How to Bet on Horse Racing: A Beginner’s Guide

Starting a new journey in life can come in many different ways. Once you decide to do something you have never tried before, excitement is the dominant emotion but also worry or even fear. It is a step into the unknown and nobody can prepare you for it despite how much good advice they give you. The only way to grasp it in its entirety is to do it yourself, a trial by fire of sorts. Experience is the best teacher and to have it, you simply do it the best you can. This is how people start life-changing journeys and make crucial decisions, but it is also how they begin a new hobby. If you need something fresh to make your life better and more enjoyable, a pastime activity that suits your lifestyle and interests is the best way forward. 

For an engaging, competitive, and diverse hobby, why not try sports betting, more specifically, betting on horse races online? It is a very fun take on gambling and wagering and is quite different from the usual varieties like placing bets on football, tennis, or golf. When you bet on horse racing, you are taking part in something that has been around for centuries, perhaps millenniums. In this article, we talk about how to start horse racing betting the right way and bring you a beginner’s guide. If you are interested, check out Stake.com where you can open a free account and start wagering today. 

What Does Horse Race Betting Imply? 

Betting on horse races is one of the oldest forms of wagering on the outcome of a sporting event. Throughout the long and complicated history of humankind, people have come up with numerous ways to place bets on games and activities. They did it both for the things they themselves would do and that others, usually professionals, would compete in. This is how the modern-day sports betting industry came to be. And throughout it all, it was race horse bets that stuck around. 

Despite many changes in society, mainly in technology and infrastructure, people loved horseracing too much for it to ever go away. Once used for transportation, work, and warfare, horses are today kept around much less often. It is an expensive endeavor, especially when one wants to enter the world of equestrian sports. It is the sole reason why most race horses are owned by rich and influential people. Back then, it was the aristocracy and nobility that started it, only for it to become accessible to common people too. 

Nowadays, while it is expensive to participate in the races as an owner, it is extremely easy to do so with bets as a fan. Thanks to the widespread internet connection, it is horse racing online bets that are the most popular. If you want to become a part of it, this is the best way to do it. Of course, you can make your way to the nearest racetrack too, and you should. Every fan should see the real thing despite placing most of their horse race bets on the web. The spectacle and the atmosphere can never be replicated and it is an event to behold each time around. 

How to Start

So by now, you have already firmly decided that horse racing bets are going to be your new favorite thing. That is great, but how do you start? We already mentioned that you first have to register on an online casino and sports betting platform like Stake. Once there, you open an account like you would anywhere else. It is easy, straightforward, and best of all, free. When you set everything up, it is time to deposit some money. This can be done in many ways depending on the platform and the country you are based in. The easiest would be through an online payment service or with a credit card.

When all of this is done, it is time to pick a horse race to bet on. Now, at first, things will be very overwhelming. There are dozens of races at any given time, each with many horses you can bet to come first, second, or any other place. So how do you choose? As an absolute beginner, it is difficult but we have you covered. All you need to do for now is to get your feet wet as the saying goes and look around. Search for safe bets, for horses and jockeys that are almost guaranteed to win. This way you will get the necessary experience without risking too much money. 

Types of Bets and What to Pick

Here is where it gets good. Picking the type of bet to go along the race you chose is why you are here. It is the bread and butter of this new hobby you devote your time, money, and effort to. In horse racing betting, betting on a horse can be done in a number of ways. However, you are a beginner so we will skip over the more advanced bets for now. What you will want to do is bet on a single horse to finish at several different spots. This is called a win-place-show bet. 

These terms each mean a different thing. Win is the first place, place is second, and show is third. When you bet like this, you are favoring a single horse to finish in either of these three spots. As you can see, it is a very easy bet to get considering that the best horses usually finish in one of the three spots. An almost sure bet, but also one that pays the least amount of money because the stakes are very low. Still, it is the best way to start and get used to everything. 

If you are feeling a little bit more daring right off the bat and want to take it one step further, you can do the win-place bet. Here, you eliminate the third place and only bet on the horse finishing first or second. Naturally, another step forward would be to simply pick the win bet and pick a horse to win. This is the most lucrative of the three bets. It offers the largest payout but it is also the most difficult to get.

