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Online Horse Racing Betting Tips, Odds & Best Horse Racing Sites for 2024

Online Horse Racing Betting Basics
Rules Difficulty Medium
Betting Types 10+
Payout 9% – 50%
How to Win Tips & Strategies
Where to Bet Bet365

Horse Racing betting is one of the many faces sports betting, and one of the oldest ones together with the harness racing. Of course, sports evolved numerous times since then, but horse and dogs were the first domesticated animals in human history.

How to Bet? – Detailed Horse Racing Betting Guide

Four thousand five hundred thousand years ago, we started learning more about nature and exactly then we saw the use of large or small animals as helpers. Yes, but later we realized that some animals like horses and dogs could be used in so many ways, so they become our closest friends.

Not long after, humans began racing and later on, they started organizing games, races and other tribal activities on which later developed in gambling. Pretty much that was the start of horse racing and the first sports betting in human history. Today you are about to find out everything about the sports and more specifically the best online horse racing betting site for real money:

Top Offer

Bet365
Up to $200 In Free Bets

During these 4500 years before Christ, racing sports only evolved and changed to its shape and form today. The rules of the game and the game itself changed many times over the centuries, especially in the last 1000 years. However, all that matters is, what are the rules now? Let us explain in detail!

Horse Racing Betting Main Rules

You can imagine that for a sport that came from Asia and made its way through the west down to the North and South America it has similar but at the same time slightly different rules around the globe. This goes for the provisions of the race and the betting types and regulations too.

If we take the USA and the UK as primary examples, it will be easier. And now let’s start from the basics or the places where you can bet on horses or the people who take the bets. In the USA they call them sportsbooks and they could be located in casinos, racing tracks or sports bars. In the UK the location of these places is pretty much the same, but they call the Bookmakers. Either way, both words are used for the same term quite often in both countries.

Rule Explanation
Thoroughbred A horse that possesses all characteristics and requirements and it’s successfully registered in international studbooks, recognized as a racing horse
Purebred Horse descendent from a line of ancestors of the same breed but not always registered. Thoroughbred is Purebred, while Purebred is not necessarily thoroughbred.
Flat Racing One of the most popular types of races with distance 1 to 3 miles. Always on a flat surface without any obstacles. Considered as “classic races.”
Jump Races This refers to the European National Hunt, where many jockeys from divers countries race test all skills of their horses.
Endurance Racing These are long-distance races which sometimes go beyond 1000 kilometres testing the incredible power of the horses.
Harness Racing The name speaks for itself, this is another classic racing variation popular since ancient times.
Quarter Horse Racing This race is all about speed, and horses are racing ¼ or less of a mile.
Maiden Racing We call this the race of the rising stars because this is what it is. Maides is a horse without any professional wins.
Stakes Racing When a horse proves itself as a racing one, they move to the real stake events where prizes go higher.
Graded Stakes Racing Same as the Stakes Racing but divided into tiers/grades 1, 2 and 3.

Have in mind that those as mentioned earlier are more horse betting and racing terminology, which is commonly used all around the globe. What makes the horse racing betting such a fun game for both elders and youngsters? Well, you are about to find out!

Types of Bets – How to Bet on Horses?

This is where we meet the discrepancies between the UK and US horse racing betting options. Of course, there are some differences between the racing tracks too. There are plenty of all types of tracks in both countries, but from an overall perspective the dirt tracks are more in the USA, while the turf tracks are more popular in the UK.

In the best horse racing betting websites that we listed here today, you will find diverse types of bets. When it is in concern of which type is the best, we cannot say for sure because there are some substantial differences between the UK bookmakers and the USA sportsbooks. Take a look at the table below, and you will get familiar with them.

