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Looking at the Best Horse Racing Betting Sites of 2024

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Last Update: 19/06/2023

The sport of horse racing has long been a part of global gambling history. Thousands of people line the stands every week to watch a race, and as a result, it is one of the most bet on sports in the world. That’s why we have decided to create a guide for the best horse racing betting sites, so you can get the most valuable information quickly. We will take a look at welcome bonuses, odds levels, strategies and much more. Below you will find all the top online bookies for the sport.

The Top 5 Horse Racing Betting Sites

We have listed the very best sites for you including their bonuses, which you can use to bet on the horses. How did we come to this decision? In the following sections we will be delving into everything you need in order to satisfy your betting needs and our experts will explain the criterion we used to analyse them. Follow on reading now!

Which Horse Racing Betting Site is the One for Me?

There are a number of decisions that go into determining which of the horse racing betting sites to choose. In the following sections we will explain the most important factors. Of course, these are all your personal preferences, and the importance you place on certain facets could vary from person to person. Even so, it is natural to assume that odds levels, markets covered, types of bets, and things like virtual betting should all be looked at before you find your preferred online operator.

Odds Levels and Their Importance

For a rookie punter, or someone who has only a fleeting interest in horse racing gambling, the importance of odds may not at first be necessarily apparent. Nevertheless, we are here to tell you they are integral to the betting experience. If a bookie offers a high payout, it is you that will benefit. If they don’t, it signals they are only interested in fleecing you for the most amount of money they can. We found that the levels offered for horse racing, wasn’t as much as football but was still quite consistent across the board.

Average Odds for Flat Races and National Jumps
Betting Site Flat Races National Jumps
85.26 – 89.74% 84.25 – 91.28%
82.12 – 88.33% 79.54 – 87.21%
85.67 – 89.84% 83.16 – 88.69%
85.78 – 89.39% 83.59- 88.28%
82.46 – 89.48% 82.08 – 91.47%

Obviously, these levels will change depending on the event, however our experts calculated them over a time-period, to try and give you an average. The calculations are complicated, and that’s why we did them for you. You can research yourself or trust us when we say they are respectable levels and represent the best on the market. We went a little more into odds levels and payouts on our main page, if you’d like more explanation or examples. Some of the bookies will try and undercut or out-price each other, but in general the top ones are usually offering a similar price, just be wary of those that seem too good to be true, as they often are.

Race Coverage Offered by Bookies

A very important facet to consider when choosing from horse racing betting sites is what races they cover. There is no good signing up for something then finding out you can’t place a wager on the event you were waiting for! The best ones should offer variation. Races like the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot, or the Melbourne Cup will obviously have top coverage and every race will be catered for.

Where a bookie will really stand out from the crowd is how they cover both National Hunt and Flat Races. From Newbury, to Kentucky, or Bangor-on-Dee to Wincanton, you should have the opportunity to bet. Without the smaller events horse racing gambling wouldn’t be what it is today, and many punters still love trying their hand on these kinds of races. So, before you sign-up make sure they have what you are looking for, luckily all the ones we have listed do. Some of the best operators even let u follow the race on mobile.

Betting Types on Offer

When it comes to the best horse racing betting sites, they should all offer a variety of markets to bet on. The traditional way of predicting the outright winner, with an each-way bet is simply not enough. Of course, this is still a viable market and one that is routinely played on, yet there should be more for the average punter to sink their teeth into. Nowadays, there are other types, such as exotic wagers, like a tricast, where you predict those finishing first, second, third. The reverse tricast is when you predict the top-three horse in any order. It’s a great little wager, but it will increase the cost of the bet, as you have to cover multiple combinations. There is also the Superfecta, which is similar to the tricast bets, but you have to choose four horses instead.

These are all the favourite betting options that punters nowadays use on the horses, so most online bookies do provide the opportunity to do this.

Virtual Horse Racing Betting

Due to a number of reasons in-play horse racing betting does not really exist. Instead you will find you have to bet before the events starts, which you can then watch via a live stream. If you missed the race you wanted, there is an alternative. That is the world of virtual horse racing. Just like the real thing, the horses will run around a track and you have to pick a favourite. This is a recent development in the online world and is one that has many fascinating opportunities in store. Below you will find a selection of our favourite bookies’ virtual platforms so you can have a better understanding of what we are talking about.

How Does Virtual Betting Look at the Top Operators?
  • William Hill virtual horse racing platformA race every five minutes to bet on
  • Betfred virtual horse racing platformA regular schedule every five minutes
  • Ladbrokes virtual horse racing platformA regular schedule every three minutes
  • BetVictor virtual horse racing platformA race every three minutes to bet on

Most bookies that offer virtual racing have a regular schedule. Races take place every three to five minutes meaning that you always have something available. Sometimes, when watching a race unfold, it’s hard to believe you are not looking at the real thing! However, it must be noted that not all of the online bookies have virtual racing on offer. So, as always it would be pertinent to check beforehand, if that is what you are looking for.

