Horse racing is one of the oldest and most well-established sports to bet on. It’s a sport that has centuries of history and tradition and is sometimes known as the Sport of Kings for good reason. Whether you’re a fan of horse racing or not, it’s hard to deny the appeal of betting on a day at the races. If you’re completely new to betting on horse racing, it can seem confusing at first. There are lots of different options to bet on, and you’ll need to do in-depth research.
Online horse betting doesn’t have to be complicated, though. There are a few key things to remember if you want to make successful bets on the horse races. In this article, we’ll be explaining what you should be specifically avoiding if you want the best success. Horse racing can be a difficult course to navigate, but this guide should give you the advice you need to win more often.
Disregarding Race Form
Race form is an important part of choosing the horse to bet on. Just like you’d look at previous match history for any sports bet, you’ll want to look at what kind of position each horse tends to finish in. You should also look at the conditions of the course and whether it’s a similar course for this upcoming race. Base your betting decisions around the form of the horse, and you’re much more likely to succeed. But remember, just because a horse is in great winning form, it doesn’t mean that it will continue. Many different factors come into play during a race and can affect the result.
Aside from looking at the form of the horse itself, you should look at the record of the jockey. The jockey is as important as the horse itself, and a bad jockey on a good horse won’t have much chance of winning. Ideally, you should look for past results that paired that horse and jockey together while taking the jockey’s experience into consideration.
Ignoring Starting Position
Starting position is an extremely important part of racing. While every horse has the same distance to run, some jockeys perform better in some positions than others. Horses tend to have a bigger advantage when they’re further inside the track. So if you see a strong horse placed on the first few positions of the track, there’s a good chance it will be a winner.
Again, you’ll want to be looking at the form of both the jockey and the horse and seeing how they fare in some positions over others. Make sure to judge how the starting position could affect the result of the race late on, just because a horse is ahead early it doesn’t mean it will win.
Picking a Horse Based on a Hunch
As we already mentioned, you should choose your horse based on their form and how likely you think they are to win. Remove your feelings from the equation and try to think about the race from a logical perspective. While it can be fun to sometimes pick a horse based on its funny name or because you just have a gut feeling about it, in the long run, you’ll lose most of these bets. Be methodical about your choices and remember that you don’t need to place a bet on every race you see. If there isn’t a horse that stands out for you, don’t bet.
Not Using Each Way Bets
Each way bets are one of the most popular types of horse racing bets, although a lot of new bettors don’t use them enough. With an each-way bet, rather than simply choosing your horse as a winner of the race, you’ll be placing two bets. The first is on the horse to win the race, and the second is for it to place. This means if your horse finishes in the first few places, you’ll still win your bet if it didn’t win. You should only use each-way bets when your horse isn’t considered a favorite, as this will give you favorable odds. You can still bet each way for a favorite, but if your horse has a high chance of winning, you won’t have as much value.
