Understanding Horse Racing Betting Odds. We show Horse Racing betting odds on the Exchange in decimals. Horse Racing decimal odds are easy to understand, because they represent the payout you'll get if you win – e.g. 5.2 means you'll receive 52 for every £10 you bet, including your stake, if the bet wins. View all this week's live betting shows from all Uk & Ireland's horse racing meetings with Sky Sports. Horse Racing Live Betting Shows Fill out the formal dress see Culture of Ethiopia. Robin Williams–”Mars/Uranus in Cancer in 8th. A pet is an animal and cell.
Horse racing is one of the most popular sports in the world. It’s also one of the oldest, with records indicating that some form of horse racing took place as far back as Ancient Greece, Egypt, Syria and Babylon.
Chariot racing ruled the day in Greece. While that still exists to a degree, the most popular form of horse racing these days is called flat racing. Some other popular formats are steeplechasing, harness racing and endurance racing.
The concept of flat racing is simple. Most tracks are flat and oval shaped, though some tracks, particularly in Europe, may vary. Most tracks in Europe will use a turf surface, but dirt tracks are more common in North America and Asia.
What should you know if you’re interested in getting in on the world of live betting on horse racing?
You Have to Act Quickly
If you’re reading this, you’re likely quite familiar with the concept of live betting. A live bet is a bet placed after a game or contest has already started. Considering most horse races last a handful of minutes at most, you have to be quick on the trigger if you want to place a live bet during a race.
For example, the winner of the Kentucky Derby typically finishes the race in about two minutes. That doesn’t give you a whole lot of time to make a decision and then go through the process of placing a bet. You have to identify your horse or horses, state your dollar risk, set your type of wager and submit in the matter of seconds.
Be Aware of External Factors
Despite the relatively short amount of time that a race is actually in progress, there is still plenty that can change instantly that affects the way a race will play out.
The most obvious factor is weather. Rain can wreak havoc on a track, particularly a dirt surface. Certain horses may also be better equipped to deal with harsh conditions than others. Doing your research on how certain horses have fared given different weather conditions in the past is key when evaluating how you should approach a race as a bettor.
If you’re following along from your home or some place that isn’t the actual track itself, you need to make sure you have a strong live data and video feed at your disposal. Otherwise, you could miss something crucial that screws everything up for you.
In the unfortunate event that a horse comes up lame, obviously the field will narrow and you’ll have a better chance of nailing your winning pick or picks. Odds will certainly change to reflect the new standings.
The Internet’s advent has been a huge factor in the progress that live gambling has made in a relatively short period of time. Now that you can find a stream of just about any race anywhere in the world from the comfort of your couch nowadays, you’re essentially free to bet as much as you want.
Preparation
As is the case when placing a bet on any sport, heavy preparation is required. You don’t want to under-prepare and then get caught with your pants down once odds change, a horse goes down or weather affects the track. So, having a broad base of knowledge regarding different horses, tracks, jockeys and track records is pivotal.
It’s even more important if you’re placing a live bet, because you’re essentially having to process information in just seconds before making a snap decision. If a horse has a knack for falling behind early before rallying in the race’s latter stages, perhaps he (or she) makes for a solid come-from-behind bet once the odds get longer.
Live betting with just one horse involved is complicated enough, but if you’re feeling particularly bold you could place a live exotic wager. This, of course, involves multiple horses placing in a certain order. This is a good means of increasing your profit potential, but obviously you need more outcomes to go your way, otherwise the bet busts completely.
Exacta? Superfecta? Trifecta? Quinella? If you’re truly ambitious and feel like you have a firm grasp on how a race is going to play out as it happens you can take these bold dives.
Legality
Obviously, the legality of placing a live bet on a horse race depends on where you are. Some states in the USA will allow gambling on Indian Territories, but nowhere else. Horse racing is often an exemption due to the fact that it is a sport that doesn’t provide many easy cheating opportunities for bettors and books alike.
Betting on races is encouraged at most tracks, but what about if you’re wanting to get in on the action via the Internet? Fortunately, most states do allow some form of betting on horse racing. Due to the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978, tracks were allowed to broadcast their races to other locations and accept bets.
In 2000, the law was amended to accept wagers via phone and the Internet, as well. While other games, such as poker and betting on other sports, was outlawed with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Enforcement Gaming Act of 2006, horse racing was omitted.