Bonuses for Horse Racing Betting Sites

Everyone knows that online casino bonuses exist, but they may also be surprised to find that the best horse racing betting sites also offer such valuable entities. If you are wise enough, you can really take advantage of what the bookies offer. Things like best odds guaranteed, free bets, price boosts, or daily specials are now common place, so you really do have a lot to feast on. Below you will see our featured bookie, and is one that we can recommend as one of the best for the sport, its name is synonymous with horse racing, so you can’t go wrong with them.

A jockey in white and red riding a horse
  • the Best for Horse Racing
  • money Back Offers
  • enhanced Odds

One of the best things about bonuses for this sport, is that they often pop-up around the time of a big event. So, let’s say the Grand National is taking place the week after, in the run up all of the different bookies will have offers and bonuses in order to entice you to bet with them. For the savvy punter, this is an ideal time to make a quick and easy buck and is an appealing factor when taking part in horse racing gambling.

Betting Strategy for Horse Racing

For all of the horse racing betting sites reviewed here, we have focused solely on their characteristics and what can differentiate them from one another. Now, we will go onto how you, the punter, can differentiate yourself from the other players. This is where a strategy comes into play. Many people have tips and tricks, or their preferred method, you just have to find yours.

One of the most famous strategies is something called ‘Dutching’. This is a betting system that ensures when you wager on a certain amount of horses you will win the same amount of money, no matter which horse prevails. This system takes a lot of calculation and liability, so it is not for the beginner, and although it doesn’t guarantee profit, it does increase the likelihood you will win. Another strategy we like is something called laying the favourite. This is where you lay against the favourite on a betting exchange. Om essences you are betting against the favourite. This may seem silly, but when you consider only around one-third of pre-race favourites actually go on to win, it will be a money maker in the long run.

Of course, there are many other strategies out there, and these are just the tip of the iceberg. So, we’d recommend doing a lot more research before you choose one to follow.

Some Interesting Facts

Now we have decided to bring you some interesting facts and tidbits dedicated to the horse racing world. After reading these you can impress all of your friend with your expert knowledge and you might even be able to use them in a quiz! Check the boxes below and you’ll see what we are on about!

Some Gambling Statistics

A graph overlayed onto horses runningDuring the lifetime of betting the average male punter is likely to spend 15% of what he gambles on the horses, making it the second most popular sport for gamblers. Although this represents a small decline, it still shows the popularity of the sport overall and demonstrates it is still an integral aspect of the gambling scene.

The Biggest Win

A man in black wearing a hatThe ultimate fantasy every punter is winning big enough to walk off into the sunset and never look back. Back in 2008, one lucky bettor put 50p on an eight-horse acca. They all came in and he went away with a staggering £1 million. I don’t know about you, but for us that is life changing, and we’d certainly be happy with that.

Betting Partnerships

Shaking handsAs with any other sport, horse racing has attempted to get as much sponsorship as possible. One of the central figures is the British Horse Racing Authority which has developed partnerships with the Racing Post and At the Races amongst others. Furthermore, many courses that feature horse racing have partnerships with bookies such as William Hill or Ladbrokes and is a key staple of the racing scene.

The sport that was first invented centuries ago has flourished into a booming business, and the stats and figures for online horse racing betting above only go to demonstrate that. With the sport continuing to flourish there will only be more stories to talk about. Horse racing will continue to part of the betting scene and will always have a big market.

Conclusion

We are now coming to the end of our review of the best horse racing betting sites and we detailed everything you need to know when choosing the top ones. Of course, many things listed here will depend on personal preference, but it must be noted that things like odds levels and bonuses are key markers for determining how good a bookie is. With the information above we trust that you are now able to understand which one suits you most and will go on to win some big money! If you can’t wait for favorite horse racing festival, you can also bet on virtual horse raises at most of the top online casinos we have reviewed.

Q&A / FAQ

If you have any further questions about horse racing betting, or anything else featured here then you can use our contact page and send us a question and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. You can also check the most popular questions below.

What does First Past the Post rules mean?

It is the immediate result after the race has been completed. The horse that was first across the finishing line is the winner, and so on.

What is an Each-Way bet?

Betting each-way is one of the most popular things to do on the horses. Basically, you are making two separate bets, first is for your horse to win, and the second is for your horse to place (2nd or 3rd). If your horse finishes in the second or third places they'll get a ¼ odds, so it is a bit like a cover bet.

Can I place limits on how much I can bet?

Every bookie listed above has controls in place to protect the gambler. When you sign up you are able to set daily, weekly, and monthly limits in place, to protect yourself. There are a whole host of other protections in place too.