You don't have to be a rocket scientist to bet on horses. All you need to know are the odds and tendancies that you can get from a betting guide at the track. Just make sure you have a good understanding of the bets you are making by reading this guide below.
A Simple Guide To The World Of Race Betting
Having a bet on the horses is far simpler today than back in the days of murky high street betting shops that were intimidating for many new punters but there are still aspects that confuse newcomers.
This guide will explain the types of bet available to you and also the best way of using these different types of wagers. In racing, it’s not just knowing how the bets will work for you, it’s utilising your knowledge of the type of race and number of runners to maximise your chances of a good return. We will look into that shortly.
How the Odds Work
A bookmaker will price up a race based on a number of key principals, these include:
- Form
- Going
- Distance
- Trainers in form
- Horses with winning records at the particular track
Obviously those horses with the best form and a liking for the ground will start at a shorter price than those who don’t as more people will be backing them. It’s the weight of money on each horse that ultimately decides which horse is the favourite and those which are among the outsiders.
The initial prices are a betting forecast compiled by the bookie and will have been done by an expert. Once the market is open and bets begin to come in you will see how the prices begin to shift if a certain horse is attracting some big bets and his price will shorten whilst others will drift to longer prices if there is little or no money placed on them.
Taking advantage of these shifts is something that comes with time and understanding of the game but be aware of how the trends in this area work. Look out for horses that attract a lot of money and whose prices suddenly plunge and look for the possible reasons that this occurs. It will help you to see the patterns that develop in this game of cat and mouse between bookies and punters.
Whether you’re betting on the popular Kentucky Derby, one of the other triple crown races, or just any horse race it is best to know a little bit of the basics behind horse racing betting. I hope this mini guide below will teach you thing or two.
Types of Bet
Win – Pretty self explanatory this one. You place a bet of $5 (your stake) on a horse and if it wins you receive the starting price x your $5 and your stake is returned.
Example – $5 to win at odds of 5/1
$5 x 5 = $25 + $5 stake = a return of $30 and $25 profit.
You should usually place win bets on fancied runners at lower odds. There are exceptions but as a beginner stick to placing win bets on horses at odds of 8/1 or less.
Each-Way – This is a bet where you back a horse both to win and to be placed. Hence “each way”. It is a useful way of hedging your bet slightly if your horse has a good but not outstanding chance based on it’s form and other factors listed above. The win part of the bet will be paid out at the full odds and the place element at either ¼ or 1/5 the odds depending on the bookies rules for that race.
Example – $5 each way at odds of 8/1
Win: $5 x 8 = $40 + $5 stake = a return of $45 and $40 profit
Place: $5 x 2 = $10 + $5 stake = a return of $15 and $10 profit
So overall selecting a winner at 8/1 will see a return of $60 and a $50 profit.
If your horse is placed you receive the place element of the bet only and will have a return of of $15 and make a $5 profit. It may not sound much but it’s still a nice win.
It is important to understand how each way bets work as it changes for different types of races and the number of runners.
Handicap with 16 or more runners – First 4 places paid
Handicap with 15 or less runners – First 3 places paid
Handicap with 7 or less runners – First 2 places paid.
Non handicap races are paid to the first 3 places down to 8 runners and then 2 places for 7 runners.
Look for races with 8 runners for good each way opportunities. 3 places paid and only 5 horses to beat represents good value for the punter.
Races with 5 or less runners are not really good opportunities for each way betting and we won’t cover that area for now.
Multiple Bets – Multiple bets can be fun but are very high risk. Typically the stake will be kept very low with a sporting chance of a very high return.
The most popular are double and trebles and they work by multiplying the odds of your selections together. Let’s look at an example.
Horse 1: Odds 4/1
Horse 2: Odds 5/1
Stake: $1 Double (win)
If both horses win your return is worked out as below:
Horse 1 $1 at 4/1 = $4 + $1 stake = $5 return
The $5 then goes onto Horse 2.
Horse 2 $5 at 5/1 = $25 + $5 stake = $30 return.
So, as you can see you would win a fair amount for a small stake by combining your selections but that is because the risk is far higher than a single bet.
It is suggested you treat these bets as a bit of fun and do not use them very often. Stick to single bets as you learn how the odds system works at first.