How to bet on horse racing

'The Sport of Kings', horse racing has existed in some form or another for more than 2,000 years, dating back to the days of ancient Greece.

While horse racing became more popular in Britain the 18th century, the addition of three classics (to the already-contested St Leger and the Epsom Derby) - the Epsom Oaks, the 1000 Guineas and the 2000 Guineas - increased its popularity further.

Central to most horse racing throughout history has been people willing to place a bet on the outcome of a race; a practice that still continues today in a variety of forms.

We look at the basics of how to bet on horse racing below, as well as the different types of bets you can place.

Each-way betting

What is an each way bet in horse racing?

While some races can be particularly difficult to pick a winner - the Grand National for example has had 40 entrants with the favourite priced bigger than 10/1 - most races give bettors the option to place an 'each-way' bet.

In essence, this is two separate bets: a bet on the horse to win, and a bet on the horse to 'place'. The place terms are typically dictated by the number of runners in the race, and it means that if your horses fails to win the race, but finishes high in the field, you can still get a return.

For example, if you have a £1 each-way bet on a horse priced at 20/1 in a race where the place terms are 1/4 odds, 5 places, and the horse finishes between second and fifth, your win bet will lose, but your place bet will win. The way to calculate this is multiply your stake (£1) by the odds divided by the place terms (20/1 divided by 4, so 5/1 in this instance). You will also receive your stake back for the winning part of this bet, so your returns would be £6.

Forecast/tricast betting

What is a forecast bet in horse racing?

While some races are difficult to find winners in, others are more straightforward, with a short-priced favourite not always offering a particularly attractive betting proposition.

If you think you can pick out the first two horses in a race (either in the correct order or in any order) or even the first three, you can select a forecast or tricast bet, where you select the horses you think will come first and second (and third for a tricast), select whether you think they'll finish first and second in that order or in any order and place your bet.

Not to win betting

What is a not to win bet in horse racing?

Picking out a winner on the horses can be difficult, so picking out a horse that won't win should be easy, right? Of course, things are never that simple, but if there's a horse that's well fancied to win and you fancy going against the grain, you can win by betting on horses to lose.

Betting without favourite

What is betting without the favourite in horse racing?

Some races have a short-priced favourite. Let's say you think that horse will win, but you don't want to back it at the odds. You have the option of betting without the favourite, which is a separate market and priced up differently, so if the favourite does win, your bet rolls on as normal.

Race/horse winning distance

What is a winning distance bet in horse racing?

Another way of enhancing your price can be betting in the winning distance markets. Perhaps you're unsure which horse will win, but you're anticipating a close race. You can often bet on the winning distance of the race being under a certain amount of lengths.

Alternatively, if you think that a particular horse will not just win, but win well, you can bet on that horse to win by certain winning distances.

Place betting

What is place betting in horse racing?

Each-way betting gives bettors the chance to place two separate bets, that can act as a bit of insurance if a horse doesn't win. If you don't want to place a bet on a horse winning at all, however, you can simply bet on a horse to place.

Tote betting

What is a tote bet in horse racing?

A tote bet is where bettors have placed a bet on a race, but instead of taking a price at the time, winning bets will be paid out as a share of the total pot, that is the sum of all stakes on a race.

For example, if a group of bettors place a total of £1,000 on a race, that will be shared out amongst winners, with those placing bigger bets taking a bigger proportion of stakes. If two punters backed the winner, one with a £10 stake, another with a £5 stake, the first would take twice the winnings of the second.

Ante-post betting

What is an ante-post bet in horse racing?

While most bets on horse racing are placed on the day of the race, some bigger races allow bettors to place bets months in advance of the race. These are called ante-post bets. Where these differ to normal horse racing bets is that you will lose your stake if the horse doesn't run (unless placed when the race was non-runner no bet), though you'll usually be rewarded by taking a bigger price than you'll get on the day.

Accumulator

What is a horse racing accumulator?

A horse racing accumulator bet is when multiple bets are placed across different races, with all required to win (or place for an each-way bet) for a return.

The winnings of each race will be rolled onto the next selection in the accumulator.

The benefit of a horse racing accumulator is that the winnings can be substantial from a small stake, but the flip side is that it's tough to pick out the winners of several races, making accumulators difficult to land.

Key betting terms for horse racing

Like all sports, horse racing has its share of jargon that can be confusing to outsiders.

What is a bumper race? What does the going refer to? What does SP mean?

It's hard to have an informed bet on a horse race without understanding the different types of races, the going at the course, the distance of a race and the form of the horses entered.

Read our terminology guide here to read up on horse racing terminology and the key betting terms.

Tips for betting on horse racing

Read the horse's form, age and weight

A number of factors go into setting a horse's price for a race and deciding whether that horse is worth backing.

One of the main things to look at is form. You can read how form guides are put together here, but a form guide will tell you where a horse has placed in recent races, so you can see how many times a horse has won, placed, fallen etc.

However, a form guide doesn't tell you anything about the calibre of the race. A horse may have won a load of lower-rated races against weaker horses, but it doesn't necessarily make it more likely to win against a horse that hasn't won, but has placed against higher-calibre horses.

Age is also another factor to consider. Younger horses tend to be faster, while older horses typically have more stamina. The 1000 and 2000 Guineas are exclusively raced by three-year-olds, while the Grand National tends to be won by eight- or nine-year-olds.

Weight is another key factor. In handicap races, if a horse runs well, they may be assigned a higher weight for future races, while a horse that has not run well may have less weight to carry next time, with weight often playing more of a factor in longer races.

Know the going and race distance

Some horses prefer heavy ground, where the ground is softer for landing after hurdles or fences, but this is usually a tougher test of stamina. Other horses prefer firmer ground, which tends to be run at a quicker pace.

It's important to know the going of a race - some trainers refuse to even race their horses on certain types of ground, while other horses may be unsuitable for the conditions.

The race distance also plays a key role in a horse's success. While a horse may have a good record over 2m, they may not have the stamina to be able to replicate that form over 2m4f. Similarly, another horse may have the stamina to run 2m4f, but not the speed to run 2m.

The horse’s gate positioning

In Flat races, horses come out of stalls, and on some racecourses, the draw is of vital importance as it can give a horse the inside track. Think of a 400m athletics race, where those on the outside lanes start 'ahead' of those on the inside to make sure everyone's running the same distance; in a horse race, no such staggering exists, and being drawn on the outside can be a severe hindrance.

Horses are assigned stalls at random, and some courses have a more notable 'draw bias' than others, which means that certain stalls typically provide an advantage.

Check whether the horse has changed class recently

Horses typically run in races according to their abilities. For example, weaker horses won't run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but rather handicap races against horses of a similar calibre.

The lowest class of race is a Class 7 handicap. Once a horse is deemed good enough, they will race in higher classes, such as Class 6 or Class 5 and so on. While a horse may have good recent form in Class 5 races, their trainer may have entered them into a Class 4 or Class 3 race against higher calibre horses, posing a stiffer test.

Know who the jockey and trainer are

Finally, it's vitally important to be aware of who the jockey and trainer are. The top jockeys usually work for the top trainers and get to ride the top horses. Harry Cobden and William Buick are the most recent champion jockeys across National Hunt and Flat racing, while Willie Mullins and John and Thady Gosden are the top trainers.