Macca

The Queensland Summer carnival is the focus this weekend with a total of 6 Listed or Group races but there's also a decent race at Randwick as well as a number of competitive races at the Valley. I picked out these 4 as the standouts and all 4 are reasonable betting races. Doomben - Vo Rogue Plate Doomben - The Buffering Doomben - Bernborough Hcp Randwick - Christmas Stakes

Always nice to be in that spot DZ ... might do a couple of 3pick's myself in the EPL seeing as I'm a bit of an advocate of that sort of multi. There's a number of good free scoring teams playing at home against lesser opposition and you'd reckon Man City & Chelsea will bounce back strong.

Well done DZ ... good odds! Radio only for the races today but as luck would have it I snagged the trifecta in the last race at Randwick after thinking I'd missed after the race caller called 'Crafty Tycoon' as 3rd ... checked the results online and saw that Professor Marx got 3rd - Winner! I love those sort of wins - back in the day I might have thrown away the tote ticket! In other news 'Alizee' makes a return to racing in the Christmas Classic at Randwick on Saturday. I'll post up the links to that race and a few of the other feature races on Saturday later on or tomorrow. In the meantime, there's a decent betting race on at Gosford on Friday that might be worth a look-see ... 'Belle of the Turf Stakes' (Group 3) - 'Aloisia' is running in the race and looks well placed ?

The truth is that we are all the same at any age. We act on our basic instincts. The 'Me' generation can include anyone of any age. The selfish gene can afflict anyone, anytime. Millennials = Baby Boomers and anyone else in between. We forget what we were like when we were young - or perhaps we go into denial as we age. Oldies pointing the finger at the young is hypocritical.

Paging @JV7 @Dr. Gonzo @DeeSpencer @layzie @Dappa Dan @Clintosaurus @Go the Biff @Dee Zephyr @Gorgoroth @titan_uranus @DemonDave All to play for in the final week in the tipping comp. Remembering that 3 points are up for grabs so in theory, we are all in contention to either win outright, or to share the award with 1 or 2 others. Risks almost certainly have to be taken by those not leading but the week doesn't offer up too many potential road winners with only a couple of standouts. But as we've seen previously, the road winners are often there so good luck to all. Leaderboard in the Comp 6 - JV7, Dr. Gonzo, DeeSpencer, layzie 5 - Dappa Dan, Clintosaurus 4 - Go the Biff, Dee Zephyr, Gorgoroth, Macca 3 - titan_uranus, DemonDave

Leaderboard in the Comp 6 - JV7*, Dr. Gonzo, DeeSpencer, layzie 5 - Dappa Dan, Clintosaurus 4 - Go the Biff, Dee Zephyr, Gorgoroth, Macca 3 - titan_uranus, Demon Dave *JV7 will advance to 7 points if the Broncos are successful tomorrow. Week 17 Games n.b. I will post up the lines on Wednesday.

Have a great Xmas yourself DZ I must say I felt a lot more confident with just the 3 picks ... thought we'd get af least 2 of the 3 up and that might be a good pointer moving forward. The 3 pick offers up greater opportunities for more collects. And the combined odds on a 3 pick can end up being around 15 - 1 or thereabouts. Just a thought.

Did the same and just noticed the Feyenoord scoreline ... ugh! Anyway, we went close and the collects will happen.

News from Hong Kong ... Australian horse 'Dark Dream' (under new ownership) just won a C2 race in impressive fashion at Sha Tin by 4.5 lengths and is now probably going to be favourite for the HK Derby. Dark Dream won the Group 1 Queensland Derby back in June. n.b. The Derby in HK is for 4 year old's and is worth a cool $2Million to the winner - smart purchase by the looks of it. Definitely one to follow.

The Ravens looked good and played well ... defense travels hey! We might be having one of those seasons where any of the playoff teams can advance a long way in the playoffs. Nothing should surprise as we keep seeing games being decided by picks, turnovers, fumbles and errors. Chargers put in an average one but they've been up for the contest for what seems like an age. They'll bounce back you'd reckon.

My tips - Vikings, Rams, Bears Paging @titan_uranus @DeeSpencer @Dr. Gonzo

Titans victory today now means that the Ravens need to win today otherwise they'll need help in week 17. Big ask at the Chargers but they can do it.

