Who needs a chocolate when there is a treat like this to look forward to?

Christmas may come just once a year but racing's Advent calendar can be enjoyed from January 1 to December 31. As long as the sport continues, there are doors to open.

It is on the Racing Post website, although it hides under the more prosaic name of 'Big Race Entries'. Rather than counting down to the big day with a chocolate treat, each date offers the excitement of delights ahead on course by linking to the entries for upcoming early closing races.

Go there now and you get an adrenaline rush by savouring the upcoming goodies at the Cheltenham Festival, clicking on anything from the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle through to the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle. Further doors are gateways to the spring excitement of the Unibet Lincoln and the Randox Grand National, not to mention the Derby and the first four Irish Classics.