something that goes behind a lot. Bent is $8.50 to score first and that wouldn’t be the silliest bet ever.

Want anotherridicuously short priced away team? Chelsea are $1.40 at Upton Park on Monday morning – they have won 7 of the last 8 meetings head to head and the Hammers aren’t going well at all, but Zola will really have his men pumped for this one and Upton Park can be a tough place to go sometimes. The Draw actually looks tempting at $4.25. Of the remaining games, Villa should do the job over Stoke and Blackburn v Tottenham looks a really tough call. Most money will be on Spurs at $2.26 though.

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If you’re an NBA fan, then in for a treat this Friday. One HD has you covered with two live games back to back starting with Orlando Magic @ Miami Heat at 12pm, then the Phoenix Suns @ Portland Trail Blazers right after at 2:45pm. Below are our tips for the games, with odds courtesy of Sportingbet.

Orlando Magic @ Miami Heat

The Magic are firing this season, picking up right where they left off last season. They sit second in the Eastern Conference and have won their past 2 games after a two game skid. They face a tough test here though, facing the same side they lost to at home last month in Miami. Miami have gone on to lose 6 of their past 9 since that win. Orlando have won 8 of the past 10 clashes head to head, including their past 3 at this venue and it’s very hard to tip against them at the moment. We suggest taking Orlando -3.5 at $1.92, on the line.

Phoenix Suns @ Portland Trail Blazers

The inconsistent Suns face an uphill battle against the Blazers in this match. They have lost their past 5 games on the road and should they lose this game, it will be their worst streak on the road since 2004. You can’t fault their home form though, which included a 12 point win over the Spurs two days ago and they may just fancy themselves here over the injury ravelled Blazers, who are missing four of their best eight players. They have won 8 of their last 10 games over the Blazers and we fancy them to end their skid here. Take Phoenix +2.5 at $1.92, on the line.

Bet on todays NBA games at Sportingbet.com.au

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Well it only seems like a couple of weeks since the tennis season “finished” – and that’s because it was. Nikolay Davydenko deservedly took home the year end championship from the O2 Arena in London, while the rest of the tour breathed a sigh of relief that they could actually have some time off (except Roger Federer who just takes time off whenever he likes).

So with the Aussie Open almost upon us, Sportsbet has released some prices for who will do best at the slams in 2010. Take a look below.

To win a Grand Slam event in 2010

Roger Federer Grand Slam wins in 2010

So what’s value here?

Well, we reckon there’s hardly any point backing Nadal or Federer at these prices in what’s a season-long market, and Murray has flattered to deceive so far in his career in majors. So a nibble on Davydenko at a big $6.00 to win a slam looks the play at small stakes. It’s impossible to pick how many slams Federer will win, but let’s remember he was in all four finals in 2010 and has been in 20+ straight semi finals, so it’d take some guts to back none at $3.25.