How to bet on horse racing for beginners
Horses have been raced since the age of the ancient Roman and Greek Civilisations. People began breeding horses selectively for speed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Every racehorse today is descended from the Byerley Turk, Godolphin Arabian and Darley Arabian. To be eligible to race now, racehorses must have a full thoroughbred pedigree and a passport issued by Weatherbys.
There are four types of horse racing in the UK: Flat racing, National Hunt racing; Harness racing and Endurance racing.
Flat racing is a form of horse racing that takes place on flat tracks with no obstacles. It is focussed on speed rather than agility over jumps. Horses which race over five furlongs are known as sprinters, whereas a horse who races over one-and-a-half miles to two miles is known a stayer.
How to bet on horse racing for beginners. National Hunt (or Jump) racing. Longer than Flat races, between 2 and 4 miles long. Horses may be geldings, fillies or mares. Colts and entire horses are not seen in Nationalhunt races.
Harness racing is popular in Europe, Australia and the USA. Harnessed horses can trot up to 20mph and have to have correct breeding and schooling to compete.
Euromapical racing is a form of horse racing that is popular in the UK. It is not widely publicised by the media or punted on. Endurance races can be between five and 150 miles long and typically run over one to three days.
How to bet on horse racing for beginners.
Age, weight and form are important factors in horse racing betting. A National Hunt horse aged six will have a more successful run than a horse age nine or ten. If you were considering placing a bet on one of two horses of comparable ability, the one carrying the least weight would have the best choice.
How to bet on horse racing for beginners. Check the going and the racing distance. Racehorses have a preference for certain ground. Some horses struggle to thrive in Heavy ground, so in a race like this, look for a horse who has made the placings or won on similar ground over a similar distance and compare them to their previous form.
In Flat racing, the horses begin the race by jumping out of the starter stalls. Innermost gates give a horse an advantage, while outermost ones make it difficult to gain a good position in the field to win from.
How to bet on horse racing for beginners. Check the class rating and speed figure. Race classes go from Class 6 for bottom-rated horses to Class 1 for the top-ranked ones.
It's always advisable to back 'in-form' jockeys and trainers. A recent string of winners from a trainer shows that the horses from their yard are in good health and doing the right work on the correct feed.
The most popular horse-race bet is a simple ‘to win’. “Without” bets are common as well. If you place five horses on your betting card, you could place a ”Five-fold“ bet at excitingly long odds and get back thousands more than your original stake. All five of the horses would have to win for you to get the money back.
