Horse Racing Betting
Betting and horse racing go hand in hand. In this guide to horse racing betting we explain the different types of bets, the betting odds and how you can improve your betting by using the tools available on irishracing.com
Betting On Horse Racing With irishracing.com
Irishracing.com is a vast resource of free horse racing content which can help you to improve your horse racing betting.
The website contains detailed information on all horse races with fixture lists, race cards, results, statistics and latest news.
Within our betting section we have pages that provide useful information about the different areas of horse racing betting and the tools to improve your horse racing betting:
Where To Bet on Horse Racing?
No actual betting takes place on irishracing.com but we provide links to all the major bookmakers’ sites.
Here is a list of some of the most popular betting sites with details of the latest sign up offers available for new customers
How To Bet on Horse Racing Online
Once you have selected an online bookmaker and opened a new betting account you are ready to start betting online.
When looking at the horses running in a race on irishracing.com you can click on the price for a horse from your selected bookmaker and this will take you across to the bookmaker’s site where you can place your bet.
When placing a bet with a bookmaker you can either choose to take the price the bookmaker is offering at that time or instead opt to take the Starting Price (SP). Many bookmakers have a concession where they will give you BOG (best odds guaranteed). This means that if you take their current price and the horse wins they will pay you out at the SP price if that is higher than the price that was available when you placed your bet.
Horse Racing Betting Types
There are many different types of bets that can be placed on horse racing. Here are some of the most popular bets types and an explanation of what they mean:
Win Bet – This is placing a bet on a single horse to win a race
Each-way Bet – This is two separate bets on a single horse, a win bet and a place bet. A €5 each-way bet costs €10. A €5 win bet and a €5 place bet on the same horse.
Double – This one bet combining two horses in separate races. Both horses must win their races for the bet to win.
Treble – This is one bet combining three horses in separate races. All three horses must win their races for the bet to win
Accumulator – This is one bet on four or more horses in separate races. All horses must win their respective races for the bet to win
Yankee – This is a combination of bets on four horses in separate races and involves 11 bets in total – 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 accumulator. A €1 Yankee costs €11.
Canadian (Super Yankee) – This is a combination of bets on five horses in separate races and involves 26 bets in total – 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four horse accumulators and 1 five horse accumulator. A €1 Canadian costs €26.
Lucky 15 – This is a similar to a Yankee as it involves a combination bet on 4 horses but as well as the 11 bets contained in a Yankee the Lucky 15 has 4 single bets. A €1 Lucky 15 costs €15.
FAQs About Horse Racing Betting
Can I win backing horses?
Yes you can win backing horses but it takes hard work, patience and discipline to win at horse betting in the long-term. To give yourself the best chance of winning when betting on horse racing you must study the form of all the horses inthe race, work out which ones have the best chance of winning and then determine if the odds available on those horses represent goodvalue. The one advantage you have over the bookmakers is that they have to price up odds for every race but you do not have to bet onevery race. Wait until the odds are in your favour is the best strategy for successful betting on horses.
It is important to be aware that the majority of horses will never win a race and over 90% of punters will lose in the long run. Keep your bets small initially, always only betmoney that you can afford to lose and keep a log of all your bets soyou can see which ones produced a return, and which ones didn’t.
Is betting on horses difficult?
Placing bets on horse racing onlineis very easy but winning is harder. All online bookmakers have built their websites to make the placing of bets as simple a process as possible, often a bet can be placed in just one or two clicks. Always ensure you understand the rules governing the bet you are placing.
Should I place single or multiple bet on horse racing?
When placing bets on horse racingyou can either place a single bet on one horse to win or include several horses in different races in multiple or combination bets. The single bet has a better chance of producing a return, but the multiple bets have the potential for much larger returns. Bookmakers prefer punters to place multiple bets which tells you all you need toknow.
How do I pick a winning horse?
The favourite or shortest-pricedhorse in a race has in theory the best chance of winning. The reason the horse is the favourite is based on the previous form of all the horses in the race and the amount of money that has been bet on each horse. Overall, around 40% of favourites win races. This percentage varies by individual race type – handicaps lower percentage of favourites win; maiden races higher percentage of favourites win –and by course and distance.
Horses that have shown previous winning form over the course and/or distance of today’s race and have previous winning form on similar going conditions are often worth considering when betting on horse races.
What are the major events to bet on?
Horse racing in Ireland and the UK is broken down into two basic seasons – National Hunt and Flat. The National Hunt season takes place from Autumn through to Springand involves horses jumping over obstacles such as hurdles andfences. The Flat season takes place from Spring to Autumn and the races tend to be over shorter distances and there are no obstacles.
Some Major events in the annual calendar include:
| Meeting | Date | Duration | NH/Flat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheltenham Festival | Mid-March | 4 Days | NH |
| Aintree Grand National | April | 3 Days | NH |
| Fairyhouse Grand National | Easter weekend | 3 Days | NH |
| Punchestown Festival | End of April | 5 Days | NH |
| Epsom Derby | Early June | 2 Days | Flat |
| Curragh Derby Festival | End of June | 3 Days | Flat |
| Royal Ascot | Mid-June | 5 Days | Flat |
| Galway Festival | End of July | 7 Days | NH & Flat |
| Listowel Festival | Mid-September | 7 Days | NH & Flat |
How do I work out how much my bet pay?
When betting on horse racing online your bet receipt will show the amount of money you staked and the potential return/winnings if the bet wins.
If you placed a combination bet such as a Yankee or Lucky 15 there are varying amounts you can win depending on how many of your horses win their races.
Here is a link to a bettingcalculator which will help you work out how much money you are due to collect
Should I bet on Horse races or other sports?
This is simply a matter of preference and knowledge. The more you know about something the better chance you have of predicting the outcome.
In standard football betting on a match there are three possible outcomes – Home win, Draw, Away win. With horse racing bets there are usually many more possible outcomes determined by the number of horses in the race. Because there are more possible outcomes to a horse race the bookmakers will price these contests differently and there is an opportunity to get better odds if you can pick the correct winning outcome.
What does odds-on mean?
In horse racing betting odds-on means that your potential winnings are less than the amount you bet. As an example, if a horse is 2/1 on it means that you must bet €2 to win €1. If the horse wins you get €3 back, your €2 bet plus €1 profit.
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