Betting Type Explanation
UK
Double Bet on 2 races and they both must win for you to take the prize
Treble Bet on 3 races, the same as the double, they all need to win.
Accumulator Bet on the result of 4 races, all must be winning ones.
Trixie Bet of 3 selections combining 4 separated bets – 3 doubles and 1 treble
Patent Bet of 3 selections and 7 separated bets – 3 singles, 3 doubles and 1 treble.
Yankee Bet of 4 selections and 11 separated bets – 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 accumulator.
Canadian Bet/Super Yankee Bet of 5 selections and 26 separated bets – 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds and 1 accumulator.
Lucky 15 Bet of 4 selections and 15 separated bets – 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles and a 1 accumulator
Lucky 31 Bet of 5 selections and 31 separated bets – 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds and 1 accumulator.
Lucky 63 Bet of 6 selections and 63 separated bets – 6 singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 5 five-folds and 1 accumulator
USA
Show The selected horse must win 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.
Place The selected horse must finish on 1st or 2nd place
Win The selected horse must win the race – 1st place
Quinella Selection of 2 horses, they must finish on 1st and 2nd place
Exacta The selected horse must win 1st and 2nd place in exact order.
Trifecta The selected horse must win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in exact order
Superfecta The selected horse must win 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in exact order.
Daily Double The selected horse must win 1st place in two consecutive races.
Pick 3 The selected horse must win 1st place in two consecutive races.
Pick 4 The selected horse must win 1st place in four consecutive races.
Pick 6 The selected horse must win 1st place in six consecutive races.

In both countries, you will see some additional bets or bet selections which could be missing from our table and that because bookmakers could figure out and make their own “promotions”. This is simply because they don’t deal only with racing, but with all types of sports betting which gives them the freedom to offer a better selection of games.

Horse Racing Betting Terms

Basically, there are too many terms, and we won’t be able to list them all. Therefore, we gathered the most commonly used ones in the USA and the UK. We will skip only terms like “whip” and items we all know, and we all know their purpose.

  • Ante-Post – A bet is placed in advance before the final declarations of a race. Usually with better odds but non-refundable if the event is a non-runner.
  • Backward – Not yet fully developed horse.
  • Bloodstock – This is how they call the racehorses breeders and their business. It could also relate to a place, barn, farm or other.
  • Bloodmare – A female horse kept with the purpose of breeding.
  • Colt – Not castrated male horse at the age of four or younger.
  • Cold– Older than four years refers to a horse if it is still racing and stallion if it is at stud.
  • Dam – Horse mother.
  • Dead-heat – This is used when two or more horses are reaching the finish line together, and the prize must be split, then its called dead-heat.
  • Furlong – Old imperial measurement of distance. A furlong is 1/8 of a mile or approximately 201m.
  • Hacked Up– Term used for outstanding horses that win races without any great effort.
  • Maiden– A horse without a win.
  • Mare– Female horse over five years old
  • Nap– Bet considered to be the winning one of the day.
  • Photo Finish– When the race judge looks at the finish line photo to either state the winner or call dead heat.
  • Punter– Person who has bet on the outcome of the race
  • Stallion– Male horse for breeding
  • Turn of Foot– This term is used to describe the acceleration during races.

Most of the terms that we skipped are related to the jockeys or horse equipment or things that have no impact over the betting or your understanding of it. The ones we mentioned you could easily see, read or hear if you go to a racetrack to observe and bet on horse races.

Betting Odds & Payouts

Realistically on horse racing, you got more significant chances of winning, and the odds are always on your side if we compare them with other sports betting. Of course, the fact that the horse racing bets are gathered in selections increases your horse racing betting odds.

