A Beginner's Guide to Online Horse Racing Betting

Welcome to our beginner’s guide to online horse racing betting, where we will take you by the hand and transform your betting knowledge within minutes. It can be a complicated old world out there, especially when navigating through the various online bookmakers available online today.

Within this short piece, we have identified key terms that you’d find in horse racing books, as well as explained the various betting types for you. As a bonus, we’ve even constructed a quick do’s and don’ts section to guide you through those confusing few days.

If you’re ready to transform your horse racing betting knowledge right now, just follow the categories below.

Important Horse Racing Betting Terms

There will be many terms that you will come across with horse racing bookmakers, and they may seem complicated or even overwhelming at first. That is why in our sports betting for beginners guide, we’ve identified the major ones for you right here, so you won’t need to feel this way anymore.

Moneyline

You’ll see this name within many sportsbooks, and all it means is that this is the market where you bet on the winner of an event. You’ll see odds for a particular horse within the moneyline market, and if you feel that this horse will win, you can simply bet on it.

Banker

When you hear this term, it often means that somebody feels that a horse is a sure thing, or that it is guaranteed to win a particular event. Be wary of this term, for regular bettors seem to throw this word around a lot, and it isn’t always justified.

Odds

This is merely the price that a bookmaker assigns to a particular horse racing betting market. If you see a horse that has odds of 2.00 for example, it means that if you bet £10 you would profit £10 if correct (£10 x 2.00).

Stake

This is the amount of money that you place on a particular horse betting market. In the previous example, the £10 that has been wagered on this horse would be referred to as the £10 ‘stake’.

Major Horse Racing Bet Types

Horse racing bookmakers occasionally make it seem overcomplicated to bet on horse racing, but it really isn’t. Once you understand the fundamental betting markets, it isn’t that scary. Check out these fundamental markets below.

Single/Moneyline

You can see this type of bet called a moneyline or a singles bet at all the top online bookmakers, and it just depends on the individual terminology. This is just a bet placed on the winning horse for an individual event, and these odds can vary between 2.00 up to 20.00 or above! The lower the odds, the more certain that outcome supposedly is.

To place

When you make a ‘to place’ bet, this means that you will win the bet if your chosen horse finishes first or second. Generally, there will be lower odds when making this bet as there is an increased chance that you will win.

Each way

When placing an ‘each-way’ bet, this is a bet that consists of two parts. The first part is that your chosen horse is listed to win the race, which if it wins, you will win your bet. The second part of the bet is for the horse to finish inside the top three. Of course, if your chosen horse wins the race, you will win both parts to the bet.

Important Races to Pay Attention To

There’s a whole range of horse racing events taking place all year round, but there are a few larger races that you should pay attention to.

Belmont Stakes

On the second Saturday in June, in the baking heat of New York City, horses will battle it out for a share of $1.5 million in prize money. This really is one of the giants of the horse racing calendar.

Kentucky Derby

This is an enormous horse race that takes place each May, held in Louisville Kentucky, with a total prize purse of $2 million.

Melbourne Cup

Take a trip down under in November and you will see a beast of an event taking place. This race carries prize money of $6.2 million, which is just staggering.

Preakness Stakes

Held in Baltimore, Maryland, on the third Saturday in May, jockeys battle it out over 1.2 miles. This event has total prize money of $1.2 million, and it’s the second leg of the US Triple Crown.

Royal Ascot

The Royal Ascot is held in Great Britain, and it is one of the oldest events on the horse racing calendar. It originated in 1711 and has grown to be a five-day event with a total prize purse of £6.5 million - not too shabby!

The Do’s and Dont’s of Horse Racing Betting

If you are just starting out with horse racing betting, pay close attention to the following betting strategies in horse racing - and pay even closer attention to the don’ts!

The Do’s

Bet small to begin with, ideally 1-2% of your total bank balance per bet
Vary your bets - this will get you familiar with different markets
Bet on larger events - these are the most exciting, and you can get exclusive bonuses
Follow the horse racing calendar - this will expand your overall horse racing betting knowledge

The Don’ts

Bet too large - always control your bets, and keep it fun
Listen to ‘banker bets’ - nothing is a sure thing in horse races

Conclusion

Follow the advice within this article, and try your hand at varying your bets as much as you can initially. This will ensure that you not only enjoy your horse racing betting experience but that you do so while remaining in a controlled environment.