The Best Horse Racing Betting Sites
How We Review The Best Online Horse Racing Betting Sites
To an untrained eye, it may seem as if every horse racing betting site is more or less the same. However, our experts know how important it can be to pick the best possible option. That’s why we used a specific set of metrics to narrow things down to a few selected bookie sites.
There’s a variety of factors you’ll want to consider here — from the site’s reputation and reliability to odds and betting boosts. We tried to keep things simple by giving you a brief overview of our review metrics. This way you can try and replicate them while doing your own search, or confidently use our picks, knowing how we rated them.
License
The very first thing you’ll want to focus on is the site’s license, and this greatly depends on your region. Our experts tend to respect regional restrictions and gambling regulations, which is why we pay attention to different types of licenses.
For instance, we always ensure that the site has an official UK Gambling Commission license when it comes to UK-based bookies. On the other hand, US betting sites are regulated by states, and the same goes for provinces in Canada. Overall, international licenses like the MGA license or the International Betting Integrity certificate would also suffice.
The key point here is not to visit any shady sites without one of these licenses. In such a case, you might not only get unfair betting odds but also struggle to get your payouts and use betting offers.
Payment Methods
Payment options are very important when placing your bets on horse racing events since the odds are always changing. That’s why it’s crucial to place your bet on time, and you can only do that with a secure and instant payment method.
While reviewing horse racing betting sites, our team goes the extra mile to deliver those bookies with a diverse selection of payment options. This way, you can rely on credit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, and even crypto, where it’s legal to bet with crypto deposits.
It’s all in favor of giving you the upper hand by enabling you to make swift deposits and manage your bankroll in a heartbeat.
Bonuses
Bonus offers elevate your horse racing bets even further by giving you an extra boost. Whether it’s enhanced odds, free bets welcome bonus $, or acca bonuses, we’ll always make sure to keep you updated with the latest offers.
Here at Optimobet, we focus on sites that have the best bet deals and enhanced odds, or better yet, a combination of the two. We also strive to give you horse racing sites with the best acca boosts and insurance offers for an all-around betting experience.
Customer Support
In case you run into any issues trying to palace your horse racing wager, it’s crucial to have a responsive customer support team. This way you can get an instant answer to your burning questions regarding the odds, betting markets, bonuses, and general T&Cs of the site.
Trust us when we say that we’ve been there in your shoes. That's why we’ll do our best to bring you sites with live chat, email support, and phone hotlines.
Security
Last but not least comes on-site security, and this one is only ensured through SSL encryption protocols. Having proper privacy policies in place also helps, and we always make sure to recommend properly licensed best betting sites.
That way you’ll be able to reach out to the UKGC or other licensing authorities in case of problems with payment processing or fairness. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to get the needed help and we’ve heard enough horror stories already from players betting on shady sites.
How to Bet on Horse Racing
To start betting on horse races, you’ll need to find a reliable and trustworthy sportsbook site first. If you can’t figure it out on your own, you can always refer to our list of recommended sites to draw inspiration from. Anyway, once you’ve registered, it’s time to make your first deposit and get started.
Set up your bankroll and proceed by exploring the main events. If you pick a website wisely, you won’t need to focus solely on major horse racing events like the Cheltenham Festival or the Kentucky Derby. You’ll also be able to explore lower-tier events, and that opens up a world of possibilities.
The most important thing is to know your betting options and markets. That way, you can use the full potential of online horse racing betting platforms and craft winning bets. If you are just getting started, don’t fret; we’ll explain everything you need to know about different bet types.
Types of Bets for Horse Racing
Placing horse racing wagers goes a long way beyond just staking on your favorite horse to win the race. You can bet on final placement, combine bets on several horses, or even wager on multiple races all at once. Here are the main horse racing betting markets:
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Win — This one is the easiest wager you can make, or at least it’s the easiest one to understand. You’d be betting on a specific horse to win a race, but hitting it can be a bit challenging since you only have one shot.
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Place — Unlike win bets, place options are a bit more inclusive since they allow you to bet on a horse to finish first or second. Regardless of the total placement, you win the bet as long as your horse finishes in the top 2 placements.
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Show Bets — Show bets are even more inclusive as they allow you to expand your bet on first, second, or third place. So, if your selected horse finishes at either of these three positions, your bet is a win, and you get paid regardless of the position.
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Each Way — This one is specific to UK bookies and allows you to place two bets on one bet slip essentially. You would bet on a specific horse to win the race but also on the insurance option in terms of the extended place bet. So, if your horse doesn’t finish first, you still get paid for the second, third, or fourth spot placement. The placement part of the bet depends on the bookie, and some UK sportsbooks even let you bet up to fifth or sixth place.