Of course, your state must agree to allow interstate betting on horse racing. Laws in some states are rather complicated. This is true in Connecticut, where bettors are allowed to bet on races online, though they may only do so through a specific website. Laws change all the time, but as of March 2017, the following states do not allow betting on horse racing online:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Kansas
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
On the flip side, you may legally bet on horse racing via the Internet in the following states:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Conclusion
Live betting on horse races is an exciting way of getting in on the action, but you really need to have your ducks in a row if you want to be successful in doing so with horse racing. You have a tiny window of opportunity in a given race, so being fully prepared and evaluating the vast array of possible outcomes before placing a bet is incredibly important.
The Internet certainly makes the process much more simple, but it still requires quick thinking and the ability to process information on short notice.
Read About Betting on Other Sports
American horse racing is very popular, particularly in the run up to the Triple Crown races and the Breeders Cup, and many UK betting sites are taking bets on those races. To help you find a new home for your sports betting needs, we have gathered a short list of our favorite sites for betting on US horse racing and watch free live streaming online.HOW TO BET ON US HORSE RACING
If you live in the UK (or any other European country) and wish to bet on horse racing then we would suggest you look below. There are several online gambling sites where you can do so with ease, as they are offering the possibilit to bet on US horse racing. This tipically includes all the Major American tracks such as Laurel Park, Penn National, Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Churchill Downs and Santa Anita Park and minor tracks like Remington Park, Golden Gate Fields and Will Rogers Downs.
US Horse Racing Recommended Bookmakers
US HORSE RACING BET TYPES
When it comes to types of bets that you can make on horse racing in the United States, there are three main bets and several exotic bets on single race or multiple races.Main Bets
Show:
Your selected horse must finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.
Place:
Your selected horse must finish 1st or 2nd place.
Win:
Your selected horse must finish in 1st place.
Exotic Bets: Single Race
Exacta (or Perfecta):
The Exacta is the combination of predicting the winning horse and the second place horse, in order.
Live Odds Horse Racing
Quinella:Similar to the Exacta, but this does not require the bettor to predict the order of thetop two horses. Your selected horses must finish 1st and 2nd place in either order. Since this is easier to predict than an Exacta, it also pays less than the Exacta (typically it pays about half of the Exacta payoff).
Trifecta:
The Trifecta requires the bettor to pick three horses. Your selected horses must finish in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in exact order. It is significantly harder to predict than an Exacta, and accordingly will pay out much more for a winning bet.
Superfecta:
The most difficult of the single race exotics as your selected horses must finish in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in exact order. The payoff for a Superfecta is generally very high.
Exotic Bets: Multiple Races
Horse Betting Show
Double:
A Double requires the bettor to pick the winner in two consecutive races.Pick 3/Pick 4/Pick 6:
These bets are all similar to the Double wager, only differing in the amount of consecutive races that a bettor needs to predict the winner. Your selected horses must finish 1st place in three, four or six consecutive races. For Pick 3s and Pick 4s, if nobody has the required number of races correct, they will typically pay out for people who missed one less race. For a Pick 6, the majority of the Pick 6 pool will be carried over to the next racing day, making the subsequent Pick 6 pool even larger. There will sometimes be a consolation payment for picking five winners.
Place Pick All:
This bet is similar to a Pick-x, except that you need a horse to place (come in 1st or 2nd) in each race on the card, instead of to win (usually 8 or 9 races).
Wager Combinations
There are different terms used to refer to methods of combining horses, particularly for single race exotic wagers such as Exactas and Trifectas.Straight:
Refers to any wager placed where there is only 1 combination. For example, a Trifecta with horses 1/2/3 would be a straight bet. Since a straight bet is only 1 combination, the total cost of the bet will the amount of the bet.
Box:
A boxed wager is where you take every possible combination of a set of horses. For example, a Trifecta Box with horses 1,2,3 would cover every Trifecta possibility with those 3 horses (6 combinations)
Key:
If you a key a horse, it means you are taking the horse by itself on top and you will take several horses behind. For example, if you bet a Trifecta Key 1/2,3,4,5 you are betting that the 1 horse will win the race, and the 2nd and 3rd finishers will be one of those other 4 horses you choose. Your key MUST finish first for you to win the bet.
Wheel:
A wheel refers to taking the entire field for a leg of a wager. You back the horse that will win but you don't know who will finish 2nd. Your Exacta Wheel bet would look like 1/ALL. Taking 'ALL' for a leg is very common in the last leg of a Trifecta or Superfecta since it is very difficult to predict who will run 3rd or 4th.
WATCH AMERICAN HORSE RACING LIVE STREAMING ONLINE FOR FREE
There are few online betting sites offering all customers completely free live streaming video of US racing every single day, even without having to place a bet.To watch on your PC / laptop / mobile simply do the following:
- Join one of our recommended bookmakers below
- Select the race card you want to stream
- Open the live stream by clicking the link at the top of the racecard