Horse Racing Betting – Expert Guide for Beginners and Pros
Horse racing betting is one of the oldest and most popular forms of gambling in the UK.
With a rich history and high-profile events like the Grand National and Royal Ascot, it attracts millions of punters each year.
UK bettors enjoy a wide range of markets, from simple win bets to complex Accumulators. And when you take into account the frequency of the horse racing meetings, it is no wonder that UK punters love the sport.
Here at TopBettingWebsites.co.uk, we provide in-depth reviews, racing tips, and the best bookie deals so that you can make the most of the Sport of Kings.
Top Horse Betting Sites in the UK
| Rank | Bookmaker | Rating | Bonus Offer | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Betway Review1 |
/10 | £30 in Free Bets if your first Acca loses | Visit Site Betway |
| *New UK customers only. Min Stake: £5. Maximum Free Bet: £30. First bet on a Football, Horse Racing, Tennis, Cricket or Basketball multiple with 3+ selections. Overall odds: 3.00 (2/1) or higher. Free Bets available upon settlement of the qualifying bet. 100 Free Spins on More Unusual Suspects (£0.10 per spin) credited on settlement of qualifying Acca bet. No wagering requirements on free spin winnings. Debit Card deposit only (exclusions apply). This offer is valid 7 days from the new account being registered. 18+ GambleAware.org. Bet the Responsible Way. Full Terms apply | ||||
| 2 | Betrino Review2 |
/10 | Bet £25 Get £50 Free Bet | Visit Site Betrino |
| 3 | Unibet Review3 |
/10 | Bet £10 Get £40 in Bonuses | Visit Site Unibet |
| 18+. BeGambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Min £10 debit card deposit. Place a £10+ bet at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days. Opt in for £20 in free bets and £20 Casino Bonus. Valid for 7 days. Once your qualifying £10+ bet is settled you will receive your £10 Free Bet on Bet Builder, £10 Free Bet on Accumulator and £20 Casino Bonus Money. Geographical restrictions and T&C’s apply. #AD | ||||
| 4 | Bet365 Review4 |
/10 | £30 in Free Bets* | Visit Site Bet365 |
| New Customers only. Registration required. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. #AD | ||||
| 5 | Betfred Review5 |
/10 | Bet £10 Get £50 in Bonuses | Visit Site Betfred |
| New customers only. Register with BETFRED50. Deposit £10+ via Debit Card and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. #AD | ||||
| 6 | 10bet Review6 |
/10 | 100% up to £50 bonus | Visit Site 10bet |
| New bettors; Code SPORT; Wager deposit & bonus 8x; Max qualifying bet stake=initial bonus; Valid 60 days; Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply; T&C apply; 18+ #AD | ||||
| 7 | Grosvenor Review7 |
/10 | Double The Odds | Visit Site Grosvenor |
| New customers only. Deposit min £10 (exc. PayPal) for 50 Free Spins at 10p on selected games + 100% odds boost token (Max £10), Max win from spins £1000. *T&Cs apply. 18+ #AD | ||||
| 8 | 32Red Sports Review8 |
/10 | - | Visit Site 32Red Sports |
| 9 | William Hill Review9 |
/10 | Bet £10 get £30 Credited as 3 x £10 bets | Visit Site William Hill |
| 18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 18.10.2022. £30 bonus. New customers only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further terms apply. #Ad | ||||
| 10 | Casumo Review10 |
/10 | 100% back as a Free Bet up to £30 | Visit Site Casumo |
| #Ad 18+ New customers only. Registration required. Valid on your first combo bet (minimum 3 selections, minimum odds of 1.40 per selection, minimum bet of £5). If you lose, you receive a 100% refund up to £30 as Free Bet. Free bet valid for 7 days. The Free Bet can be used on a combo bet with at least 2 selections, minimum odds of 1.50 per selection and maximum odd of 5.00, Football only. Gambling can be addictive. Please play responsibly. BeGambleAware.org T&Cs apply | ||||
A Beginner’s Guide to Horse Racing Betting
If you’ve never had a bet on the horses before, don’t worry because opening an account and placing your first horse racing bet is a piece of cake.
First, choose one of the bookies at TopBettingWebsites.co.uk and open an account.
You’ll need to enter a few details like your name, address, and date of birth, and to confirm your identity. The bookie might ask for a passport, driving licence, or a recent utility bill.
Once you’ve opened an account, log in with the details provided, and you’re ready to go.
Click on the “Horse Racing” link, which can usually be found in the index on the left-hand side of the website. The horse racing meetings will be displayed, so it is then just a matter of deciding on which horse you would like to place a bet on.
Click on the horse, and it will automatically be placed in the horse race betting slip, which will open up on the right-hand side of the site.
