Best Horse Racing Betting Sites

Horse racing is one of the biggest betting sports in the world, with at least AU$10 billion bet on this fast-paced and unpredictable sport every year. With the sports popularity at an all time high, it's no wonder there is a plethora of online horse racing betting sites, and it can be hard to distinguish between them. This is where we step in!

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How We Judge Sites For Betting on Horse Racing

Deciding where to start or which of the best horse racing online bookmakers is the one for you can be daunting, but luckily for you, you don’t have to do the hard work as we have ranked them according to exactly what you need. Rating Horse Racing betting sites is a pleasure for our team due to their passion for the sport and the betting industry.

We look into the variation of payment methods a bookmaker offers, their safety and security measures, the free bet offers, and customer support options, as well as the ease of use of the site. Thanks to this, we always have an updated list of bookmakers for you, so you don’t have to look elsewhere.

Safety and security is very important to us, as we know that the only safe online bookmakers are those that are licensed and regulated by a relevant gambling commission, such as the UK gambling commission. We never promote, advertise or recommend black listed, offshore or unregulated entities on this website.

Our Unrivalled Team of Horse Racing Betting Experts

Here at Gambling.com we always want to ensure that we are offering the best information to our customers, and the best way of doing this is to have a team of experts on every betting industry topic, and horse racing is no exception.

We have a team of experts always looking into every facet of the industry and our horse racing team is led by the experienced duo of Dean Ryan and Diarmuid Nolan.

Features Offered by the Best Horse Racing Betting Sites

Every online horse racing bookie is different, with a massive variation of offers and features on show from bookmaker to bookmaker. With this in mind it's very important you know which online betting site offer the best odds, who has the most markets available, which bookmakers offer in-running betting and streaming, as well as who has the best promotions.

It can be very frustrating when you sign up a new bookmaker, only to realise they don't offer promotions or streaming, so having as much knowledge about what you're looking for in a horse racing betting site is key. We have listed the most important facets to look out for when choosing a new horse racing bookmaker.

Best Horse Racing Odds and Prices

Getting the best odds available is paramount to being a successful horse racing bettor. Why would you take 5/1 on a horse winning with one bookmaker, when you can get 6/1 elsewhere?

This means that it can be fortuitous to open several online betting accounts as prices can vary on every single race. Each bookmaker have their own markets and liabilities, and these are looked after by what are known as traders, and at times, albeit less and less these days, they can take opinions on races and move the odds one way or the other.

For example, one bookmaker's trading team could decide they want to take on the favourite in the betting market of the Cox Plate or the Melbourne Cup, while another might not. This means that the first betting site will lengthen the odds of this horse to say 4/1, while the second will decide to keep the odds at 3/1. This means that customers can take on the traders opinion at better odds and if successful make more money from their win.

Horse Racing Betting Markets

There is loads of different markets that horse racing punters can get involved in, not just the typical win or each way. This can be easily checked before signing up to a bookmaker or betting exchange, and can be a big help when you're looking to place a different type of bet on a race. Below is a list of some of the bet types to watch out for:

In-Play Betting

In-Play betting, or in-running betting as it's known in horse racing, is another great tool for horse racing punters. This is where you can back a horse in the middle of the race depending on how the horse is going.

This is particularly useful when you might worry about a horse early on in a race, as some horses might not start very well or they might be prone to acting up before the race starts. By waiting to bet on a race while it is running you can see how a horse has started and act accordingly. Be careful though, as there can be a lag between the actual race and a stream, so you may be backing a horse 2 seconds before they were to fall.

Not every bookmaker offers this service for horse racing so make sure you check it out beforehand.

Live Streaming

Similar to In-Play betting, streaming is a key component for many horse racing punters. The ability to watch races on the go is very important, and thankfully the vast majority of horse racing betting sites do offer this service.

For a full in-depth look at websites or which betting app offers this service, you can read our review of the best Bookmakers with Live Streaming.

Promotions and Bonus Offers

Everybody loves something free in life, and it's no different when it comes to betting online. Thankfully with the surge in the number of online bookmakers it's never been a better time to open up a new horse racing site account and claim a free bet or even enhanced odds. Winning is great, but winning with a free bet is even better!

There are different types of free bets that you can claim and it's important you fully read the T's & C's of the potential wagering requirement before opting into a promotion. Free Bets types include a welcome bonus, matched free bets, No deposit free bets, Reload bonuses and risk free bets. To read more on this, you can check out our Free Bet guide.

Customer Support

Sometimes there is questions only the company themselves can answer, so it's very important that the horse racing online sportsbook you choose has a good Customer service team. Generally you should be looking for a company that can be contacted through several means such as live chat, email, by phone and by social media.

There is nothing worse than when you have a genuine issue and you cannot contact a company, so make sure they have at least two of the above means of contact available.

The Best Betting Types for Horse Racing

Horse Racing is a really fun sport to bet on, responsibly obviously, and there is plenty of ways to place your bet. You do not have to stick to just placing singles if you wish, there is plenty of ways to increase the legs on your bet and hopefully your winnings also in the process! We have listed the most common types of bets here so you can decide what way you want to have a flutter on the horses.

Key Horse Racing Terms and what they Mean

Horse Racing can seem daunting to newcomers because at times it can seem like they are speaking a different language. We've picked a few terms that are commonplace in horse racing and explained them for you below.

Best Horse Racing Events to Bet on

Like any sport, horse racing has an abundance of major meetings which garner interest from all over the world! Horses from all four corners of the globe take each other on at these meetings and the prize money on offer is incredibly massive. We have listed 4 of these meetings below to keep an eye on.

How to Identify Fully Licensed and Regulated Horse Racing Sites

Here at Gambling.com we take customers safety very seriously. It's imperative that when you are looking for your next online horse racing betting site that you make sure they are licensed and regulated by a relevant gambling commission, such as the UK Gambling commission.

This can be tricky to figure out, but don't worry we do all of the heavy lifting here for you. We ensure all of our listed and ranked bookmakers carry full regulatory licences from the respective gambling authorities and are subject to spot checks regarding their activities. We never promote, advertise or recommend black listed, offshore or unregulated entities on this website.


References

  1. Gambling.com Responsible Gambling Website
  2. Austrlian Gambling Helpline
  3. Gamblers Help Australia
  4. Lifeline Problem Gambling
  5. GamCare
  6. The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission

FAQ

This is very difficult to properly answer as it completely depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for the best prices then you might be better off sticking with the likes of Bet365, if you want brilliant products then Betfair might be the site for you. Finally, if you're looking for constant and exciting promotions we'd recommend Unibet.

This completely depends on what your budget is, but the Pick 3 is seen as the most popular bet as you can be involved in three races for much less than if you were staking singles. A AU$10 bet covers 3 races and you can win really big if all 3 of those horses win for you. If they all lose, whilst you will have lost your stake, at least it was only AU$10!

This can completely depend on the price of the horse you are backing. If the horse is 3/1 or shorter you might be better off sticking with a win bet, while if you fancy one at bigger odds, say 12/1, it would make sense to play each way as if the horse doesn't win, but it places you will get at least 1/5 of those odds on half your stake. A place bet makes sense when you don't fancy the horse in question to win, but to run well.

A place generally pays at 1/5 of the odds of the horse. So if you back a 10/1 shot to place, you are backing him to place at 2/1.

Every website recommended on gambling.com is safe as we only promote betting sites who are fully licensed by the relevant gambling commissions.

It's very easy to place a horse racing bet online. You pick the racecourse and time the horse you want to back is running at, you decide the type of qualifying bet you wish to place and select it. The betslip will then display with your betting options, you choose your stake and the bet is on!