Online Horse Race Betting

Horse race betting is one of the most popular forms of gambling in countries as different as the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Australia, so it should come as no surprise that finding a good site to wager on the outcome of the most important races shouldn’t be much of an issue. Those sites can range from traditional sportsbooks that also allow you to bet on football, basketball, or hockey to dedicated racebooks, which focus exclusively on horse and greyhound racing and which tend to cover more low-profile events.

The best horse race betting sites give you access to exclusive video footage directly from the track and amazing bonus offers, allowing you to experience the unique rush of watching the contest live while simultaneously earning more money. Whether you prefer endurance racing, quarter horse racing, or thoroughbred racing, you can rest assured that more than one online bookie will have you covered.

Ways to Bet Real Money on Horse Racing

While horse racing markets are very popular on sports betting sites, there’s no denying the fact that the available bet types tend to differ from what you’d expect from classic disciplines. Nevertheless, the basics remain the same, which means that your profitability is going to depend on your ability to weigh the risk against the potential reward and pick the right moment to put your money on the underdog. As you’d expect, some of the wagers offered by major horse racing sites are rather complicated, but once you understand how the basic odds and bet types work you shouldn’t have any problems with taking advantage of the additional possibilities they bring to the table.

Horse Race Betting Odds

While the best horse racing sites allow you to choose between fractional, decimal and American odds, it’s still fairly important to understand how each of those systems works. The fractional odds are most popular on Europe-facing sites and give you a good idea of how much money you’ll have a chance to claim in relation to your bet. For example, a 5/2 price means that you’ll have a shot at winning $250 for every $100 you wager.

If you were using decimal odds on the other hand, the same line would be listed as 2.50. American odds are slightly different, as each price comes with an integer that allows you to discern between favorites and underdogs at a glance. Positive lines are marked with a plus sign, which means that you’ll have a shot at winning the amount listed for every $100 you invest. Negative lines on the other hand are marked with a minus sign, which means that you’ll be able to win $100 once you put the relevant amount at risk.

Straight Bets

Straight bets are the simplest type of wagers offered by horse racing sites, as you won’t be putting your money on multiple horses. Consequently, sticking with straight bets for a while is generally recommended for inexperienced bettors. The most popular straight bets are Win, Place, Show and Across the Board. Collecting on a Win bet requires your horse to finish in the first place. A Place wager is less risky, as you win the bet if your horse finishes first or second. Finally, a Show bet results in a payout if your horse comes in first, second or third.

Across the Board wagers on the other hand are a combination of the aforementioned three: if your horse manages to place first, you’ll receive the Win, Place and Show money. A second place finish will net you a Place/Show payout, while a third place finish will earn you a Show consolation prize. As you’d expect, the more risky the wager, the higher odds you’ll get, which means that Across the Board bets tend to get rather expensive.

Exotic Bets

Unlike straight wagers, exotic bets allow you to put your money on more than one horse. As a result, exotic bets involve more risk and offer greater rewards, which makes them best suited for experienced bettors. Exacta and Quinella are the most popular exotic wagers. In an Exacta, you’re betting that your horses will finish first and second in a specific order. A Quinella also requires you to predict the first two horses to come through the finish line, but in this case it doesn’t matter which places first and which places second.

Other common exotic bets include Trifecta and Superfecta. In a Trifecta bet, you put your money on three horses, which are required to come in first, second and third in the order that you specified. A Superfecta is even harder to collect on, as the number of horses that have to finish in a specific order increases to four. In addition, many sites offer boxed Exacta, Trifecta, and Superfecta bets. Those bets cost up to four times more, but don’t require you to predict the order in which your horses will finish the race.

Making a Deposit and Cashing Out

Most horse race betting sites support credit card and e-wallet payments, so if you’ve ever shopped online using your Visa card or e-wallet account, you shouldn’t have any problems with funding your account. In addition, some sportsbooks support Western Union or MoneyGram, but keep in mind that unlike the aforementioned deposit methods, money orders might require you to pay a small transaction fee.

Withdrawals are usually handled via e-wallet payments or traditional bank wire transfers, but keep in mind that most sites prefer to default to the banking method that you used to fund your account, especially on your first payout. Cashing out via a check by courier is also available on a few sites, but requesting a payout that way might get rather expensive and will almost certainly involve a lot of waiting. Finally, you should know that US-based bettors won’t have access to e-wallet banking, as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 makes it illegal for those companies to process gambling-related payments.