I’ve decided to put together this guide on horse race betting to help you learn all about betting on this attractive sport. To help you understand the essentials of horse race betting, I had to start from the very beginning.
If you are an avid horse race bettor, feel free to scroll down to the segment that interests you the most.
In this guide, you will be able to learn the following:
Whether you like national hunt racing or flat racing, this guide is for you. Let’s stop wasting time and get right into it.
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Horse racing dates back to the 12th century and is linked to the Roman culture and its heritage. Horse racing, as we know it today, was rooted in the 17th century. It is often linked to royalty.
Over the past three centuries, horse racing has become quite popular. It promoted horse breeding, especially the horses bred for racing purposes.
Once the newspapers became an everyday commodity, horse racing became immensely popular. The majority of newspapers covered the horse races, and about that time, horse race betting started to become popular as well.
Interestingly, horse race betting was only allowed on racecourses. This lasted until the 1960s when betting away from the racetrack became legal. Today, you can even enjoy betting online thanks to the internet and affordable smart devices and computers.
Convenience made online horse race betting even more popular. Guides, like the one I’m writing right now, become valuable resources to people interested in betting on horse racing.
The most important and the first thing you must learn when starting to bet on horse races is the difference between National Hunt and Flat racing. National Hunt racing is the sport involving jumps. To win the race, a horse must clear all the jumps as fast as possible.
On the other hand, we have the more popular Flat racing, involving horses racing across the flat ground without any obstacles.
This basically covers the essentials of horse racing. Now, let’s see what types of horse racing bets await you.
If I had to name one thing that I like about horse race betting, then I would have to say the diversity of betting opportunities. There are so many types of horse racing bets that you can never be bored with it. All bets can be put into two categories based on the number of horses you are betting on.
The straight wagers category encompasses all bet types where you only bet on one horse, and exotic wagers include all the bet types that allow you to bet on multiple horses.
Straight Wagers
Straight wagers are excellent for first-timers and beginners in general. They will help you smoothly dive into the world of horse race betting. Don’t worry; there are plenty of them to keep you busy until you feel confident to try their more exotic peers.
Let’s start with the basic wager – WIN. Why is this considered basic? Because the wager is straightforward. You bet on one of the horses that it will come in first. It finishes first, and you collect the money; if not, you lose the wager.
The next straight wager in line is PLACE. It’s slightly more complicated than WIN. When you choose PLACE, you actually bet that your horse will end the race on either the first or second position.
In either case, you collect your wager. But if the horse finishes 3rd or bellow, you lose it. The payout is, of course, lesser than in the WIN wager, because you risk less, and you secure your win.
A SHOW horse racing bet is pretty much similar to the PLACE one. Only this time, you are not betting that your horse will finish first or second but also third. Logically, the payout is less than in the PLACE wager, because, with SHOW, you are risking even less. In comparison with WIN, the payout is substantially less.
ACROSS THE BOARD is a straight wager that makes things very interesting. When you bet across the board, you are basically betting WIN, PLACE, and SHOW at the same time.
Since it encompasses 3 different bets, it is also often called a COMBO STRAIGHT WAGER. These wagers are more expensive than any of the three individually. Most often, the cost will equal the sum of the costs of individual wagers.
But, the payout is also more. See, if your horse comes first, you will get the money for the WIN, PLACE, and SHOW. If your horse ends up in the second position, you will get the PLACE and SHOW payout. And, finally, if your horse comes in third, you get the SHOW payout.
The last two bet types are WIN/PLACE and PLACE/SHOW. As the name suggests, these bet types are very similar to ACROSS THE BOARD. These two betting opportunities will allow you to place two straight wagers in a single bet.
Placing a WIN/PLACE bet will result in a win if your horse WINs and PLACEs. The payout is bigger if the horse finishes first as you collect both the WIN and PLACE payout. If the horse finishes second, you collect only the PLACE payout.
The PLACE/SHOW bet is straightforward. If you choose this bet, you will be betting that a horse will place and show. If your horse ends up in the second position, you collect both PLACE and SHOW payout. If it finishes third, you collect only the SHOW payout.
Exotic Wagers
Although Exotics are more attractive due to their high-profit potential, they are much harder to win than their straight counterparts. These bet types are more suited for experienced bettors. Let’s start with the most simple one.
EXACTA is a bet type that allows you to bet on two horses and try to guess which horse will come in first and second, in that exact order. When I say first and second, I don’t mean 1st and 2nd place, but more in a general sense.
