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US Gambling Sites / Horse Betting: How To Bet on Horses In the US 2024

Horse Betting: How To Bet on Horses In the US 2024

Last Updated on 28/02/2024
Fact checked by: Mark Lewis

Horse betting is a concept used to represent all possible betting types that are available in the world of horse racing. Essentially, bettors place their bets on their selected horse(s) at a price offered by bookmakers. In horse betting, punters stake their money on the final placement of the horses partaking in a race with a view of making some returns. In majority of the cases of horse race betting, a pari-mutuel betting is used. A Pari-mutuel betting system is one in which bettors’ money is pooled and shared proportionally among the winners after a deduction has been made from the pool.

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Important Facts to know about Betting on Horse Racing

  • There is the each-way option in horse betting.
  • The going (ground) is perhaps the most important factors to consider
  • Employs a pari-mutuel system.
  • There are 3 exotic wagering in betting horse racing

Horse Racing Betting

Horse betting or betting on horse racing is an eventuality that commonly occurs at many horse races. However, with the advent of technology, the concept of online horse betting is now becoming increasingly common. Online horse betting is simply the case when bettors make their horse race betting online without having to come down to the horse race tracks. Making online horse betting or betting horse racing on the tracks, it is important to know that most tracks used the pari-mutuel betting system to distribute winning for punters winning horse betting. As explained earlier in the introduction, in a pari-mutuel betting, all the money that punters as put forward in stake are pooled together. A deduction is then made from this pool before sharing the pool in proportions among the winners. Among the usefulness of this deduction made from the pool before sharing include providing purse money to participants and also a sizeable sum of tax revenue, given the huge amount of money wagered annually on horse betting.

There are diverse aspects to discuss under the topic of horse betting. However, to make the discussion interesting and relevant, we will start by providing a very succinct explanation of the different betting types that are available to punters in horse racing betting. There are quite a number of them but some of the most popular betting types in horse racing betting (or horse racing gambling) include but not limited to win single, each-way bet, patent bet, trixie bet, Yankee bet, Lucky 15 bet, Lucky 31 bet, tote place pot or jackpot, to name but few. To get a more in-depth explanation on these betting types, click on them to read our more in-depth articles on each one of them. Now, let’s give a very succinct explanation on the aforementioned betting types:

  • Win Single: This is by far the most popular and sensible wager in many ways. In a win single, bettors simply back their selected horse to finish first.
  • Each-Way bet: In an each-way bet, punters make two bets by actually making one bet. They back a horse to win and to place. Thus, a $10 each-way will actually cost $20; $10 for the selected horse to win and another $10 to place. The terms of a Place bet will vary depending on the number of horses/runners and the race type. Read more about each-way bet for optimum understanding.
  • Patent bet: This is a made up of seven bets from three selections. The seven bets comprised of three single bets, three double bets, and one treble bet. Punters can make the condition of winning more favourable and sensible by making the patent bet each-way if they can find three selections with favorable each-way terms.
  • Trixie bet: A Trixie bet is essentially four bets made from three selections. The four bets comprised of three doubles and one treble. It gives more advantage over and accumulator bet as one selection losing does not completely forfeit the whole wager.
  • Yankee bet: A Yankee consists of eleven bets made from four selections. The eleven bets are six doubles, four trebles, and one four-fold accumulator. One thing to note with a Yankee is that it is one of the older generations bet and higher number of selections winning translates to sizeable returns for bet; however, odds are more in the favour of bookmakers.
  • Lucky 15 bet: As the name implies, it consists of fifteen bets made from four selections. Essentially, it’s a Yankee plus four win singles.
  • Lucky 31 bet: As the name implies, it consists of thirty-one bets made from five selections. The 31 bets comprised five singles, ten doubles, ten trebles, five four-fold, and one five-fold accumulator. We have an article on lucky 31 bet where we made a deep dive for better understanding of how it works.
  • Tote Placepot/Jackpot: This is a pool bet with the Tote in which case punters must predict the winners (Jackpot) or placed horses (Placepot) of the first six races on a chosen card.