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Quinella — The Quinella bet is specific to the US market, and it lets you bet on two horses to win on either of the first two spots. The order is irrelevant here as long as both runners end up in the first two places.
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Exacta — Now we move on with what’s dubbed as “Exotics” by fans of horse racing betting. The first one among these bets is the Exacta bet, implying you’ll predict exact horses to finish first and second in order.
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Forecast — Forecast stands for the same type of bet in the UK that’s represented by the Exacta bet in the US, so it means predicting horses to finish first and second.
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Tricast/Trifecta — Trifecta or Tricast bets are extended Exacta bets, meaning you’ll be betting on the exact positions of the first, second, and third horses at the end of the race.
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Superfecta — Superfecta comes with one of the biggest payouts in the world of horse racing bets, as you would be betting on exact horses to finish first, second, third, and fourth.
More on Exotics and Other Types of Horse Racing Bets
We know it can seem overwhelming at first, but these are pretty simple to comprehend when you get into it. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg among betting options on horse races, and here’s a bit more on exotics and options you may not have heard of:
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Accumulator — An “Acca” bet on horse races is usually placed on at least four horses on a single bet slip, and all of your selections need to hit for your bet to win.
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Daily Double Bet — This one is mostly related to US horse racing, and it implies betting on the exact winners of two races in a row on the same derby day.
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Yankee — These are essentially system bets for horse racing consisting of six doubles, four trebles, and a four-selections multi-bet. You get eleven bets in total, and two of them need to hit for you to pack a payout. For instance, one pair would be horse “A” to finish first and horse “B” to finish third. A triple could be the same with the added horse “C” to finish fifth and include different permutations of these pairs.
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Lucky 15 — Another exciting variation of a combo bet is the Lucky 15, which means you’ll start by selecting four picks. These are usually horse race placements, and besides these four singles, you also get different combinations, including six doubles, four trebles, and an Acca bet. To win, you need to hit at least one selection.
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Lucky 31 — Similar to the Lucky 15, the Lucky 31 bet consists of five selections, and raises the stakes with more combinations including ten doubles and trebles each, as well as a five-fold acca bet.
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Box Bet — Also known as prop bets for horse racing, you can place a box bet to increase your chance of winning compared to exotic bets. For instance, you can place an Exacta Box bet to still wager on the exact horses to come in first and second, only this time their placement order is irrelevant.
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Heinz — On races with more entries, you can place a “Heinz” bet to place six separate singles and all of their combo variations. The bet features 15 doubles, 20 trebles, and 22 accumulator bets.
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Four-Fold — If you are up for a whole day of watching horse races, you can place a four-fold bet on four different events and hope to hit all of them for a payout.
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Canadian — The Canadian bet features five single bets accompanied by 26-pair bets, similar to the Lucky 31.
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Jackpot — The jackpot bet requires you to predict winners of four consecutive horse races in a day to win.
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Wheel Bet — The Wheel Bet allows you to bet on a particular horse to finish at a specific place, along with multiple horses finishing around it.
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Omni Bet — In an Omni Bet, you would select two horses and place a bet on three possible outcomes — first and second placement, first and third, or second and third placement of the two selected horses.
Most Popular Horse Racing Betting Bonuses
The best way to increase your horse race profits is by using horse betting bonuses. It all comes down to selecting the best possible horse racing betting site with this one, and we can help you do it with our expert recommendations.
Some of the main bonuses you can encounter are as follows:
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Deposit match bonuses — These are sign-up offers that horse racing betting sites offer as a welcome prize. You can get your deposit matched and claim free betting funds.
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Free bets — Among our favorites, we have free bets, which either allow you to bet with bonus money or give you a refund equal to your stake in case you lose your initial wager on the site. The latter option is often referred to as a risk-free bet, and you get to use it to place your next bet.
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Odds boosts — Big events like the Kentucky Derby often come with odds boosts, so you can bet on your favorite horses at higher odds than usual.
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Acca bonuses — If you love placing multiple bets, you’ll benefit from acca bonuses with an odds increase for multi-legged parlays.
Types of Horse Races
The next key point of horse racing betting is to know the types of races you can wager on. These are the most common options you’ll find in the UK and the US, as well as worldwide:
Flat Racing
Flat races don’t have any obstacles and are often organized on leveled turf. It’s the classic type of horse races where mostly thoroughbred horses compete against each other in a test of speed and stamina.
National Hunt
The National Hunt is a fairly different type of race where horses face hurdles — obstacles in the form of ditches, water, and fences. These are a bit more demanding and you’ll mostly find them in the UK, Ireland, and France.
