OnlyRacing has you covered for Thursday horse racing action at Pakenham and Grafton. We have your best bet of the day as well as a cheeky roughie. Looking at the track conditions, Pakenham is a soft 5 at the moment. While at Grafton, it's a heavy 9 due to plenty of rain in the area. So take that into consideration when betting on Thursday.
Horse Racing Tips and Best Bets 16/05/24

Best Bets of the Day
Best Tip: Sioux Spirit #6 Pakenham R6
I like the look of Sioux Spirit in Pakenham R6 on Thursday for my best bet. Sioux Spirit's been on fire lately, winning two jumpouts before an easy debut win. Craig Williams, who rode Sioux Spirit to a win at Geelong, is still on board, which is great news. In that Geelong race, Sioux Spirit beat The Carillo by a length in a maiden event. With these solid performances, Sioux Spirit looks ready to take on the competition in this race too. Should take the lead and not get run down.
Best Roughie: Idol Shot #8 Grafton R3
Idol Shot #8 in Grafton R3 has shown promise from the start. On debut, he settled nicely near the front and battled on soundly to secure a minor placing, demonstrating his potential. In his last start, he performed admirably under tough conditions, finishing in 2nd place on a heavy track at Taree. This experience in challenging conditions should benefit him for this upcoming run at Grafton. With this solid foundation and proven ability to handle different track conditions, Idol Shot looks well-prepared to take on the competition in this race.
Stats and Insights
- Pakenham is one of the smallest tracks in the country, with only 1400m circumference and as such suited to front-runners and those horses with the ability to race handy to the pace.
- 1400m - 1600m at Pakenham winners predominantly emerge from barriers 5-8 which suggests those horses who either fire straight onto the speed or those that sit just behind the speed have the greatest chances.
- Grafton has a 400m straight with the home turn being a long sweeping turn which gives runners time to position themselves for big runs in the straight.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites
Best Racing Promotions
Promotions have historically been a great way for bettors to gain an advantage over betting sites by providing an edge to your bet. For racing specifically these promotions can be extensive in providing you some form of ‘outs’ to your bet that you wouldn’t normally receive.
Palmerbet, in recent weeks, has stood out to me across the Aussie betting sites that offer racing promotions and is one that I would take a look at, especially for big race days that feature Group 1 races and Saturday’s in general.
On our site we have a Palmerbet Review that goes in depth into the bookmaker as well as a Vicbet and Punterspal Review amongst some of the other top bookmakers that frequently have promotions.
Promotions tend to change regularly, so it is important to sign up to these betting sites to stay updated on the latest applicable promotions.
Hi, I'm Matt and I've been writing about sports and racing since 2016. Over the years, I've provided betting tips for some of the top companies such as Sportsbet, William Hill, PlayUp and many more. This includes a wide range of different sports such as AFL, NRL, NBA, NFL, BBL, MLB and Horse Racing. I'm currently involved in horse racing shares with Viva Racing and I work with thoroughbredsales.com.au - a leading racehorse website directory in Australia. My betting strategy generally looks at trends and following the best jockeys in the country. Outside of writing, you can find me playing social Cricket and Tennis or watching sports. Can't wait to nail those winning picks!
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