Horse Racing Betting Tips

Horse racing is a hugely popular sport around the world and can boast being one of the biggest betting markets in the industry too. Whether you enjoy flat racing, or watching horses compete over the jumps, there are many race meetings staged in every corner of the globe every day.

In this article, we’ll give you our best horse racing tips including how to choose the race you want to bet on, the types of bets you can wager on, and why it is so important to do your research before betting on horse racing.

Choose the race

Horse racing began hundreds of years ago amidst humble beginnings, but today, it has grown to become one of the most lucrative sports in the world. Races range from small events at local tracks to the more lavish and prestigious events that are famous around the planet. Betting on horse racing is also now a huge business, especially online where markets are available for different events all day, every day.

TV coverage has also grown, so you can watch the biggest horse racing events in the world from the comfort of your own home, or even via a betting app. Here are some of the top horse racing events in Australia and beyond.

Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup literally brings Melbourne to a standstill and is even celebrated as a public holiday in the city when it is run each year in November. The occasion attracts a TV audience of millions from across Australia and the rest of the world as some of the best horses in the sport battle it out for the lucrative prize.

Dating back to 1861, the Melbourne Cup is run at the Flemington Racecourse and is now worth a prize purse of around $8 million.

The Everest

The Everest, which is raced at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse over 1200m, is considered to be the world’s richest race on turf. Twelve of the very best sprinters from around the world will compete for prize money worth over $15 million.

The runners are allocated a place for this race in a unique way. Twelve ‘slots’ are available for sale. The slot holder then negotiates with owners to select their own horse and agree on a split of the prize money.

Royal Ascot

Attended by The King himself, this is one of the most lucrative events on the UK sporting calendar. Held every June at Ascot racecourse, which is owned by The King, spectators and global TV audiences are treated to five days of thrilling flat racing.

First held in 1711, there is a Group 1 race on each day of the festival, which has retained its history with men having to wear a morning suit and top hat to enter the Royal Enclosure. Some of the Group 1 races that feature at Royal Ascot include the St James Palace Stakes, Prince of Wales Stakes, the Gold Cup, Coronation Stakes, and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

Cheltenham Festival

One of the biggest horse racing events in the world is the ever-popular Cheltenham Festival. Held each year in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire, England, this event features four days of the best jump racing on the planet.

The very best National Hunt horses from Britain and Ireland arrive to be roared on by more than a quarter of a million spectators over the four days, with betting being a huge feature of the festival too.

There are as many as 30 races across the festival, which include the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle.

Grand National

The Grand National is the most popular and famous steeplechase in the world. Held in April each year at Aintree racecourse, close to Liverpool, it is the nature of the fences and the distance of the race that makes it so unique.

Forty horses line up to compete over the 30 fences across the 4-mile event. Dating back to 1839, the unique fences have been adjusted over the years to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries amongst the horses and jockeys. It is also famous for being the race that sees millions bet on it each year.

Kentucky Derby

Dating back to 1875, the Kentucky Derby is one of the most famous races in the world. Offering a prize purse of around $3 million, the event usually takes place on the first Saturday of May at the Churchill Downs Racetrack, in Kentucky.

Fans will be treated to several brilliant races, with the most popular race on this track being the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred, which fans fondly call the ‘Greatest 2 Minutes in Sports.’

Breeders’ Cup

Held in November each year, this is one of the biggest horse racing festivals in the USA. The contests featured thoroughbred flat racing mares, fillies, and juveniles compete, with no more than 14 runners able to participate in each race.

Except for the US Triple Crown races, this is the most attended horse racing festival in the United States.

Choose your bet type

Betting on horse racing has developed significantly over the years, especially with the invention of online betting. Whereas in days gone by you had to attend the meeting itself to place a bet, or go to your local bookmakers, you can now place a wager on most races in the world using your smart device.

But whilst how you can bet has changed, there are a few bets that have remained popular to this day. The most popular bet remains the win bet, where you are simply placing money on which horse you think will win the race.

You can also place an each-way bet, which allows you to win some money if your horse finishes 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, depending on the number of runners in the race, and the terms offered by the bookmaker.

A place bet allows you to wager on whether a horse will place in either 2nd or 3rd position, so is similar to an each-way bet, as is a show bet, that are also offered by bookies. It is important to read the terms and conditions of each of these bets before wagering any money.