Horse Racing Betting Odds

Another important aspect of horse racing betting to discuss is understanding how to read horse racing betting odds. Many punters find this very difficult, perhaps given their lack of quality experience and short time period spent on horse betting; however, understanding these horse racing odds are quite simple. Odds are simply the return that punters can expect to get supposing their selection (horse) they bet on is successful. Odds reflects the amount of money bet on a horse. In most cases, you will see odd written like this: 7-2, 5-1, etc. This form expresses the amount of profit to the amount invested. Thus, a 7-2 odd implies that punters make $7 profit in return for every $2 invested. In simple term, betting $2 will bring a total return of $9 is the bet is successful. For even money odds like 1-1, it simply means $2 profit for every $2 invested, giving a total return of $4.

Mutuel Payoffs: Calculating Original Investment with Odds Payoff

Unlike the format of horse racing betting odds discussed above, calculating payoffs in a pari-mutuel system is a little different. To calculate the payout for a $2 bet under a pari-mutuel system, divide the first number in the odds by the second number, multiply the result by 2, and then add the standard minimum $2 bet. Let’s illustrate with example.

A horse at listed horse racing betting odd of 7-4 will be calculated by dividing 7 by 4 to give 1.75, multiply 1.75 by 2 to give 3.5, and then add 2 to 3.5 to give 5.50. Thus, the final payout for a $2 bet on a horse priced at 7-4 is $5.50. This is the mutual payout.

Thus, say you want to know exactly how much you will make in return from a successful bet, all you have to do is multiply the mutuel payout (still the same as pari-mutuel system) by the amount you invested, and then divide by two. Let’s say you invested $10 to win on a horse that won at a mutuel payout of $5.50, just multiply $5.50 by $10 to give $55, and then divide by 2 to give a final payout of $27.50.

Exotic Wagering and Betting Strategies in Horse Racing Gambling

Our discussion on horse betting will not be complete without mentioning the exotic wagering types involved. Let’s take a quick look at them. There are three exotic wagering types. These wagering systems allow punters to make bet involving selecting the first two, three, or four horses to finish. The exotic wagering types in horse racing betting are:

  • Exacta: It involves predicting the first two horses in a race in the correct order.
  • Trifecta: It involves predicting the three horses in a race in the correct order. Read more about Trifecta (Tricast bet) in one of our articles where we dive a little deeper.
  • Superfecta: It involves predicting the first four horses in a race in the correct order.

Betting strategies in exotic wagering in horse racing betting are box, wheel, and key.

Which Bookmakers offer the best Horse Betting?

Lovers of horse race betting could do worse than to take a look at the Betfair bonus codes. The mistake many punters make with horse racing gambling is that they got stacked in the past of the game instead of them focusing on the present. It is no doubt you will see some posts and articles about saying online horse racing does not work, or that horse race betting online is a sham. These premises are at best referring to the category of punters doing it wrong. Some punters even go as far as paying a tipster for inside information for some dope intel right from the stable. Some prefer to base a significant portion of their decisions on historical data, thus failing to understand that every horse race is a completely unique event that involves animals and not machines.

The baseline is that there is a very high odd that a methodical approach will be rewarded just as sticking by certain principles can prove very rewarding. All these are possible for forming your own opinion and finding a standard, trusted bookmakers to use for betting horse racing. Betting horses come with a pleasurable betting experience with the right bookmaker. On our Sports betting comparison page, you will find useful information in forms of standard, trusted bookmakers to consider for your horse betting.

Conclusion: Online Gambling Horse Racing

Instead of relying on secondhand gossips, it is better to do your own research, keep you stakes even, and make your horse betting with trusted, reputable bookmakers. You will find a comprehensive list of them on our sports betting comparison page. This information is freely at your reach to utilize and make informed decisions. Our sports betting comparison page is the first point of call for any punter seriously looking to get involved with horse racing betting.
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