Horse Betting For Dummies
How To Bet On Horses
Betting on Horse Racing For Dummies. Author: Richard Eng. Print, 384 pages, April 2005. ISBN: 978-0-764-57840-3. How to enjoy a day at the races-and bet to win!
The world has been betting on horses since the time that it was discovered that they could, well, run! While formal horse racing and betting were once set aside for the aristocrats only, it’s now a sport that’s enjoyed and appreciated by people from all walks of life. Total bets on the winning horse: $42,500. Your personal bet on the winning horse: $2. To get the odds: $85,000 / $42,500 – $1 = $1.00 or 1 to 1 odds. To get the payout per dollar (or decimal odds) $85,000 / $42,500 = $2.00; Your $2 bet will pay back a total of $4.00; You made a profit of $2.00 on a $2.00 bet. For easy math, we used. Get on to a Winner with our Horse Betting Guide. Our horse racing betting how to guide is the ideal tool to help beginners get to grips with the sport. Think of it as a digital version of horse racing betting for dummies! If you want horse racing betting types explained or, for example, an answer to how to bet on horse racing each way then ask our community members. Finally, a Show bet wins when the selected horse you choose finishes in first, second or third place. Across the Board, when you place a bet on one horse to finish in first, second or third place. As long as the horse finishes within the first 3 slots in would win some kind of payout. What you will need to know before placing your first bet.
Betting on Horses can be a fun and exciting past-time, though for the uninitiated, learning how to bet on horses can be overwhelming. From reading form to learning the horse racing lingo, there can be many things to consider when finding winners. However, with a little guidance and a keen eye, anyone can learn how to bet on horses.
Before delving into form or listening to the latest trainer comments, you will need to decide how & where you want to place your bet. There are 3 main options: the racecourse, a betting shop or online.
How To Bet On Horses At The Racecourse
When at the racecourse you will have to enter the betting ring. A busy, colourful environment where many trackside bookmakers will be paying out on the last winner or taking bets on the next race. Once you have made your selection, you should take time to choose the bookmaker offering the best odds. Simply approach the bookmaker, tell them the number of your desired horse, the type of bet you wish to place and the stake you want to bet. The bookmaker will then take your cash and provide you with a printed receipt of your bet. Keep this safe – should your bet win, go collect once the official race result is confirmed.
Horse Betting For Dummies
Alternatively, many racecourses offer Tote/Pool betting where you can select multiple horses across either 4 or 6 races, playing for a share of the Quadpot, Jackpot & Placepot pools. This can offer a more affordable way to have a pick in each race.
Bookmakers at racecourses generally offer worse odds than both Betting Shops and online bookmakers. Though nothing beats a day at the races – taking cash from a bookies hand.
Away from the track, the main ways to place a bet on horses are either in a betting shop or online.
How To Bet On Horses In A Betting Shop
To place a bet in a traditional betting shop, you will need to fill in your paper betting slip. Complete the slip with the name of the racecourse, the time of the race, the name of your chosen horse, the amount you wish to bet and finally the type of bet you are placing. Ensure you write clearly to save any confusion. When doing accumulator bets, you will need to include the racecourse and times for each horse selected.
You then hand your slip to the cashier along with your total stake. The cashier confirms the bet and provides you with a printed receipt. Keep your receipt safe as you will need this to collect any returns from your bet. All Betting Shops have large TV screens showing the races and pay winnings once all jockeys have weighed-in.
Some benefits of using a betting shop include the fact the tools you need to find / watch winners are freely available; multiple TV screens, racecard prints on the walls, various Racing newspapers to hand, cashiers that can help you learn how to bet on horses in a betting shop.
