For anyone looking to build up a few quid for the Festival, both Paddy Power and William Hill are doing an excellent offer to new customers - if you place a £10 bet on the first race at Ascot today (12:30), they give you a free £5 bet on all the other races there. There are 8 more races, so that's £40 in free bets for a £10 stake. Read the T&Cs before signing up, but there is nothing nasty in there.

This isn't an incitement to get people to bet, just that if you do bet offers like these are the way to stay ahead of the bookies.