No matter what type of racing you like to bet on; Harness racing, Steeplechasing, Hurdle racing, Endurance racing and Thoroughbred racing, there is a bet you can play on it. As the main two forms of racing are harness and thoroughbred racing, all good online bookmakers will offer odds on these categories and the other types of races will be offered by selected bookmakers. Betting on races involves a lot of work beforehand, from learning how to pick which horse/s to bet on, which races to wager on to what bets to place on each race.
Picking A Winner
Choosing the best horses in a race is a fun but challenging task to manage, particularly for those with little betting experience.? Essentially, choosing a winner is not just about picking the right horse, it is also about choosing the right trainer and the right jockey. Many horses are fantastic out on the track but without the right training for an extended period or the wrong jockey on the day, they can have little chance of succeeding and reaching their full potential.
The trainer’s skills and experience is essential in producing top quality racehorses. As a result, there are many skilled punters who will visit the racetrack early and examine how the horse is warming up, the jockey’s riding and the trainer?s instructions. This gives many bettors a good idea of how a race may play out. Examining a horse’s and trainer’s current forms is not enough; a lot of the time, the past performances are a good indication as to how steady and consistent a horse is on the track.
The next person to consider is the jockey and his/her skills. Determining their capabilities on the racetrack depends upon their experience and past performances. If the jockey has ridden this particular horse in previous races, over what distances did the pair perform best and worst?
Using race cards as a guide is a great way for beginners to get into the swing of understanding betting and the information required to make an informed bet. The race card will list the horse?s name which has a group of numbers assigned to it. These numbers indicate the horse’s amount of first, second and third placings for past races. If there are hardly any figures beside the horse’s name then one will know not to wager on the horse. On the right side of the horse’s name, there will be either a “D” or “C” indicating if the horse has won a race at the same distance (D) and if the horse has won on that specific track before (C).
The race itself is an important factor as well. If this is the first time this horse is competing in a higher class, despite his success in previous races, it is unlikely he will win the race. Nonetheless, an extremely basic way of measuring a horse’s chance of success is to look at the odds. If the horse’s odds are getting shorter, chances are it’s a favourite and has a better chance at winning.
Betting Checklist
| Class: | What class are they in? Is it higher? |
| Distance: | Compare the horses’ times over the same lengths – does your horse stand a chance? |
| Post Position: | How does the horse perform at different post positions? |
| Running Style: | There are three main running styles: front runner, stalker and closer. A front runner is a horse who runs in the lead or in 2 lengths of the leader. A stalker rarely makes the lead but often gains momentum to overtake tired front runners. A closer runs best when there is a lot of early speed. |
| Trainer: | Who is the trainer? Have they had much success previously? |
| Jockey: | How much experience do they have? How do they handle their horses? |
| Present Form: | How is the horse’s fitness levels? Are there any injuries? |
| Consistency: | Analyse the horse’s past track record? Do they normally place quite high or does the horse’s placings fluctuate? |
| Weight: | Although this isn’t considered very important a horse should generally not be carrying more than 59 kg. Anything over that amount is a bit risky. |
Picking a Race Type
| Maiden: | For horses who have not yet won a race, the top races being the Maiden Special Weight races. |
| Claiming races: | A race in which every horse can be bought or “claimed” out of the race. The punter must put in a request prior to the race and afterwards they are the new owner. This is risky as the previous owner will claim the prize money and pass the horse on even if the horse gets injured in the race or even if it dies. |
| Allowance races: | Horses in these races are not for sale however the payouts are normally much higher. There are set conditions and specific weights the horses must carry. This type of race is typically held for horses who are non-winners in majority of their races. |
| Stakes races: | The best of all horse races which is restricted only for the top horses. These races produce the largest pay outs and can be either local or major races. The top stake races are graded from 1 to 3 with 1 being the best races e.g. Melbourne Cup. There are no restrictions on these races apart from age and sex. |
| Oaks: | A race specifically held for 3 year old fillies. |
| Derby: | Only 3 year olds may race in a Derby. |
| Sprint race: | A race under one mile with normally only one turn. |
Picking A Betting Type
| Straight bets: | Win (which horse will finish first)
Place (horse must place first or second) Show (must place in top three) Across the board wager (horse will take any of the first three places). |
| Quinella: | Choosing two horses in no specific order to win first and second placings. Although the punter has good odds, a quinella will pay less than a trifecta. |
| Exacta/Perfecta: | The punter must choose which horses will win first and second place in the correct order. |
| Trifecta: | Picking the first three winning horses in the correct order.
Box trifecta – First three horses in any order. Standout trifecta – Picking the winner and then the next two horses in any order. |
| Superfecta: | Same as trifecta plus the fourth placed horse. |
| Daily Double: | Predict the winning horses in any two races. |
| Running double: | Selecting the winners of two consecutive races. |
| Quadrella: | To pick the winners of four pre-nominated races on the card. |
| Straight six: | Select the winners of six consecutive pre-nominated races. |