How To Bet On Horses Online
Betting Online is becoming increasingly more common. With rapid technological advancements, more bettors are using smartphones and tablets to place their bets. A gambling commission survey of 2017 reported that although declining in use for gambling, laptops remain the most popular method of accessing online gambling in 2017 with 50% of online gamblers using a laptop. The use of mobile phones has seen the largest increase to 39% (an increase of 10 percentage points)”
Most bookmakers offer specialised mobile websites and slick, easy-to-use apps. Be sure to familiarise yourself with these websites and apps before placing your bet. You don’t want to select the wrong horse. More often than not, you can watch live race coverage provided you’ve bet on the race. Many bookmakers will offer a full results service and quick automatic bet settlement.
Learning How To Bet On Horses
Racecards give you the information that you need to make an informed decision when learning how to bet on horses.
If you are at the racecourse, you will likely either be given a racecard upon entry or you can purchase one once inside. Good quality racecourse racecards can be great souvenirs.
Find yourselves in a Betting Shop and there will be printed racecards on the walls, live cards on TVs and several copies of the Racing Post to hand.
Online, such sites as Racing Post , AtTheRaces have very detailed racecards. Infact, horse betting online provides you with a much wider offering of information.
Before composing your own Horse Betting Strategies, you should ensure you’re familiar with reading a basic racecard.
How to read a basic racecard
First up pay close attention to race type, distance, class and going. Consider which runners these factors favour. CD beside a horse’s name denotes a Course and Distance winner whilst the string of numbers aside a horse’s name represents recent form figures. For example, form figures of 12216 would mean the horse finished 6th on its most recent start and 1st on its penultimate run.
All horses are designated a weight to carry. The weight a horse carries varies depending on the race conditions. Handicap races see a wide range of weights whilst Pattern races will often have level-weights. Certain weight adjustments can be given based on a horse’s previous wins, age, and gender. Weights in handicap races should ultimately reflect the horse’s ability, the higher the weight, the better the horse.
Other crucial information found on a racecard includes the horse’s trainer and jockey, a horses official rating, details of a horses most recent performances including distance, ground and class.
With a basic understanding on how to read a racecard you should proceed with leaning what bet types you can place.
Different types of bets
A win bet is when you only bet on which horse wins the race. Your selection must win in order to get a return.
An Each-way bet is when half your stake is on the winner of the race and half is on whether your horse will place. The number of places paid for each-way bets changes depending on the number of the runners.
When deciding whether to bet win or each-way, you should consider the number of runners and the odds of your horses.
Horse betting example:
For example, if a £1 each way bet is placed on a horse priced at 12/1 and it finishes 3rd; returns will be as follows:
The £1 win part of the bet is lost
The £1 place part of the bet is settled by dividing the odds by the place factor of the race, typically 1/5 or ¼.
12/1 @ 1/4 the odds: 12 divided by 4 = 3/1. £1 at 3/1 = £4 returns
The place factor of each-way bets are predefined by the following place terms:
Non-Handicap Races
2 – 4 Runners: Win Only
5 – 7 Runners: 1/4 the odds and 2 places
8+ Runners: 1/5th the odds the first 3 places
Handicap Races
2 – 4 Runners: Win Only
5 – 7 Runners: 1/4 the odds and 2 places
8 – 11 Runners: 1/5th the odds the first 3 places
12 – 15 Runners: 1/4 the odds the first 3 places
16+ Runners: A 1/4 the odds the first 4 places
Horse Betting Types
Accumulators
Accumulators, also known as Accas and Multiples. A bet where your stake is placed on more than one horse with any winnings from the first winner rolling onto your next selection. Accumulators can be placed as either win or each-way bets.
A Double
A Double is an accumulator of 2 selections, with a Treble being 3 selections. A fourfold features 4 horses and so forth.
A Trixie
A Trixie consists of 4 bets involving 3 horses across 3 different races. The bet consists 3 doubles and 1 treble. You require at least 2 successful selections in order to get a return as this bet does not contain any singles.
A Patent
A Patent is similar to a Trixie but includes singles. There are 3 singles, 3 doubles & 1 treble in a Patent.
A Yankee
Horse Betting Explained
A Yankee consists of 11 bets involving 4 horses in different races. The bet includes 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and an accumulator.
