Tips For Betting On Horse Races

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Tip for betting on horse racing can be as valuable as insider information when betting on the stock market and everyone wants them. But, unless you are an industry insider with ties to some of the wealthiest individuals in the world, you're simply not going to get it. Instead, it is on us horse bettors to come up with our own systems of making wagers on horse races in order to get an advantage on the field. This page is designed to get you to start thinking of factors that influence races as well as introduce bettors to betting tools for horse racing they might not have known existed.

Plus, knowing which racebook to wager with can be as valuable as a winning bet when you consider things like promotions, rebate programs, loyalty programs, etc... This page is also going to give you tips on where to wager on horse races along with advice and inspiration. Please keep reading below and maybe you can find that one thing, that one statistic, that one trend that is going to take your bankroll to the next level... it can literally change your life.

The following tips will help you understand how to bet horses. If you follow this advice, and do a little bit of your own research into the animals you're betting on and the jockeys riding them, you will most likely be more successful betting the ponies. These horse betting tips are designed to turn the amateur horse race bettor into a successful gambler.

Start With a Decent Bankroll

A common cliché in horse race betting is: "It takes money to make money." Handpicking your races to protect your wagering investment is important, but you will need to have a big enough stack to commit money to some of the larger and more expensive bets when you find a race that offers beneficial odds.

Yes, it costs more to place exotic bets like Pick 4s and Superfectas, but the typical horse bettor's tactic of cutting a couple of legs off a long combination to save money usually ends up costing you hundreds or even thousands in winnings. If you aren't starting out with a big bankroll, avoid the exotic bets entirely, and stick to Win/Place/Show bets, Exactas, or Quinella bets.

Handpick Your Races

The lesson here is to be choosy when it comes to the races you wager on. Don't let any expert or "friend who knows a lot about horse" convince you to be a race you don't know enough about to stake money on. A common mistake that amateur horse gamblers make is to lay money down on every race. Starting out, you may want to only bet races that include two or three favorites with low odds.

Gauge Horse Skill With Workout Reports

Workout reports are available on all horses racing professionally anywhere in the world. Looking at past performance reports may be easier (provided in the racing form itself), but it pays to do the extra homework to look into a horse's workout history. Workouts indicate the current ability of a horse, not its ability the last time it ran in a race. If you're having trouble picking between two horses with similar past racing histories, always go with the animal that has a superior workout history.

Understand If A Horse Is Better On Turf Or Dirt

The vast majority of horses are better on either turf or dirt; very few are excellent racers on both. One caveat to this rule: if a horse has a poor record on dirt but shows significant improvement in short distance workout reports, that horse's training team may be turning the animal into a turf racer, and the horse could be poised to pull a turf upset.

Know What Condition The Racing Surface Is Currently In

You can read handicapping reports all day and never see mention of the specific track condition at the race you're betting on. It is a fact that some horses perform better on a dry course and others perform better in mud or a little bet of water. Here's an extra hint for you: European horses almost always perform poorly on dry courses in the US, since they're so used to at least slightly-wet courses in Europe.

Watch for Changes In A Horse's Jockey & Trainer

Newcomers to the sport of horse racing often make the mistake of thinking a particular jockey is bound to win if he has had success in the past. The truth is, the world's best jockey won't make a bad horse into a good one. When betting the horses, don't put much weight behind a change in jockey, but you should look for changes in a horse's trainer. A change in training can have an almost immediate impact in the performance of a horse with a poor race history.

When you're in the hunt for an online racebook or a site that lets you bet on horse racing, you need to look for a handful of features: first and most importantly, make sure that the site accepts wagers from people where you live. Some sites restrict bets from the USA and Canada, for example. A second thing to look for is a large number of varied bets; not every online racebook will offer the kind of variety that a good horse bettor needs to spread his bankroll around and make big money on a variety of bets. Finally, look for a promotional offer that gives you the chance to add money to your horse betting bankroll.

Below, we have several sites which meet our stringent criteria for being the best online racebooks. We encourage you to stick with these sites as we know that they are reputable for online horse wagering. If you venture outside of these racebooks be careful because there are a lot of fly-by-night operations out there and you do not want to do business with them.