Exacta bets are popular as they can pay bigger sums of money if your bets come in, but this type of bet means you must pick which horses will finish the race first and second, in the correct order. Whilst a Trifecta bet is when you are picking which horses will finish the race first, second and third, in the correct order.

Do research

Although betting on horse racing is meant to be fun, taking time to do a little bit of research can significantly improve your chances of winning some money.

Horse racing can be complex, with many different elements to consider, but the main ones include looking at a horses’ form. How have they done in their previous races? Look at the ground conditions. Does a particular horse prefer certain ground, i.e., soft, good, or good to firm?

Consider the distance. Does a horse run better over certain distances to others in the race? Where are they running? Does a horse have a good strike rate of winning at a particular track?

Also, look at the trainer and the jockey. Are horses trained by a certain trainer currently in good form? Who is the jockey? Do they have a good win rate at a specific track, or on a specific horse?

Finally, you can be guided by the odds. Horses with shorter odds are more favoured by the bookmakers and other punters, whilst those with bigger odds are not. However, not all horses at bigger odds are lost hopes – there have been many surprises over the years in horse racing, which adds to its excitement.

Bet on multiple races

Betting on multiple horses in a race can be a strategy that people struggle with, and they are put off from trying it. Why would you bet on more than one horse if only one can win? Sometimes betting is not just about picking the winners, it is about finding the best value too.

To be profitable at betting, you need to get the best value. Even the best tipsters in the world don’t pick a winner every time, so acknowledging that fact is important. If you accept your first bet won’t always win, but know you can get value on other horses, multiple betting starts to make sense.

Of course, it costs you more to do so, but you are improving your chances of winning. By betting on three horses in the same race you can increase your chance of landing the winner from 35% to 65%. You might only make small profits in each race due to the increased outlay, but regular small profits can soon add up to large gains.

Think of it as one bet in total, at smaller odds, but you still get great value and improve your chances of winning.

Horse Racing Betting Terms

Below is the brief explanation of most common horse racing betting terms:

Win - By placing a Win bet, you are predicting the horse that will win the race outright.

Place - Placement bets are a popular selection as you can bet on whether the horse will finish in the top 4 etc. This can improve the likelihood of the bet being successful with a wider range for the horse to finish within, however, the odds will be lower to reflect this.

Show - Selecting a Show bet will require you to choose a horse that is going to finish in any of the top 3 spots.

Across the board - Three bets are selected when using the “Across the board” approach. You select a Win, Place and Show bet with an equal stake being applied to each.

Ante-post - Betting ahead of the opening of the event before odds are updated. This can sometimes provide better odds for punters.

Back - The horse that you pick to finish in a certain position.

Quinella - Select two horses to finish in 1st and 2nd position at the end of the race. The two horses can finish in any order, so long as the two horses fall within the top 2.

Trifecta - Covering three horses, a Trifecta enables you to bet on the three horses you believe will finish in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Superfecta - As one of the more difficult betting options, this bet will require you to successfully predict which four horses will finish in the top 4 (Must be in the correct order).

Daily Double - Here, you would select two winners from two different races, which are typically happening on the same day, hence the name “Daily”.

Duet - With the duet bet, you can predict two horses that you think will finish the race within the top 3. The end results can be in any order.

Pick 3 - Select winning horses in three consecutive races.

Pick 4 - Select winning horses in four consecutive races.

Pick 6 - Correctly predict winning horse in six consecutive races.

Scratch - If you hear the term “scratch”, this means that a horse has been removed from a race and will no longer be running.

Runner - This term refers to the horse. For example, you might bet on a certain “runner” to win the race or place in the top 3.

Tote betting - With Tote betting, bettors compile all bets into a prize pool and the winnings are shared out to anyone that predicted the right horse.

FAQs

What are the best bets to make in horse racing?

An each-way is the easiest and safest horse racing bet you can place.

How do you pick a winning horse?

Multiple factors impact the performance, such as physical form, weather conditions, horse trainer and his form.

What is the best bet for 4 horses?

Both the Yankee and the Lucky 15 are multiple wagers appropriate for four picks in various events.

How do you know which horse is the favourite?

Favourites have the lowest odds since they are more likely to win.

What is the most profitable way to bet on horses?

Accumulators and other multiple bets are the most profitable; however, the risk is also high since if your racing bet loses, you lose the whole wager.

What is the best bet for 3 horses?

Trifecta is the most suitable horse racing bet if you want to bet on three horses.