What are the basics of Horse Racing Betting?
This text is based on our personal experiences and represents our opinions.
Horse racing betting is one of the biggest markets in the UK for having a wager on, and just visit any online bookmaker to see how well it is covered. For a novice to horse racing betting, things can look a bit overwhelming. Walk into a bookmakers for the first time and it looks as if everyone but you knows exactly what they are doing. Watch people scouring over the horse racing section in the newspaper, and you wonder just what they are studying so intensely. Then you take a look and see a lot of information which needs some deciphering. At first glance, horse racing betting is not as straight forward as other sports betting, but it certainly is nothing to be too overwhelmed by. There are just some basics to follow. What are the basics of horse racing betting? First of all, you will want to have a basic idea of the odds which are being presented. You can see a favourite for a horse race at an online bookmaker easily, because they will generally be top of the charts for the race, as their price will be the shortest. As they are favourite, you can simply have a bet on them and away you go.
However, form and statistics are a big part of horse racing and the quicker you can pick up how to read horse racing form, the better chances you will have of landing an outside winner. All of those numbers and letters next to a horse’s name does mean something, and it is important information. Fortunately, looking at horse racing form on the internet is a little bit easier than in a newspaper, as things are explained very well for novices. Click on a horse and you will be able to see a write up about them, plus current form, and this isn’t too hard to read. It will show their recent races, where they finished and by how much they won and from whom. It will also show basic information like weight and jockey. You can then start getting into more detailed and in depth stats which are getting beyond the basics of horse racing. Don’t overlook the value of tips when getting going in horse racing, and find good sources of information such as online betting sites which will help to point you in the right direction.
It will be worth taking a look at the types of bet you can place. You can simply back a horse to win, or take them as an each way bet (which means that you will get some payout if the horse finishes in the top three and full odds still if they win). Each way bets are great for picking out an outsider. You can also take a forecast or tricast where you name the finishing order of the first two or three horses. At the end of the day, the basics of horse racing betting is taking a quick look at form, weight and what type of course the horse likes in terms of going (soft, good etc). There is nothing wrong with ignoring all that as you take your first steps in horse racing betting, as you can simply look at the odds and pick a name out of the hat, just like you would in the office sweepstakes. It is all about chance at the end of the day, but by studying form and statistics, you will have a better chance of picking the winner of a race. Horse racing is so popular because it is so challenging but also presents better odds than other sports. The margin for profits on outright winner betting really are good.