Strategy Tips for Betting on the Horses More than many other sports horse racing is a sport which offers opportunities to get one over on the bookies, if you’re willing to put in a bit of effort. It can be a lot of fun to have a flutter on the horses, especially at the big international events like the Aintree Grand National, Melbourne Cup or America’s Triple Crown or Breeders' Cup, but what if you feel like taking things a little further? Betting on the horses is a little like a game of poker where you need both luck and skill to succeed. Fortunately the skill is something that can be learned. Here are our top tips for how to improve your horse betting strategy. Shop Around Technology is your friend when it comes to the races. Plenty of online casinos as well as bookmakers have excellent sportsbooks, each offering their own odds on the same races. With so much choice, it would be a mistake just to choose the first sportsbook you find. After all, these sites are all competing for your business. Look around, compare different sites and find the best offers. Make Use of Live Betting Speaking of technology, mobile betting has opened up a new door in sports wagering. Now we have live gambling online, with some sportsbooks offering live odds which change rapidly during the race — consult a site like https://livecasinoonline.ca/ to learn more about this exciting and fast-paced option. The skill of race reading a live event takes a lot of practice but could give you an edge over the bookies. Pay Attention to the Jockey There is a tendency to focus entirely on the horse when deciding who to back, while the jockey often gets overlooked. This is a mistake, as a good or bad jockey can make all the difference. When jockeys are riding at the top of their game they can seemingly win on anything. Who can forget the 1996 Ascot, where Frankie Dettori’s winning run of seven victories in a row confounded the bookies? A horse with a middle-ranking record can be transformed into a winner with a better jockey, and the opposite is also true. If you spot a horse with a modest form under inexperienced riders that changes to a better jockey, it may well be worth a punt. Bet Against the Favourite This advice may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s a good example of when so-called common sense can let you down. For starters, what is the favourite? It’s not necessarily the horse most likely to win, but rather the one with the most backing from the punters. While these two things do often align, statistics show that favourites lose more often than they win. Around 40% overall and much less in handicap races. Moreover, the odds on the favourite are naturally always short. So even if your horse does come in, the profits will be minimal. It can pay to look beyond the obvious but you need a solid reason before opposing the favourite. Do your Research Just like almost everything else in life, the more effort you put in, the more you get out. With horse racing, there are a few things that you should do to give yourself a better chance of making the right choice. Firstly, keep an eye on the form of various horses — that is, how they have been racing in other similar competitions. Compare how they do in similar conditions to the race you’re betting on, taking such things as the race distance and weather conditions of previous runs into account. Very few horses excel on very soft ground, so your choices should be different if there has been a lot of rain. Secondly, keep up to date with the racing tips. These can be easily found online, and should be part of a daily ritual for anyone who is serious about horse betting. With experience you will be able to work out which are the better tipsters and the stables that they tend to know more about than others. Finally, keep track of your own results as a horse bettor. It’s vital that you know how much you are spending versus your profits. Stick to a strict monthly budget, keep winnings separately, to keep your house in order. Over time, you will learn your strengths and weaknesses, which will help you avoid reckless betting. Good luck!
