subject: The Best Way to Bet on Horse Races - Three Horse Racing Tips [print this page] Would you like to bet on horse races, but you're not sure about how to do it? Maybe you've been to the race track once or twice and had fun, but didn't know what you were doing, or maybe you've been more than a few times, but still want to learn more about how to bet on horses. Reading a racing form or past performances and then wagering can be confusing, especially if you're picking winners. These tips are mostly for North American tracks, but some of the advice is good no matter where you go to the races.
1. The first tip is also a bit of a caution and disclaimer. It is fun to bet on horses and win money, but it is also very risky. Unless you're a great handicapper, have a real good horse racing system, or have some very good inside information, a lot of it is luck. Therefore, never risk more than you can afford to lose. Because it can become an emotionally charged experience, I advise that you only take as much money into the track or OTB as you can afford to lose. Leave the rest of your money at home.
2. The second tip is about betting. This is where you figure out which type of wager to make. There are many kinds of wagers that you can make. Obviously, if you bet on a horse to win, it has to win the race in order for you to collect. If you bet on a horse to place, it has to finish first or second and you get whatever it pays to place. Horses usually pay less to place than to win because they have a better chance of placing. The third straight bet, as these wagers are called, is a show bet. It means if your horse manages to come in first, second, or third, you get whatever it pays to show and be prepared because it is usually less than the win or place payoff.
If you only want the thrill of cashing tickets and cheering on a horse and you lack confidence, there is nothing wrong with betting to show or place. If you want a chance at each one of those bets, you can bet the horse "across the board." Let's say you have chosen a horse, we'll say the 2 in the third race, to bet on and you want to collect no matter whether it wins, places, or shows. For six dollars you can bet a $2 across the board bet. You simply walk up to the teller and say, "Two dollars across the board on the two in the third race." You might also have to specify the track if there is simulcasting going on and people are betting on more than one track.
I don't recommend more complicated bets such as exactas or daily doubles because they are harder to win.
3. The third horse racing tip is how to choose a good horse to bet on. The most likely winner is usually the horse with the most money bet on it. They are called the favorite and on the average win about a third of the time. They place about half the time and show almost three quarters of the time. Therefore, betting the favorite across the board results in some kind of payoff in almost three out of four races, that's the good news. The bad news is that if you keep betting the favorite, you'll wind up cashing a lot of tickets, but losing money.
If you don't know how to handicap and don't have a good horse racing system, I recommend you get a racing form or local paper that has a sports writer who handicaps the races, and read the comments about the horses made by the experts. This will do two things. It will tell you which horses are most likely to win and it will also start to teach you how handicappers choose winners. Their comments will quickly educate you about class, speed, and jockeys. If you go with their second or third choice you will have a lot of winners and also get some pretty good prices at times.
Those three tips will get you started and you will have an enjoyable day at the track. Going to the horse races and betting on horses should be fun as long as you use common sense and follow those guidelines.
The Best Way to Bet on Horse Races - Three Horse Racing Tips