When you gain some experience and start winning money on horse race bets, you should raise the stakes and pick a few exact abets. Betting on a single horse in one race is the basic type of betting. When you bet on multiple, you are betting horses in the most optimal way. An exact bet implies choosing two horses to come in exact two places, usually 1 and 2. If they switch it around and come in 2 and 1, you lose. So both of them need to come in exactly as you wagered. This is very fun to play with as you can mix and match the finishing spots and not always go with the win and place. Alternatively, for a safer but less lucrative bet, you can pick two horses to finish in any two places regardless of which is which.

Lastly, there is also the trifecta bet which increases the number of horses from two to three. Here, you can bet on any three horses to come in at exact places, for example, 1, 2, and 3. Again, there is an easier variety that awards less money where you pick three horses to come in the first three places regardless of the position. This means they can do any combination, 1-2-3, 1-3-2, 2-1-3, 2-3-1, 3-2-1, or 3-1-2. Whatever the case, you will get some money. 

Understanding the Odds

When you desire to bet on horse races, it is of the utmost importance to understand the odds. Do you know what the numbers next to each horse mean? Is a larger one better or a lower one? How do you spot a good bet? All of these questions will be answered in this section so that you have all the knowledge on your side before making your very first batch of race horse bets. 

In horse racing online bets, odds represent the estimation of bookmakers for each horse’s chances of winning the race, and therefore, the potential return on successful bets. Odds can be presented in one of three formats. They can be money line (+500), decimal (6.00), or fractional (5/1). 

Money line odds are mostly present in the USA. Those with a + show how much profit you make when betting $100. So for a +500 bet, wagering $100 and winning would total $600.

Decimal odds are present across Europe as well as Australia. They show you the total payout multiplier together with the stake. So for the aforementioned 6.00 bet, betting $1 will equal $6, while betting $100 would equal $100. 

Finally, fractional odds, most common in the UK, use mathematical fractions as the basis. A bet on the 5/1 odds means that for every $1 you bet, you get $5 plus the original bet back, so $6 in total. Like the previous two, for $100 you would get $600. 

Reading the Racecard

Racecards are an important part of understanding the day’s races. So if you want to check out the offer of horse race betting today, you take a racecard. But what does the information mean and what do these cards contain? It is a type of guide that has essential details for bettors. For example, there will be horse names and numbers. You can also find their form, i.e. recent performance. Numbers like 2-2-4 indicate finishes in the last three races, in this case, two second places and a fourth.

Racecards also contain crucial information about jockeys and trainers for each horse. The horse may be the star of the show, but the people who care for it and ride it are huge parts of the equation. Their skills, traits, and experience influence the performance of the horses so be sure to study it in detail.

Finally, it is the racecard that will give you the odds for the day’s races when you go to the track. Be it money line, decimal, or fractional, you will get all of them neatly displayed. Pay attention to the odds and compare them to the current form of the horse and its jockey/trainer. Sometimes it is smarter to trust these parameters and your gut than blindly follow the odds. 

Placing Bets at Race Tracks

Last but not least, a short guide about how to place bets physically on a race track. In today’s age of technology, we tend to do everything from the comfort of our homes. Sure, you can bet online in a few clicks while lying in bed. But aren’t you interested in how the whole thing actually looks and feels like? Of course you are! When you eventually decide to visit a track, you should know how to behave there and place bets physically.

Before approaching the betting window, you need your bet(s) prepared. Decide on the horse(s) you want to wager on as well as the type of bet. Set the amount of money for your bet. When you have all the information and the money in your hand, locate the betting window appropriate for the race and type of bet and approach it. Tell the teller the horse’s number, the bet type, and the amount. For example, the usual way of doing so is a variation of “I’d like to place a $20 win bet on number 5 please.” 

When you tell the betting window teller this, they will take a few moments to prepare and print the ticket. You then receive the ticket that confirms your wager. You must keep it safe! Without it, you cannot collect your payout in case you win! It is proof that you made the bet and there is no other way of collecting the money. All that is then left to do is find a nice seat and enjoy the race. Check the results and head back to the window to collect if your horse wins. Congrats!