As you can see on our table with international racing events, there are many famous tracks across the seven seas. The highest payout is held by the Australian Derby followed by the Melbourne Cup and the Japanese Nakayama Grand Jump. Take a closer look at the rest of the events:

League/Tournament Nation Continent Payout %
Australian Derby Australia Australia 69.00%
Epsom Derby United Kingdom Europe 45.50%
Nakayama Grand Jump Japan Asia 83.30%
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe France Europe 38.20%
Kentucky Derby United States North America 57.80%
Dubai World Cup United Arab Emirates Asia 38.20%
Breeders’ Cup World Championships United States North America 55.60%
Melbourne Cup Australia Australia 83.30%

Horse racing is famous all around the world, but even though its origin comes from Asia, nowadays its most substantial popularity lays in America, UK and Europe. It is an expensive sport where an individual racing hose price could go up to $140 million, yes you didn’t misread 140 million US dollars.

The Top World Horse Racing Tournaments & Leagues

When you know now that the most expensive horse in the world cost as much as 43 Bugatti Chiron sportscars, you can imagine how much money is circulating in this ancient sport nowadays. But where, how and who organizes such events? Well, you are about to find out in a second!

There are many tournaments and horse racing events, and today we intend to show you some of the most famous ones across the globe. Many of them are organized by some of the richest men in the world, while others are traditions from over 200 or more years. Don’t forget that as sports betting and horse races date since the times of the brutal blood sports of our ancestors.

Kentucky Derby – USA

This is undoubtedly the most famous horse racing tournament which was started in the distant 1875. It is alwayс organized on the first Saturday of every May each year. The length is around 10 furlongs or roughly 2km. The race is known as the “the fastest 2 minutes in the sport”, and its prize is $3,000,000.

Dubai World Cup –United Arab Emirates

Since the race is in Dubai, you probably guessed that the prize is big and it comes to $12,000,000. It is led every year at the last Saturday of March, while that tradition started in 1996. The event takes place at the super-luxury Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – France

Horse racing and sports betting are also popular in France, and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe shows that. This race is a tradition from almost 100 years, and its current prize comes to $5.5 million. The length of the legendary track that survived the second world war intact comes to 2.4km or 1.5 miles

Breeders’ Cup World Championships – USA

In the autumn of 1984 was the first race and like all other tournaments, this one also became a tradition with its limit of 12 top-rated thoroughbreds. The prize here is $6,000,000, while the exact distance of the track is 2.4km or 1.5miles. On this event, you will see some of the American finest thoroughbreds. Therefore, betting on horses is worth it!

Melbourne Cup – Australia

This is one of the oldest horse racing cups that started in 1861 and carried out over 250 years. The prize here comes to a bit more than $5,000,000, but the track is 3.2km or around 2 miles. The event starts every first Thursday of each November.

Epsom Derby – UK

Epson Derby has a standard 2.4km/1.5 miles turf track, but the prize of the contest is relatively small, only $2,000,000, compared with others it is not that much. The actual race is more of a Britain’s national treasure because it takes it to place every first Saturday of June since 1780.

The Grand National – UK

This is another old tournament started in 1839 near Liverpool, and it is still relevant up to this date. This is not a straight race, but a race with obstacles. The contenders are 40, and the event is famous with the many horse injuries.

Japan Cup – Japan

Japan also has its history with horse racing, take for instance, the Japan Cup that takes place every last Sunday of November since 1981. It is set up in Tokyo with 2.4km/1.5 miles track length and $5.8 million grand prize for the winner. This is a fantastic race on which you can see many Asian contenders.

The Cheltenham Festival – UK

The Cheltenham Festival is the Irish most prestigious race and not only. The whole festival least three days in which will see numerous races. This annual tradition was originated in 1860 and ever since it became the most famous horse race in Ireland.

The Everest – Australia

The Everest racetrack is one of the latest and most modern horse racing facilities in the world currently. It was opened in 2017, and it holds the highest prize of $14 million. The track is right-headed turf of 1,200 meters. The entry fee for each rider in this race comes to $600,000.

