If you are one of the millions of people in the UK who bet on horse racing each year, it’s helpful to know how to optimise your level of success. In this article, we will give you advice about betting on top horse racing events in the UK, as well as other events that happen throughout the year. And we will provide some tips you will find helpful if you bet on horse racing.
Can you be successful at horse race betting?
The short answer to this question is that you can succeed at betting on horses, but it’s never a given, and to have the best chance of success, you need to be patient and dedicated.
You should only choose bets that represent good value. This means that the odds available are greater than the real chance of winning. Finding these bets takes time and a lot of patience. The only way to identify if a bet represents good value is to gain experience and acquire in-depth knowledge. So, do not expect to be successful immediately.
As you gain experience, you can study factors such as speed figures, horse racing statistics, horse, jockey, and trainer form, and track details to help you find bets that have value in them. You will also find that you develop a gut instinct for when choosing a particular bet is a good idea.
Tips on how to optimise your betting success
As you develop experience in choosing the right bets, research plays a major role in your level of success. There are several areas of research and understanding that are most important. They are listed below as tips to optimise your betting success.
1. Understand the odds and choose the best betting site
Odds can be difficult to understand when you first start betting on horse racing. The basic premise of odds is that the lower the odds, the more chance the horse has of winning the race. This means that you are more likely to win from a bet with short odds. However, your winnings will be higher if you choose a horse that has longer odds, but the longer odds suggest that there is less chance of the horse winning the race.
The trick is to find a bet that gives you the best overall value. So, look for bets where the odds are longer than the real chance of the horse winning. Only place a wager when you find a bet where this applies.
Do not forget that you can check various sites to get the best odds. You can search UK-based betting sites and offshore casino sites not on gamstop. Before you place a bet, check that the site is fully licensed and secure.
2. Develop your knowledge of tracks and conditions
To understand when a bet is good value, you need to have an in-depth understanding of tracks and conditions and how they affect performance. Having this knowledge allows you to see when the odds for a horse may be higher than you would expect and not fully reflective of its chance of winning the race. You can then take advantage of these generous odds.
3. Study jockeys and trainers
It’s not only the track and conditions that can affect the performance of a horse in a race. If a horse has a top jockey onboard or its trainer has a successful record in the race, its chances are enhanced. So, studying jockeys and trainers and their performance records makes sense.
4. Understand the history of the horse
Horses all have individual histories you can study. Check for how they perform in certain races and for different jockeys and trainers. Having this insight shows you how likely the horse is to perform well if you are considering betting on it.
Following these tips helps you to develop your horse race betting skills in the long term.
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.