ANYONE who knows us could verify we both love a punt and trying to get an edge or a bit of info about a horse running is always our aim.

However the information now available on p2p.ie has made it more and more difficult for anyone to have that edge. Before the web became so popular we would have spent our evenings going through the videos hoping to see one being quietly ridden or a horse who made a mistake at a vital stage.

But getting a big fat price about one of these eyecatchers the following week is unfortunately a thing of the past. Even if you can get 4/1 or 5/1 about a dark horse now you have done well.

The betting ring in the north is definitely stronger than in other areas, such as at some meetings in the east where there may only be four or five bookies standing. But the truth is it’s difficult for an owner to have their money on, no matter where you race.

Racing in the north used to be seen as the weaker link in the chain but how that has changed in the last six or seven seasons. Simonsig, Briar Hill, Ted Veale and of course Tammys Hill are just a handful of the Cheltenham Festival winners to have graduated from the northern region in recent years.

The days of a southern trainer nipping over the border to win a soft maiden are long gone and we would contend that racing in the north is as strong any anywhere else on the island.