Horse betting is something which perplexes even the most seasoned of punters; it is a practice which is complex and requires a lot of technical knowledge. That being said, however, when you are armed with even the most basic bits of information, you can quite easily begin to wade your way through the seemingly endless field of confusion and make it to safety at the other end, hopefully with a bit of extra cash. Horse betting really is something which you get better at as you participate in it more and more, so we can only recommend that you pick a horse and jump right in after reading our basics below.
There are quite a few different types of bet when it comes to horse betting, and they can be summed up as follows:
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Win bet
A win bet is probably the most common and simplest type of bet when it comes to horse betting. With a win bet, you are placing one bet on one outcome… in most cases, you are backing a horse to win the race.
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Each way bet
After the win bet, the most popular type of bet is the ‘each way’ bet. This is a two-tier bet on a single horse where you bet on it to win and also bet on its ‘place’. The place will vary depending on the type of race and the number of horses participating, but your horse will normally need to finish within the top three for it to come through.
In an each way bet, the ‘place’ part of it will pay out at a smaller fraction of the main odds – usually one quarter of them – and this can also vary.
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Multiple bets
There are lots of different multiple bets in horse betting, which range from the simple double all the way to a ‘Goliath’ which involves 247 different selections on one wager!
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Straight forecasts
In a straight forecast, you have to pick the top two horses in a race in their correct order of finishing. There is also a ‘reverse forecast’ which is similar, except the horses can finish in any order.
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The tricast
This bet is only really for those of us who have had a lot of experience with horse betting and really know our stuff. The tricast involves picking the top three horses in their correct finishing order… sounds simple, but it really is not! Tricasts usually have big rewards and they are notoriously hard to get right.
Horse betting, although hugely popular, is widely recognised as one of the most difficult betting markets out there. It is something which requires a huge amount of knowledge and dedication to learning the market on the bettor’s part to get right, and this is something which puts many people off. If you are interested, we just recommend going for it and dedicating yourself to learning – it is the only way you can improve and take advantage of some of the huge winnings which make this betting market so popular.