Horse Racing Betting Strategies

Back Each Way and Extra Places Strategy

No matter how you choose your horses, they are much more likely to place than to win. Only one horse can win, but three, four or even five horses can place depending on the type of race and the depth of the field. It is therefore likely to be more profitable in the long term if you back horses each way than simply backing them to win. Unless you’re terrible at picking winners you’ll get more winning bets, with the added chance of both sides of your each way bet winning. See What is an Each Way Bet? for more details.

To increase your chances of winning bets even further look for betting sites offering extra places at specific meetings or races. Some betting sites offer extra places every day. Again, the more places available for a race, the more likely at least the place side of your each way bet is to win.

Lay the Favourite Strategy

The favourite does not win a horse race every time. Indeed, some sources claim that the favourite wins only 30 to 35 per cent of the time (the favourite has won the Grand National only eight times over the last half a century). This is particularly true with large fields and is particularly untrue when the favourite is odds on.

One popular horse racing betting system is to lay (or bet against – see Horse Racing Terms) the favourite winning. You will only be able to do this at betting exchanges, though. Avoid fields of eight horses or less or when the favourite is odds-on, and concentrate on races with obstacles as opposed to flat races.

Back Value Favourites Strategy

This is practically the opposite of the horse racing betting system outlined above. Here you are looking for favourites but with decent prices. As the favourite wins 30 to 35 per cent of the time so will you, but if the odds of the favourites are significantly in your favour, then you will return a profit even if you lose more often than you win. By the odds being in your favour we mean odds upwards of 2/1, and the more generous the better. Backing a stream of odds-on favourites will mean just a single loss is likely to wipe out the profits from your winners.

Let’s say you back ten favourites at 4/1 each, risking £10 on each. If only three win, you would get back £120 in winnings (plus £30 returned stakes), losing £70 on the seven bets that didn’t win. This counts as a decent £50 profit. Naturally, the more favourites that win, the more money you will make.

80/20 Betting Strategy

This betting system is based on how you split your stake and is not particularly concerned with how you select winning horses. With the 80/20 system, you place 80 per cent of your stake on the place and 20 per cent on the win. Again, it is advisable to back the favourites using this strategy as favourites place around 60 to 65 per cent of the time, which is, of course, more often than not.

Let’s say you bet £10 on a 4/1 priced horse in a race with 16 runners (so a place is ¼ the odds). You would put £8 on the horse to place, and £2 to win. If the horse places, you would get back £8 for the place and your £8 stake back for a £6 profit. If the horse wins you would get back an additional £8 plus your £2 stake back for a £16 profit.

Look at Jockeys and Trainers

There’s more to a horse than a horse. The horse is being ridden and has been trained. The best jockeys know when to attack in a race, when to hold back, how to avoid bunching or being pushed into the rail and, in steeplechases, when to time jumps. The best trainers, too, know how to get their horses ready for race, which races to enter, and how to train the horse between races. Taking into consideration who is riding a horse and who the horse has been trained by are two crucial factors when you are attempting to pick winners.

Sectionals Strategy

If you really want to get deep into selecting winners then sectional times are key. A horse’s overall performance in a race can be split into sections, such as per furlong or per mile fraction. By looking at such times, you can identify strong starters, fast finishers or horses that tire. For example, if a horse consistently tires over a mile but still places, then they may be a good bet for a shorter race (say six furlongs) but ought to be ignored for longer ones.

Dutching Strategy

Dutching can be used on any event with multiple competitors, and so works incredibly well with horse racing. Dutching is a method of betting in which you back a number of selections with the aim of winning a set amount no matter the result of the event. Dutching does involve a lot of calculations (don’t forget we offer a range of bet calculators), so it’s not for punters who dislike crunching numbers!

Let’s say you wish to win £100 on a race. The top three prices are 4.5, 5.5 and 8.5, meaning stakes of £22.22, £18.18 and £11.76 for a total of £52.16. This means you will enjoy a profit of £47.84 if any of the three horses win.

Use Free Bets

You cannot lose with free bets. True, while you do not get your free stake back if your free bet triggers a winning bet, you do get to keep any winnings you make, plus you will not be using any of your precious money of your own.

Most sports betting sites in the UK will offer free bets for new members, but what happens after that? Well, a decent number of UK sports betting sites also offer promotions that may be called ‘free bet clubs’ or something similar. This means that if you place a sufficient number of bets during the week at the site, you will qualify for a free bet.

You are unlikely to get rich just using free bets to place your horse racing bets, but as they are available, you may as well use them as you will not be using any of your own cash. It is best that you use free bets in tandem with one of the horse racing betting strategies outlined above.