Good luck with all that DZ ... been there myself but it's been a while now. Re-learning how to sleep in 1 or 2 hour allotments is quite a challenge! You'll manage. As for the Galaxy Star race, I've taken out a F4 as I normally do in Perth. It might have an off-day but I'd be surprised if that did happen. With Material Man out the only real danger is Gatting although 1 of the tipsters has picked Perfect Jewel.

4 picks in so far - managed to snag 47-1 (boosted) so good luck if you're playing. Be a handy xmas collect if it gets up. Need Juve to get it done tonight first off. Italian Serie A Sunday 6.30am $2.10 Juventus Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Roma Portugal Primeiri Liga Monday 4.30am $2.65 Benfica Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs SC Braga  Dutch Eredevisie Monday at 00:30 ADO Den Haag v Feyenoord Feyenord Win/Over 2.5 goals $2.10 EPL Monday at 03:00 Everton v Spurs Spurs win/Over 2.5 goals $3.30

Winner! Had it on top in a multiple trifecta but just missed with Gwenneth pipping Saint Valorem. Otherwise, had quite a good day on the punt. So a 1st & 2nd with the 2 picks today so that'll improve the strike rate DZ.

3 of the first 5 winners to Craig Williams ... he's on 2nd favourite Demolition in race 6 and the favourite Creedence in race 8. Having a day out. Cash Affair jumped slowly and got too far back - ran 2nd and got home well. Weir mentioned that settling midfield was the ideal spot. Winner too good, all the same.

Eagle Farm to host Deja Vu race? Here is the race in question ... Eagle Farm Race 3

Weekend Specials Italian Serie A Sunday 6.30am $2.10 Juventus Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs Roma Portugal Primeiri Liga Monday 4.30am $2.65 Benfica Win & +2.5 Goals Match Score vs SC Braga

Nariko scratched DZ ?

Best Bet Flemington Race 5 No.5 Cash Affair $4.60

Well done @Grapeviney ... that post of your trip was wonderful reading. Fabulous snaps and video clips. It was kinda like a bucket-list all on its own in a whirlwind tour - hard to top that one. I did something similar at the Sydney Olympics with Mrs Mac & Scout Mac. You'll have those memories forever GV - great stuff!

A few decent betting races for the weekend with the Group 2 $400k Ted Van Heemst Stakes being the standout race from Ascot ... Galaxy Star ($1.65) probably wins with Willie Pike on board but Material Man & Gatting could both give a good sight. Out of those 3 you'd reckon with Perfect Jewel & Prying Tom running on perhaps. The Ted Van Heemst Stakes is the often used lead-in race to the Perth Cup (to be run on 5th Jan) Also of interest is the December Hcp from Warwick Farm - just the one turn over the 1400m as they run out of the Shute at that venue - as illustrated here Ted Van Heemst St - Ascot December Hcp - Warwick Farm Christmas Hcp - Morphettville Open Hcp - Flemington

I reckon Mahomes for MVP ... he's played great and he's also had a huge impact. Donald, Brees & Rivers have all been fantastic as well but the kid gets into the picture. Meanwhile, the Pro-Bowl selections are out ... Chargers lead the way with 7 selections whilst the Chiefs & Steelers 6 each. Read more here - 2019 Pro Bowl selections for every team: Full NFC, AFC rosters

Just the 1 point on offer this week but what a vital point it could turn out to be! A reminder that week 17 carries 3 points. The Rams look like certainties but finding 2 more looks tricky. A number of divisional games and they're often close. Anyway, good luck all. Leaderboard in the Comp 6 - JV7, Dr. Gonzo, DeeSpencer 5 - layzie, Dappa Dan 4 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, Dee Zephyr 3 - titan_uranus, Gorgoroth, Macca 2 - Demon Dave

Ha ha! Just a gut feel Dappa ... Foles and all that. Home field, trap game for the Texans. Everything on the line for Philadelphia. And in this unpredictable season, most of the games are more line-ball than we've realised. The Vegas lines have often been way off-beam. More so than I can ever remember. We've seen a lot of upset wins so we could expect more of the same. Didn't Foles take over at the exact same time last season? And then ...