Horse Racing Bonuses – What’s Available for UK Players
Due to the competitiveness between online bookies in the UK, there are all sorts of promotions on offer to tempt punters to place horse racing bets. Some of these promotions are excellent and can make a real difference to the potential profits that can be made from online horse betting.
Promotions such as “Best Odds Guaranteed” are pretty much the same all year round, but the other promotions are prone to change.
With that in mind, let’s take a close look at these horse racing promotions in a little more detail.
New Customer Offers
Most UK punters are familiar with betting offers, and the good news is that, unless it specifically states otherwise in the terms and conditions, most of them can be used on horse race betting.
An example being the Betway sign up bonus – a free £30 bet if your first Accumulator bet loses. Most punters think that offers like this can only be used on football betting, but it is common for horse betting to be allowed.
Best Odds Guaranteed
Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) must be one of the most underrated bookie bonuses in betting on horse racing because of the massive value this offer gives to horse racing punters.
Most bookies offer BOG on all UK and Irish horse racing betting on bets that are placed from the morning of the race (times vary).
The best way to describe Best Odds Guaranteed is to give an example.
You place a bet on a horse at odds of 5/1 (6.0), the horse drifts out to 9/1 (10.0) and goes on to win the race. BOG means that you will be paid out at the odds of 9/1 instead of the early odds of 5/1.
It works the other way as well – you back the horse at 5/1, money comes in for the horse, and it goes off at 2/1 and wins the race.
You will be paid out at the original odds of 5/1. Can you see why BOG is one of our favourite bookie promotions?
Big Race Promotions
It is not unusual for bookies to offer enhanced online horse betting promotions for the bigger horse racing events.
These take place far more often than you would probably imagine. As well as the big meetings at Ascot, Cheltenham, Aintree and Newmarket, big race meetings take place on most Saturdays.
The types of promotions vary, but it would be fair to say that bet365 are one of the most innovative horse race betting bookies.
A great example would be their “Super Boosts” on the big race on a Saturday. An odds on favourite of ⅓ being boosted to even money (2.0) would give you an idea of the kind of value UK punters can take advantage of from UK bookies like bet365.
Loyalty Rewards and Programme
It is not unusual for bookies to offer tiered loyalty schemes, allowing horse racing punters to unlock better bonuses, priority support, and exclusive promotions over time.
We have received free tickets for big race meetings in the past, but for us, we would rather concentrate on odds boosts and bonuses as opposed to just sticking with one bookie to get reward bonuses.
The Most Popular Horse Racing Bets
There are several different types of horse racing betting bets, so let’s take a closer look at the different bets that are used when horse racing betting:
- Single Win bets – This is just a straightforward bet on a horse to win a race, and it should be noted that the stake is returned with any winnings. So, a £10 single win bet on a horse that wins a race with odds of 5/1 (6.0) will return a total of £60 (5 x £10 plus the £10 stake).
- Each Way bets – Each way (EW) betting is really two bets in one, one bet on your horse to win, and one bet on it to place (usually in the top two, three, or four places, depending on the race and number of runners).
- Forecast and Tricast bets – A forecast bet requires you to pick the first and second horses in the correct order, while a tricast bet is harder – you need to predict the first, second, and third in the right order for a payout. A dual forecast (also called a reverse forecast) is more flexible, as you pick two horses to finish first and second in any order.
- Multiple bets (Doubles, Trebles, Accumulators) – This type of online horse betting is extremely popular because it is possible to win large amounts from small stakes. The way these bets work is that the first selection wins, the winnings are staked on the next bet, and then the next bet, depending on the bet, double, treble, fourfold etc.
How to Place a Horse Racing Bet
To find out the day’s race meetings, click on the “Horse Racing” link, which can usually be found to the left-hand side of the bookie website.
It is always a good idea to check with the bookie that you are doing business with to find out what time the “Best Odds Guaranteed” promotion kicks in. It is usually either 8am or 9am.
You can then rest assured that you will be getting the best price from that particular bookie, and it won’t matter if the odds of your selection lengthens or shortens before the off.
To obtain the very best value from horse race betting, we would strongly recommend that you have accounts with several horse racing betting sites. You can then quickly check which bookie is offering the best odds on your preferred selection.
Big Racing Events from Around the World
There are a few UK and International horse racing events that are incredibly popular with UK punters, not only because of the high standard of horse racing but also because of the horse betting offers that go hand in hand with these meetings:
- Cheltenham Festival – Often referred to as “Cheltmas”, because the four days of top-class national hunt racing, offers punters so much in terms of mouth-watering promotions such as bet boosts and free bets.
- Grand National – This is probably the most famous horse race in the world. The National takes place on the Saturday of the three-day Aintree meeting in April and it would be fair to say that people who don’t usually place any kind of bet will always have a tipple on the Grand National.