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites for You

After we familiarised you with the basics of the horse racing sport and its betting terminology, it is time to expand your horizon even more! How is the time to tell you where to bet and present you our top 5 horse racing online bookmakers for 2024:

Last updated: February 08, 2024
Welcome Bonus Pros and Cons Test Score Trusted Link
$200 Nice App Large Coverage Complicated Rewarding System 100% www.888sport.com
$20 Many Betting options UK Based Small Welcome Bonus 99% www.williamhill.com
$250 Live Streaming Sports Betting Newslet Small Betting Limits 98% www.22bet.com
$200 Free Bets Reputable Platform No PayPal 97% www.bet365.com

These are the best online horse racing betting sites with top security, good reputation and excellent features. We understand completely that some people are interested in other sports. For example, there are many fans of the MMA betting or Tennis betting. Please have in mind that most of our top 5 best betting sites will allow you to bet on all types of sports.

Horse Racing Betting Offers & Bonuses Online

The online horse racing betting and the betting online, in general, are way more generous when it comes to bonuses compared with sports bars or bookmaker halls. This is because you need to register online with them, and because of that, they offer excellent rewards and opportunities to generate more winnings.

Most commonly horse racing betting promotions expressed as 100% amount match bonus or as free bets with a particular sum. Of course, there are a few terms and conditions that you need to get familiar with before signing up. Therefore, you need to check the table below and explore your horse racing betting options in detail.

Horse Racing Betting Site Bonus* Wagering Requirement Min Odds Min Deposit Top Payment Method
Bet365 Up to $200 1x 1.20 $1 Skrill
William Hill Up to $20 1x Deposit + Bonus N/A $10 Neteller
888sport Up to $200 1x N/A $10 Discover
22bet Up to $250 5x 1.40 $1 MasterCard
* 18+/21+, New Customers Only

As you can see the better bonuses are always those which offer more compliments, but of course, security and trustworthiness are also factors that we take under consideration when picking our online betting platforms. Our job is to sort out and handpick only those who are 100% safe, secure and user-friendly.

Live Horse Racing Betting

In the last decade, the Live features became very popular and this is normal since we are now able to make video calls everywhere, anytime. Of course, this requires a nice, stable and robust connection because there are many details that will be processed. Here is the best live horse racing betting platform:

Top for Live Betting

Bet365
Up to $200 In Free Bets

MGM is a legendary brand well-known with its Las Vegas venues and casinos all around the USA. Of course, this is not the only online betting platform, but still, it is a top-rated and reputable partner for any gambling adventure from betting to casino games like roulette, blackjack, baccarat, slots, dice games lottery and others.

Horse Racing Betting Apps

At your attention now is the Unibet mobile betting application. With the vast development of mobile devices and apps, gambling also found its way. After all, this is a relationship of mutual beneficence. Horse racing betting apps are available in many casinos and online betting platforms, but the best one is here:

Best Horse Racing App

Unibet
Up to $250 + $20 Free Bets

Have in mind that you may see casinos that are with web apps or otherwise said, there is no native app that you need to download and use. You need only to enter the casino through your mobile browser. Usually, such apps are not only for online sports betting but online casinos too.

Horse racing betting is usually part of a bigger betting platform that serves many sports. Especially if we take under consideration the fact that the sport is a seasonal or at least the most significant events are. If you are still interested in betting you can try betting on Football/Soccer.

New Online Betting Sites

New opportunities are never a bad idea first because new adventure will thrill you more and second because the new platform comes with excellent welcome bonuses or some more attracting promotional content. After all, they must give you a good reason to leave your current casino and start with a new one.

Top New Horse Racing Bookie

William Hill
Up to $20In Free Bets Code:LAT2021

Always be careful when checking new betting sites because quite often such could be a malicious financial scam. To be absolutely sure in its safety you should check is gambling legal in the country where it is stationed and also for the presence of world-known gambling authorities like the UK Gambling Commission or Malta Gaming Authority.

