How Betting Works In Horse Racing | Beginner’s Guide

5 Ways Digital Technology is Changing Sports Betting

Getting your head round betting can be a bit of a long and drawn out process, especially when it comes to horse race betting. There is just such a vast market out there with all sorts of slang and jargon that it can become a bit overwhelming. Luckily, we are here to fill you in with some basics in this beginners guide on how betting works in horse racing.

Do your research

The golden rule for all kinds of betting is to do your research. It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned veteran or a novice, knowing what you are betting on is imperative to placing the best bets and getting the most bang for your buck. You want to be looking at today’s race cards to get up to date information on form, injuries, conditions and turf. This sort of knowledge allows you to make the most informed decision on which horse to bet on. Before you even consider the bet, choose your horse.

Different types of bets

Once you have decided what kind of bet it is that you want to be making, you’ll have to decide what type of bet you would like to put on. Like all other sports betting, horse race betting has a huge array of different types of bets you can put on, from outright winners to Each Way bets or even Trifecta bets. This guide should educate you and help you out with which type of bet you are looking to place. Making sure you know what type of bet you are putting on and the way the bet works is important when placing the bet and bashing the bookies.

Crucially, when betting on horse you will want to avoid the big accas style bets which are commonly associated with football betting. It is statistically harder for one horse to win against 20 other horses than it is for one team to beat another, that means it’s silly to put loads of bets on an accumulator. Instead it is more sensible to limit the size of your bet to a more manageable amount.

Placing or Winners

Many bets you place will be for either outright winners or will pay out a percentage depending on if your horse (or horses) place in the top 3 or 4 places. The beauty of horse racing, unlike other sports, is that you often get to bet on horses which place even if they don’t actually win the race.

Working out the odds

The final thing you will want to work out just before you place your bet is the odds which are being given on your specific bet. Knowing how odds work and the way they are manipulated can take time but it is worth investing some time into. The beauty of horse racing is its unpredictability and whilst the odds are a reflection of how likely the bookies think the horse is to win, the favourite in horse racing actually only wins a third of the time. Instead you want to use your research and combine it with some horses which are presenting favourable odds. This means striking a balance between probabilities and looking to get the most bang for your buck.

Collecting your winnings

Once you have placed your well informed and good odds bet in the style that you would like the last thing to do is sit back, enjoy the race and cheer on your runner in the hope that you get some winnings out of it. When you do win, and you will after reading this guide (I have no doubt), all that’s left to do will be to collect your winnings.