These horses can be horse 2 and 3, 1 and 6, or any other pair for that matter. The payoff is huge. To ensure your winning, you can BOX your EXACTA, meaning you will win even if the horses come in any order.
QUINELLA is also a popular exotic wager. If you choose this bet, you will be betting on two horses to come in the first and second position in the race. The wager is valid if they come in any order. But to get the payout, the horses need to finish in the top two spots.
TRIFECTA allows you to place a wager on three horses. You basically bet that horses will finish first, second, and third. Now we are talking about a serious wager with the potential to win big.
The horses have to finish in the exact order. As with EXACTA, you can also BOX your TRIFECTA and collect wins even if they don’t finish in that order.
SUPERFECTA allows you to bet that four horses will finish first, second, third, and fourth. They have to come in at an exact order. To get rid of the “come in the exact order,” you can BOX your SUPERFECTA.
This is perhaps something that interests you the most. But I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you. The formula for calculating how much you win is rather complicated, ever-changing, and different for specific types of bets. I wouldn’t bother you with technicalities at this moment.
The principle is the same as in any other type of game, though. At least in the games where winnings are based on chance. You place your bet, and if you get it right, you get your wager back and then some more on top.
The numbers that you see on the tote board, or your online ticket, tell you the odds for that horse to win. These numbers look like this – 4:1, 3:2, 4:6.
The 21st century enabled us to partake in horse race betting online. Personally, I find this very convenient. All the western governments responded quickly by delivering a legal frame of reference. Currently, online betting on horse races is legal in the UK and 29 US states.
Once you choose a bookmaker website or install a mobile app, you will be able to place your first bet. Now that you know types of horse racing bets, you can experiment and play around with them to find out which one suits you the best.
Generally speaking, I’ve found that minimum bets are around $2 across different websites.
Betting is as easy as clicking or tapping the screen a few times. But once the race starts, that’s when the blood biggins to boil.
Now, its time to take you through some of the most famous horse race events.
Horse racing is not much of season sport. There are many horse races taking place throughout the year. Whether you want to place bets on horse races in the UK, USA, or the races taking place on the other side of the globe, Dubai, for instance, you can do it online in few simple clicks.
But it is essential to know that know all horse race events are created equal. Here are the most popular ones.
Epsom Derby
When it comes to the richest horse races taking place in the UK, the Epsom Derby is the absolute champion. It is also the most prestigious race, attracting the best horses and jockeys from the entire UK.
The Epsom Derby is not only a national sensation. It is a derby with millions of viewers across the globe. You will be able to see it commonly referred to as simply “The Derby.”
Grand National
Grand National is so famous that even the people that never place bets on any sports decide to bet on horse racing. In fact, in the UK, placing bets on horses in the Grand National has become a sort of tradition. The race is held at Aintree, and the excitement buildup is real.
The media coverage is excellent, which is perfect for those of you who want to experience the thrill of horse racing and having an active bet.
Cheltenham Festival
When it comes to racing festivals, it doesn’t get better than it does with the Cheltenham Festival. The festival has become regular, and if you want to bet on horses there, you can do it every March.
Usually, it doesn’t last over a week, and during this time, there are plenty of races, great horse race betting opportunities, and bonus offers from bookmakers.
Glorious Goodwood
Glorious Goodwood is staged either in July or August. This is the ultimate flat racing event in the UK. Punters from all over the UK place their bets during the 5-day-long horse racing event.
Royal Ascot
Royal Ascot is also 5 days long. It takes place in June each year. The huge interest in this event attracts top jockeys and the best horses. This is the main reason why there are so many high-quality and diverse horse race betting opportunities.
The Kentucky Derby
Let’s drift away from the UK for a second here. The horse race event worth your attention outside of the UK is definitely the Kentucky Derby. Generally speaking, horse races are a Saturday event in the USA.
When it comes to the magnitude and popularity of The Kentucky Derby, you will probably grasp it once you learn that it drew $124 million in legal wagers in 2017.
Horse races are very popular because they are fast and provide quite an adrenaline rush. But there is one more thing that makes the event more popular – they provide magnificent betting opportunities. As you can see, there are plenty of different types of bets suited for complete beginners and avid bettors.
I tailored this guide to help you out get an insight into all the relevant information. An all in one place! Memorize the rules of engagement and types of bets, and you can get more out of your wagers and increase your odds of winning big.
Is horse racing reserved only for rich people?