Betting Preview – Thursday 16th July

Thursday’s sport includes the start of The Open, seven race meetings in the UK and Ireland, Europa League qualifiers and lots more.

HORSE RACING
There are seven meetings in the UK and Ireland on Thursday – they are:

Chepstow (2:00pm, Flat)
Killarney (2:05pm, National Hunt)
Hamilton (2:10pm, Flat)
Leicester (2:20pm, Flat)
Leopardstown (5:50pm, Flat)
Doncaster (6:00pm, Flat)
Epsom (6:10pm, Flat)

They also race at the Vaal in South Africa from 11:20am.

FOOTBALL
There are five matches live on TV on Thursday – they are:

Copa Libertadores, Semi-Final, First-Leg – Internacional v Tigres (2:00am kick-off, live on Premier Sports)
UEFA Under-19 Championship, Semi-Final – Russia U-19 v Greece U-19 (5:00pm kick-off, live on Eurosport)
UEFA Under-19 Championship, Semi-Final – France U-19 v Spain U-19 (7:00pm kick-off, live on Eurosport)
UEFA Europa League, Second-Qualifying Round, First-Leg – Slovan Bratislava v UCD (7:15pm kick-off, live on Setanta Ireland)
UEFA Europa League, Second-Qualifying Round, First-Leg – Rijeka v Aberdeen (8:00pm kick-off, live on Premier Sports & Setanta Sports 1)

Elsewhere, Shamrock Rovers, Linfield, Dundee United and West Ham are also in qualifying action in the Europa League across the day.

CRICKET
The opening day of the Second Ashes Test between England and Australia takes place on Thursday (live on Sky Sports 2) from 10:00am at Lord’s.

CYCLING
The 2015 Tour de France continues on Thursday with the riders taking a 195km mountainous journey from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille (live on TG4, ITV4 & Eurosport from 10:05am) as the riders spend a third day in the Pyrenees.

GAELIC GAMES
The Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship semi-final takes centre stage in Gaelic Games on Thursday with Limerick and Tipperary doing battle at the Gaelic Grounds (live on TG4) from 7:15pm.

GOLF
The opening day of The Open at St Andrews as the third major championship of 2015 gets underway (live on BBC1 & Setanta Ireland) from 9:00am. Defending champion Rory McIlroy is injured and not in Scotland, which means all eyes are focused on US Masters and US Open winner Jordan Spieth who is looking for his third straight major title. Elsewhere, on the PGA Tour action takes place on the opening day of the Barbasol Championship (live on Sky Sports 4) from 9:00pm in Auburn, Alabama with this the newest event on the tour.

GREYHOUNDS
There are six BAGS cards on Thursday – they are:

Sunderland (11:03am)
Sheffield (11:11am)
Romford (2:08pm)
Crayford (2:18pm)
Sittingbourne (6:28pm)
Newcastle (6:38pm)

They also race on Racing Post Greyhound TV with action from Monmore (7:25pm) and Hove (7:31pm).

RUGBY LEAGUE
Super League action on Thursday night comes from the Halliwell Jones Stadium as Warrington Wolves entertain St Helen’s (live on Sky Sports 1) from 7:30pm. The visitors are hoping to finish the regular season at the top of the table, while the home side are battling to join them into the play-offs.

TENNIS
Action continues at the 2015 Swedish Open on Thursday (live on BT Sport 2) from 10:00am.