Horse Racing Betting and Wagering

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Horse racing has a long history. The origins of formal horse racing and prize money relied on wealthy owners putting up stakes to compete for. Funding models have long since changed, and gambling on races now turns over billions of dollars annually. Gambling on horse racing has progressed from this simple wagering of stakes, to some very complex methods offered by a growing number of betting mediums including bookmakers, totaliser and betting exchanges.

Let's take a look at some of the most common horse racing and options available.

Win Betting - this is the most common of all bets. You are betting on whether a particular horse will win the race.

Place Betting - you are betting if a horse will run first, second or third in a field of eight horses or more. If only seven runners start, except for late scratchings, place bets will be paid only on first and second. If a race has four starters or less, no place pool will be offered.

Tote Betting - your bet goes into a pool. All winning bets get back their share of the pool, less any commissions etc.

Fixed Odds - you take the odds on offer when you place your bet, and this will be your return if the bet wins irrespective of whether the price of the horse subsequently changes.

Laying - you are betting that a horse will not win the bet. In order to entice punters to take your bet, you must offer odds against the result. Your liability is paid at the odds you offer.

Quinella - this is betting on horses to run first and second in a race in any order

Exacta - it is like a quinella except that you must have the first two horses in their correct finishing order

Trifectas - picking the runners that place first, second and third in an event, in the right order

First Four - choosing the first 4 runners in the right order

Double - selecting the winners of two designated races at one venue

Treble - selecting the winners of three designated races at one venue

The most important thing to remember about betting is that you will inevitably back some losers. Even favourites win only a third of the time, and it isn't a predictable ratio of every three races. They can have relatively long losing streaks, and on one occasion last year at Flemington, only one favourite even ran a place all day. This brings us to the question of odds, and value bets.

The odds of a horse are the theoretical chance that a horse will win, and your bet is paid accordingly. When a runner is paying $2.00, the punter will get a return of the original outlay plus $1.00, this horse should win one in two races, it is and even money chance. The odds are the same as if you were tossing a coin. Accordingly if you wager on all of these, long term you would come out even. But if you were paying a commission, or these horses were actually starting at less than $2, then you are destined to lose. So when the losing streak comes along, make sure that you are betting wisely and to do this, you need to keep track of your bets, and the true odds of your selections.

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