Steeplechase
While the National Hunt includes some flat races and parts of the racetrack, the Steeplechase mostly features jumps over hurdles and obstacles. The main representatives of this race type include the Steeplechase Grand National held annually in Liverpool.
Maiden Races
Maiden races consist of “maiden” horses that have never won a race before, so these are particularly exciting to bettors. They can include obstacle-type races, flat races, and any other type of races held in a variety of conditions.
Endurance Racing
Unlike races that are track-based exclusively, endurance races take place outdoors, and they feature a variety of conditions organized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. They take quite a bit longer to finish than flat races and hurdle races, adding a dose of excitement to bettors.
Harness Racing
The jockey in harness racing is placed in a two-wheeled cart and is pulled by the horse in an exciting rendering of the flat race. They are often held at level dirt tracks with major tournaments like the Hambletonian in the US.
Horse Racing Betting Tips
Unlike team sports, it’s not so easy to recommend horse racing bets tips since form and standings in horse bets are not major contributing factors. However, you can use some of these tips to increase your chances of winning on horse race bets:
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Pay attention to horse racing odds — Horse racing odds are extremely volatile, and they often change quite a bit on the day of the race. So, make sure to track odd fluctuations at horse betting sites to spot patterns that could help you form a winning wager.
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Check win rates — Another useful tip to keep in mind is to track the win rate of certain horses you wish to bet on. Horse racing is very much like fighting sports in this sense - if a horse has won 90% of the races, chances are it will be a favorite to win again.
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Take note of race types and horse records — If a horse has a great win share but has never participated in a hurdle race, that may not be the true indicator of its winning chances. Make sure only to consider the same types of races that your picks have already participated in.
How to Pick a Winning Horse
Predicting the winner of a horse racing event can be challenging as there is no standardized way of predicting a winner. You can still take notice of some indicators, such as muscular build, previous races, age of the horse, and overall speed that your favorite pick to win is capable of achieving.
You can look up all of these by watching some videos of previous races and following the statistics of a certain horse.
Horse Racing Betting Strategies
If you play your cards right, using some horse racing strategies can help you increase your winning odds. So, without further delay, here are some of the strategies you can use:
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Wager on 1 to 2 tracks only until you’ve mastered them — The best way to start your horse racing journey is by picking a track and sticking with it for some time. This way, you allow yourself to learn the horses, jockeys, warm-up patterns, bias, and how the horses do in wet/slop conditions.
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Don’t go with the exotics just yet — As much as exotics pay extraordinarily on the best horse racing sportsbook sites, you should first get familiar with how it’s done with race-winner bets. Or, you can try your luck with some more inclusive bets like show and box bets before you advance with exotics with a steady bankroll.
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Try the Dutching system — As one of the most common horse racing strategies, the Dutching system requires you to bet on multiple horses to win a single race. If you play it right, you could insure your bet by correctly distributing wager amounts.
Major Horse Racing Events for Betting
There’s no doubt about the Cheltenham Festival being one of the biggest horse racing event in the world, and it’s not just about spectators. You’ll find Cheltenham Festival odds on the top horse racing betting sites, and the same goes for these events as the major ones:
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Kentucky Derby
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Royal Ascot
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The Preakness
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The Breeders’ Cup
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The Grand National
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Melbourne Cup
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Dubai World Cup
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Arlington Million
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Ebor Festival
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Japan Cup
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Kentucky Oaks
The thing is — the calendar is so packed with lower-tier events that you’ll always find an option or two to wager on. So, betting on one of these shouldn’t be your only option in such a diverse landscape.
History of Betting on Horse Racing
They don’t call horse racing a Sport of Kings for no reason. It’s arguably the sport that started it all regarding sports betting. Since we have records of the first horse race bets being placed as early as the 1600s during the reign of King James 1st.
So, that’s also one of the reasons they call it the Sport of Kings. And it was a parimutuel betting system for quite a long time. In other words, punters would be wagering against other punters to win their share of the betting pool, unlike betting against the bookies.
Nowadays, there’s a different system in place where every bettor can access a horse racing betting site or two to place preferred picks among winning bets and props. With the best horse racing betting sites being just one tap away on your mobile device, it’s no wonder the odds and bonuses have gotten so competitive.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide on the best horse racing betting sites and markets will be the quality first step toward your integration into the world of horse racing enthusiasts and race betting. Now that you know a bit more about the history, bet types, odds, tips, and strategies, you should be ready to make your first wager
For a broader betting experience, explore other popular options across sports:
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Remember to always revisit this page if you wish to stay well-versed in the best horse racing betting site rankings. We’ll be updating the list with new sites and the best bonuses.