- Royal Ascot – A unique summer meeting, famous for high-class flat racing and populated by wealthy punters who dress up for the occasion in top hats and tails. Yet another meeting where horse race betting sites offer some enticing bonuses and promotions to tempt punters to get involved.
- Major races around the world – The Arc de Triomphe in France, the Breeders Cup in the US, and the Melbourne Cup in Australia are all big races that the best horse racing betting sites like to get involved with by offering various bonuses and promotions.
Horse Race Betting on the Move
When placing mobile bets at the horse racing betting sites, we would strongly advise that you download the betting app if the site has one.
Betting on the horses is completely different from betting on football for example. If you are placing a bet shortly before the race starts, you will find that the odds can move very quickly, so using a betting app offers a far more stable platform than trying to place bets on the mobile browser version of the bookie.
It is always a good idea to make sure you have adequate funds in your account before you start horse race betting using the mobile app. Because as already mentioned, the markets do move very quickly, and you don’t want to be messing around trying to make a deposit, as you will only feel flustered and prone to making mistakes.
- An exciting and entertaining way of betting
- If you`re sharp, you can spot and seize value where the market may overreact or miss key moments in the race
- In-play betting allows punters to lock in a profit if the odds move in the expected direction
- The in-play markets move rapidly before the race even starts, so it is also possible to trade before the off
- Odds move so quickly that it is easy to miss the odds you want to bet on
- Better to use a betting exchange rather than a bookie
In-Play Horse Racing Betting
You can place in-play bets when betting on horse racing, but to be perfectly honest with you, it is not something that we would recommend.
Let’s take a 5-furlong flat race at Newmarket, for instance. A race like this will take less than a minute to complete, and the in-play odds of the horse will move so quickly that it is so difficult to get your bet on at a price that appeals to you.
If you want to get involved with in-play horse racing betting, a better alternative would be to place bets at a betting exchange, which is more suited to this kind of horse race betting.
Payment Methods on Mobile Racing Apps
It is in the best interests of mobile racing apps to make deposits as easy as possible.
As most of our betting is carried out on an iPhone, we use Apple Pay as our payment method, and we can’t get over how easy it is to make deposits quickly and without any fuss.
This is the method that we are used to, but we have used debit cards and e-wallets many times in the past. The common theme with all of them is that making deposits, and withdrawals for that matter, is very easy and straightforward.
We have always found that withdrawals are processed far more quickly than the standard guidelines.
| Payment | Deposit | Withdrawal | Security Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debit Cards | Instant | 1 – 3 days | High |
| E-Wallets | Instant | Minutes to 24 hours | High |
| PaysafeCard | Instant | N/A | High |
| Apple Pay | Instant | Up to 3 days | High |
Horse Selection Tips and Tricks
There are several industry tips that you should take on board, which may help you when betting on horse racing:
- Tipster selections – When betting on selections from a Tipster, always check their past record. Anyone can set themselves up as an expert and claim that they know what they are talking about. Even better, only use tipsters that come with a strong recommendation.
- Jockey and trainer stats – You can tell an awful lot about a horse’s chances of winning a race by checking the Jockey and trainer stats. For example, what is the win rate when a jockey rides for a particular trainer, does the trainer have a favourite racecourse, and how far has the horse travelled to take part in a race?
- Weather and racecourse conditions – The “going” on a racecourse can have a big effect on a horse’s chances of winning a race. Some horses perform best when the going is soft or heavy, others prefer it firm underfoot. The “going” is stated at the top of the race card on the best horse racing betting sites, so with a little research, it is easy to narrow down your selections.
Betting Securely on Horse Racing Betting Sites
Before you place a bet on the best horse racing betting sites, double-check that the site is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). If you are betting in the UK, all the best horse racing betting sites will be fully licensed.
The online horse betting site should also use SSL encryption (look for the padlock icon in your browser) to protect your personal and payment details.
To gamble responsibly, set limits on your deposits, losses, and betting time, avoid chasing losses and take regular breaks to keep your betting in check.
Good horse betting sites offer tools like self-exclusion and time-out options to help you stay in control.
Trusted organisations to look for include the UKGC, IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service), GambleAware, and GAMSTOP.
Our Final Thoughts on Horse Racing Betting
Betting on horse racing in the UK has always been popular, and it is not difficult to understand why.
Races take place every day of the week, so there are always opportunities to get involved. It is possible to place small bets on a few races and have a chance of getting that big win, especially if placing an EW Acca on a few fancied horses.
The best horse racing betting sites often have various bonuses and promotions available, and let’s not forget the “Best Odds Guaranteed” promotion that is usually available on all UK and Irish races.
The old adage, “only bet with money you can afford to lose” obviously applies to horse racing betting, but if you are sensible, betting on the horses can be a popular and potentially profitable pastime.
