Horse Racing Betting

Horse racing and betting have gone together since the earliest of horse races.  Horse racing is the only sport I know of where the odds associated with each runner are known by the general public and are announced every time the horse is talked about. Every day around the world racetracks are filled with people feeling the thrill of a horse they bet on coming down the final stretch towards the finish line.

Betting on horse racing online has become the norm with virtually all online sportsbooks offering a racebook section of their site for players to bet on horse races from tracks from around the world.  Racebooks will generally offer all the races on certain tracks as well as the high profile races from around the world.

Best Sportsbooks For Betting On Horse Racing

Sportsbook
Features
Bonus
Rating
Bet Now
1
  • Built for American bettors
  • Wide variety of competitive betting lines
  • Easy to navigate betting platform
50% up to $250
2
  • Accepts players worldwide
  • Competitive betting lines
  • Fast & easy deposits and withdrawals (including Bitcoin)
50% up to $1000
3
  • Accepts players worldwide (including US)
  • Frequently offers value-added contests and promotions
  • Wide variety of betting lines and props
50% up to $1000

How To Bet On Horse Racing Online

Betting on horse racing online is extremely easy and a huge plus is you can do it from the comfort of your own home rather than having to head down to your local track to place bets. Here is a simple 3 step guide you can follow to place your horse racing bets online right away:

  1. Join a betting site with a racebook –  I suggest you register an account at any of the horse racing sportsbooks listed above.  Every sportsbook/racebook you see promoted here at BetOnIt.org has a strong reputation and is trustworthy.
  2. Deposit Funds – After you have registered an account you will need to get some money online.  To do so, head over to the “cashier” section of whatever sportsbook you have signed up with and choose to make a deposit.  Credit card deposits are usually the easiest and most popular, but every sportsbook will have a wide variety of deposit methods you can choose from including Bitcoin, Skrill, Neteller, bank transfers and more.
  3. Place Your Bets – After funding your account you are ready to head over to the racebook and start placing some bets. Once at the Racebook find the race track and select the race number of the horse racing you want to wager on. Select the type of bet you want to make (win/place/show, trifecta, etc) and enter your wager amount on the Bet Slip.

Types Of Horse Racing Bets

Betting on horses can get pretty complicated, but I will do my best to explain some of the basic types of horse racing wagers.

Win, Place and Show

These are the most common types of horse racing bets.  A win bet is simply wagering on which horse you think will win the race.  A place bet is a bet on the horse to finish in the top two positions and a show bet pays out if the horse finishes in the top 3.  Needless to say a win bet pays out more than a place bet, which pays out more than a show bet.

Exotic Horse Racing Betting

Exotic betting involves betting on the order that the horses will finish.  Exotic bets can have gigantic pay outs if you are able to hit them.  The four main types of exotic horse racing bets are quinella, exacta, trifecta and superfecta.  A quinella bet is a bet on which horses will finish in the top two, the placing doesn’t matter.  An exacta bet also involves betting on the top two horses, but you must get the order correct.  A trifecta bet is similar to an exacta bet, but you must correctly choose the top 3 finishers in the correct order.  The superfecta bet involves picking the top 4 finishers in the correct order.  The superfecta is extremely difficult to win, but if you somehow manage to select the correct four horses you are in for a huge payday.

Consecutive Race Betting

Another way to make some big money is to pick the winners of consecutive races at the track.  These bets are known as the daily double, pick 3, win 4 and pick 6 wagers.  The pick 6 bet is another wager that would result in a ridiculous payout.

Bet On Horse Racing – Tips

  • Bet On Proven Winners – Horses are similar to humans in that some of them just know how to win.  I would always prefer betting on a horse that has shown they can win a race over a horse that has yet to win a race, but has been putting up some decent performances.
  • Don’t Bet With the Public – For all high profile races there will be one or two horses that are getting hyped up by the media.  These are the horses that the general public will bet on and for this reason the bookmakers will lower their potential payout from what it really should be.  Try to bet on horses that are flying under the radar, but still have a legitimate shot at a win.
  • Consider the Jockey – Many people overlook the jockey when placing horse racing bets.  The jockey does play a significant part in the horse race, especially over longer distances.

Most Bet On Horse Races

There are many high profile horse races that take place each year that get a great deal of media attention.  These races tend to be bet on more due to their mass appeal and I decided to create dedicated pages for visitors interested in betting on any of these specific horse races:

Recent Horse Racing Articles