States & Countries Where to Legally Bet on Horse Racing

Sports betting and horse racing betting are popular in many countries, way more than the ones displayed on the table below. As you already know, the UK has long gambling history and racing too, from horses to race cars. Meanwhile, nowadays only separate parts of the United States are with legislated sports betting, take a look:

Country Legal Age Online Horse Racing Betting
Italy 18+ yes
South Africa 18+ yes
United States 18+/21+ Depends on the State
Canada 18+/19+ yes
New Zealand 18+ yes
Spain 18+ yes

In Europe sports betting is legal in most of the countries and it’s well-regulated in each country. Additionally by the European Union, when speaking of international gambling sites. On the other side of the world in Australia and New Zealand, you should know that everything is fine too, and this goes for horse racing betting and sports betting in general.

As you remember we mentioned that one of the oldest horse racing tournaments is exactly stations in Australia, there is also one of the most massive prizes in the sport. Such sport has fans all around the world despite the expensive nature of theirs.

Betting Tips and Strategies

We guess this is the moment you all waiting and the time to learn a bit more about the tricks and tips that you can find about horse racing betting. After we go through some of the most popular tips, we will move to the horse racing betting strategies, take you time and read everything with attention.

  1. Prepare Yourself & Research – This is the first tip and the most important one to analyze previous games and statistics which will help you understand the game and observation help you build the needed knowledge. Always do your homework before betting!
  2. Make Several Bets – Well, since you have many bettings options it is not necessary to place all your money on a single type of bet, you can choose several bets and split the money, by this way you minimize yours loses.
  3. Choose Several Events – If there are several events at the current moment, it is best to split your bets between them, this is again increasing your chances.
  4. Set Your Limits – Be careful, gambling can quickly get out of hands! Therefore, you need to set a certain amount as a budget and don’t go beyond it!
  5. Check Different Betting Sites – Don’t forget that the world is too big and how bookies all around the world offer the same but slightly different odds. Shop around, check all competitors and then bet!.

These are more likely simple rules of how to improve your skills and learn how to analyze the numbers correctly, so your predictions are more accurate. Right now at your attention are the horse racing betting strategies that most people use when they bet. Some are simple, others a logical third are based on math calculations.

Strategy Explanation
Recent Winners This is a newcomers strategy if you don’t have the needed knowledge about the horse and the jockeys you can check which are the latest champions and bet on them
Bet Against the Runner The runner we call the fastest horse on the list, and his odds are the best. Well, this strategy tells you to bet on the horse with the lowest chances of winning. Statistically, your chances are around 17%, but if you win, you earn a lot.
Jockeys or Horses For this one, you need observations. This is because you are looking to find a good jockey with a new horse or the opposite. Usually, this strategy works for people with more experience.
Bet on the Last Champion Even if you are perfect, there always a chance for someone to become better than you, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot reach the peek for the second time. This is what literally this strategy is, bet on previous/last champion.
The Dutch System This is a system based on mathematical equations and calculations which also depend on the number of a racing horse, their odds and previous scores. This is a very complicated way of betting, and if you are not into math, we will suggest you skip it. If you are interested to know more about it you should check this guide

No strategies will help you if you are not consistent and observative. Sports betting fundament of winning results in detailed research and constant observation of the teams, the players, the horses, the cars, their health, their condition and many other particularities that could change the outcome of a race or game. But for your convenience nowadays there are plenty of horse racing betting websites where you can follow all of that. Meanwhile, when the season is off, we suggest you check other sports like betting on rugby.

History of Horse Racing Betting – The First Sport

You can imagine how sports started and evolved in the early ages of our human development. To compete and explore is embedded in our genetic code, and thanks to that, we evolved so much. The simple horse riding competitions slowly became a sport, later on, a betting opportunity.

Horse sports were mentioned in every ancient civilization like Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Babylon, Syria, Egypt, Mongolia, China, Japan and others. Horses were also part of many religions like the Norse or Greek mythology as a faithful human friend. Horse racing betting was very popular BC and at the early centuries of AD, but then betting was considered a crime by the holy church. After the medieval ages and the first scientific discoveries, the world changed its view.