A Lucky
A Lucky 15 consists of 15 bets involving 4 horses in different races. The bet includes 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and 1 four-fold.
Canadian
A Canadian bet consists of 26 bets involving 5 horses in different races. The bet includes 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds plus an accumulator.
A Straight Forecast
A Straight Forecast involves 2 selections in 1 race finishing 1st and 2nd in the order specified.
A Reverse Forecast
A Reverse Forecast involves 2 selections in 1 race finishing 1st and 2nd in either order. This represents 2 straight forecasts
Combination Forecasts
Combination Forecasts involve 3 or more selections in a race, with any 2 to finish 1st and 2nd in any order.
Straight Tricasts
Straight Tricasts involve 3 selections in a race finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the order specified.
Combination Tricasts
Combination Tricasts involve 3 or more selections in a race finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in any order.
Gamble Aware. Please Gamble Responsibly. 18+ Only
Today I have a confession to make that when it comes to horse racing – I must admit it, I am far from an expert on the sport of Kings.
It might be a strange thing for the Editor of the Smart Betting Club to share, but there you have it. I know enough to get by at a racecourse, but were I ever needed to discuss at length the chances of X horse or Y trainer, I would soon be stumped!
This lack of knowledge however has not stopped me making a regular income betting on horse racing, because it is my own belief (and personal experience) that as long as you follow the right racing tipsters and experts and know how to place a bet – it can be done. Let me show you how to win betting on horse racing..for dummies!
Finding The Right Racing Experts
The tricky part in the above statement though is finding the right tipsters in the first place – who exactly should you listen to when it comes to betting on sports you might know nothing about?
To help with this, each month in our Smart Betting Club newsletters, we feature columns from a number of proven racing betting and racing tipster experts who share exclusively their strategies for success. Meaning you don’t need to know anything about the sport – just simply follow their expertise.
A prime example from January’s Issue was this simple yet highly effective strategy from horse racing expert Scott Armstrong (of The Sportsman Racing), which went as follows:
James Ewart is one of Scotland’s youngest and most up and coming trainers and by backing all Ewart’s runners blindly in chase races you can make a handsome profit. In the last three seasons the Borders based trainer has sent out 141 runners in chases returning 27 winners. A strike rate of 19% and profit of £32.61 to a £1 stakes. There should be some mileage in this one for some time yet.
Ever since this strategy was published on the 20th January, the results have been as following:
1st Feb. Super Baby. Lost at 8/1 SP / 8.86 Betfair SP
28th Jan. Quicuyo. Won at 12/1 SP / 16.17 Betfair SP
26th Jan. Vosges. 2nd at 15/8 SP / 1.94 Betfair SP
21st Jan. Sa Suffit. Lost at 16/1 SP / 18.63 Betfair SP
4 runners in total and the big win on Quicoyo would have made a overall £90 profit at £10 level stakes to SP and £123 at Betfair SP (after 5% commission).
Going back for the whole of the 2011/12 chase season, James Ewart has trained 11 chase winners out of 54 with 12 seconds and 10 thirds. At level stakes SP profit that’s +14.64 pts.
The interesting aspect of this strategy is that it only works on his horses in chase races, as in hurdles races he has lost 17.01 pts in the past three seasons.
Again it all boils down to having the right expertise on hand and knowing exactly where the profit is to be made.
I like to call it my own How To Win On The Horses – For Dummies method!
Get Even More Racing Expertise
If you like the idea of betting successfully by following the right experts and tipsters, then do check out our monthly Smart Betting Club newsletters, which also features:
Horse Betting For Beginners
- Scott Armstrong’s racing rundown with big race analysis, his monthly strategies and best bets.
- Chase expert Peter Cousins on the horses to follow over the next month. In January he picked out Morgan Be, who next time out won at 10/1.
- The best free tips & betting strategies such as the SBC member up 215 pts from his free tips since May. On Thursday he picked out Zip Lock at 16/1
Hopefully then like me you can start making money on horse racing regardless of your own expertise!
Peter – Smart Betting Club Editor