How to Bet On Horse Racing

When betting on horse racing, it can get as simple or as complex as you want. Whichever the case, it is always best to be prepared before placing your bets, and by learning how to effectively bet on horse racing, you set yourself up for a long-term winning strategy. 

Here is a look at how to bet on horse racing:

Choose Where to Wager

The first thing you need to do is find out where to actually place your wager. There are two main options when it comes to this: at the track or online. 

While betting at a track in-person is exciting and offers many benefits, most people decide to place their horse racing wagers through online platforms. It is far more accessible, and they offer various sign-up bonuses, live streaming, tips, and more. 

Once you decide to bet online, you need to select which platform you will use. Here is a look at some of the most popular online horse race betting platforms:

• TwinSpires: Twinspires is considered by many to be the best online platform for betting on horse racing. It has been around for a long time and is trustworthy, so much so that it is the official betting partner of the Kentucky Derby. The platform offers both a website for betting and a mobile app, as well as various tracks and live streaming capabilities. 

• TVG: Another top choice is TVG, which is well known for its horse racing network channel. Besides broadcasting races, it also has an online betting platform that provides predictions, analysis, live streaming, and many betting tracks through both its website and mobile app.

• Bet America: Outside of Twinspires and TVG, many bettors opt for Bet America, which is another one the most popular online platforms for betting. It offers betting at many tracks through their website or IOS. 

Decide on Your Track and Wagers

Once you choose an online platform, you must decide which track you are going to wager on. Each weekend of racing features top events all around the country at various tracks, and the big races often take place at venues like Churchill Downs, Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Oaklawn Park.

After you decide on a track, you want to decide which types of wagers to place. 

Here is a look at some of the most popular types of bets: 

• Win/Place/Show - You can bet just one of these by choosing a horse to win, to finish second, or to finish third, or you can bet it as an across-the-board bet. The latter means you bet on one runner, and if they finish first, you collect payouts for all three. If that horse finishes second, you collect the payout for both Place and Show, and if they finish third, you only collect the payout for Show. 

• Exacta/Trifecta: These are two of the most popular exotic wagers, meaning that they are more complex than the Win/Place/Show bets. For you to hit an Exacta bet, you must select the first- and second-place finishers in their exact order. A Trifecta is similar, but it requires you to select the first, second, and third-place finishers.

• Superfecta: The Superfecta is one of the hardest bets to hit, but it offers some of the biggest payouts. In order to collect for a Superfecta, you must choose the first-, second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers of a race.  

Use the Available Tools 

In order to bet on horse racing and do it successfully, you should take advantage of the various tools that are available online, starting with the race program. 

When you decide on a track and a race to bet on, the first thing you should do is look at the race program. It includes all of the critical betting information you should know before deciding on which horses to place a wager on, such as morning-line odds, past performances, trainers, owners, jockeys, records, post positions, medications, equipment changes, finish times, and more. 

The racing program often costs a few dollars, but it returns much more than that in the knowledge it provides you. When you buy a racetrack program, you will receive information not just about one race but rather each race taking place at the track that day. 

Those online platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, and Bet America also offer many useful tools for horse race betting. You can find expert analysis and picks, as well as race replays. Race replays are extremely valuable and often overlooked when betting on horses. They enable you to study past performances not just on paper but by video, and you can really start to develop stronger picks. 

Betting on horse racing is one of the most exciting forms of any sports wagering, and there are only a few things you need to do to get started. Once you find the best online platform that fits your needs, decide on which tracks and wagers are best for you, and learn how to read race programs and take advantage of other available tools, you can begin betting and winning right away.