The following sections assess the most standard categories of available wagers in updated and trusted racebooks. Whereas sports betting is essentially the sports book vs. the bettor, parimutuel wagering pits bettors against one another. Money for each wagering type (i.e. win bets, exacta bets, etc.) get placed into individual pools. The track takes out their administrative fees, and the remaining pool gets returned to winning bettors. While betting on horses may seem intimidating, it bears many similarities to several different types of sports wagering. In this article, we’ll break down to key facets of how to bet on horse racing so that next time you’re at the track or browsing your online sportsbook, you’ll know how to make a wager.

Horse Racing Betting Tips: 5 ways to bet smarter on horse racing

This bet requires you to pick two racers to win both races in succession regardless of how long the odds might be. This bet can be very good but is much harder to win than a single race bet. A Trifecta bet goes a notch higher than the Exacta as it requires you to select the first three horses, only this time the selection has to be in the correct sequence. The odds of losing a Trifecta bet might be quite big as it’s not easy to win this kind of bet. But on a positive note, for the ones who can actually get the trifecta right, the earning potential is great.

If you are new to racing and betting, you can refer to our betting guide pages which detail all you need to know about types of bets and multiple bets, including the punters’ favourites the Lucky 15 and Lucky 31. To best explain pari-mutuel wagering, compare it to the game of poker. In poker, you’re betting against every other player at the card table. You’re betting against all the other horseplayers in the pari-mutuel pool.

The Jockey Club of Turkey, founded in 1950, was the turning point of both the Turkish breeding and racing industries. The most famous New Zealand standardbred horse is probably Cardigan Bay. The Arabian horse was developed by the Bedouin people of the West Asia specifically for stamina over long distances, so they could outrun their enemies. It was not until 1725 that the first Arabians was brought to North America,36 and not until about the time of the Civil War that they were bred as purebreds. Until the formation of the Arabian Horse Registry of America in 1908, Arabians were recorded with the Jockey Club in a separate subsection from Thoroughbreds.

how to bet on horse racing

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It is published in the program, racing form, or online at your sportsbook. An expert guesses what the final win odds will be for each horse in each race. In order to hit the daily double, you must pick the winner of two straight races in order to cash your ticket.

  • Possibly, the favorite has gone from 4/1 odds to 5/1 and what was the original 7/1 third choice is now 9/5 and the favorite.
  • Please remember to always gamble responsibly and when the fun stops, you should always stop betting.
  • One step greater than the double, the Pick 3 is selecting the winner of three consecutive races.
  • Short races are generally referred to as “sprints”, while longer races are known as “routes” in the United States or “staying races” in Europe.
  • This is the most basic bet to place; it is essentially betting on a horse to come in first and is called a winning bet.

A popular approach is the Kelly Criterion, which dictates how much of your bankroll to wager based on your perceived edge. A positive EV means the bet is mathematically favorable in the long run. Sharp bettors only place bets when EV is positive, rather than betting based on gut instinct. Well, many factors determine the winner of the race, and most of these factors are changing meaning that it is hard to come up with a rock-solid probability.

The two races that have small purses with low-speed ratings and mediocre talent might mean a food or drink break. Similarly, in horse racing, when you think the race has value, you bet into it. The same goes for racing, where if you bet the best horse or horses and they run lope.bet the best, you win. A sports fanatic and strategic wordsmith, Mitchell has been writing gaming content for over seven years. As sports betting emerges in markets across the globe, he’s ready to journey alongside those who haven’t wagered before with informative articles and comprehensive how-to guides.

If the three horses you select do in fact finish in the first three, you’ll have the combination and will be paid out in line with the odds of that combination. Exotic Multiple bets are a great way to have a bet on multiple races, whereby you have to pick the winner of consecutive races. A Quinella bet is the same as an exacta bet except the horses can finish in either order.

An Exacta decides on two horses – one that will come first, and one that will come in second – in the particular order specified. This particular betting type pays bigger amounts compared to Win, Place or Show bets but is quite more tricky as one has to be correct on the arrangement of the finish. Find a list with all bookmakers tested by our racing experts, that offer the best betting offers for new customers here.

Traditionalists prefer the fractions, but for newcomers it might be easier to understand betting returns with decimals and the Racing Post’s Free Bet Calculator is perfect for those at all levels of betting knowledge. Similar to a straight forecast but the horses can finish in any order. In the UK, odds are specified as fractions, although in Europe and at betting exchanges they are usually expressed in decimal form. On your favored circuits, I also recommend keeping notes of your observations about how various trainers prepared their winning charges for the race you just witnessed.