Horse Racing Betting History Timeline
4500 BC Native humans domesticated horses and other animals.
4500 BC – 1000 AD The Roman and the old Greek empire organized the first sports betting events officially with the creation of coliseums and the Olympics.
1000 – 1600 In the middle ages, betting was in many ways forbidden by the religious all around the globe, but still horse racing was one of the top entertainments of its time.
1600 – 1900 This is the period when casino gambling and sports betting became more and more popular with the decades. The horse and dog racing were slowly replaced by casino card and dice games. Also, the release of the first lottery tickets and the eventual creation of the first lottery syndicates.
1900 – 1994 In the last century more and more sports appeared altogether with the mechanization and later digitalization of all games and assets. The birth of the motorsports overtook horse racing.
1994 – Today In 1994 the first online lottery was formed in 1996 the first online casino was opened. The internet gave a strong push to all international sports and games and the ability to watch them and bet from a distance but in real-time.

In the last 200 years, we see the largest peek of human capabilities and brainpower. From sports betting perspective and even horse racing betting one, many things changed after the invention of the internal combustion engine and the release of the first cars. That took a lot of the attention that up to that moment was only attached to horse competitions as that was the fastest way of travelling or racing.

After thе digitalization or the official foundation of the internet and all its possibilities to organize, broadcast sports like football or simply communicate with the other parts of the world real-time everything changed drastically. People are now able to play and bet online without even moving their feet out of their front door. This is what made horse racing betting popular again.

Horse Racing Betting is Always an Option

Despite the large variety of sports betting options nowadays, horses are still a passion for many fans around the world. But the greatest part of our decade is that you can bet, watch and follow every game of any sport anytime anywhere and all of that thanks to online betting platforms.

Top Offer

22bet
100% up to $250 Sports Betting

Where there’s is betting, there is casino gambling too. Many of the platforms that we already recommended you are offering all types of gambling sites from online betting through casino card games, dice games, slots, lotteries and many others. This is the big plus of thе digitalization that you can bet on your horses easily.

Frequently Asked Question About Horse Racing & Betting

It is easy to forget some small details in between such a massive load of information. For your convenience, we decided to pick some of the most commonly asked questions regarding horse racing betting and the sport itself. To be even easier, you will find cross-reference in each answer if you want to explore the question in depth.

1. What is the best online horse racing betting site?

In the 21st century, we are happy to have a more substantial diversity of everything and the option to choose more individually. Therefore, we cannot say that there is a single site that is greater than the others, there are just several best horse racing betting sites that you need to check out.

2. How does Each Way betting wok in horse racing?

Each Way or EW, E/W betting is a bet that is separated into two parts. The first part is for the horse to win the race, the second part for the horse to score any other place in the race, by this way you bet ten and get ten or more always no matter what. Read more about the rest of bet types.

3. How does horse racing betting work?

As an ancient sport horse racing and betting has many rules most likely oriented to the bets and the way they work. There are slightly different rules for horse racing betting in every country and more especially UK and USA as 2 of the biggest in the sport.

4. What do odds mean in betting horse racing?

As in every other type of gambling, the odds present the chances of yours to win a prize. Well, the same goes for the horse racing betting odds, but they are quite batter compared with card games or other types of gambling. This is simply because there are fewer contenders, and your chance in some races could be 1:12.

5. How to make money betting on horses?

Many people are seeking for the answer to that question, and we cannot say that there is an exact answer. There are many tips and tricks that could increase your chances of winning, but don't forget that after all its all about luck and hope that today could be your luckiest day.

Matt Speakman, Betting Expert at online-gambling.com
Matt Speakman

Matt Speakman is a Connecticut-born and raised betting expert with a soft spot for the Patriots. He is also a proud member of the online-gambling.com team. You can read his articles on a broad range of topics, including sports betting and DFS.

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