Horse racing is one of the oldest sports played worldwide and its gambling has always kept it in the limelight. Earlier horse racing dominated the world of sports betting. Even though today many sports have gained popularity in gambling, horse racing still continues to receive attention from bettors all over the world. With online sports betting option, more and more people are getting involved in betting. Here is some information on how to bet online horse racing.
Parimutuel and Fixed-Odds Bets
Before you bet online horse racing, you need to understand how betting works. There are 2 types of betting systems, fixed odds and parimutuel. In a fixed odds system, the bookie/sportsbook will calculate the odds beforehand and reveal them at the time of placing the bet. When you wager an amount you exactly know your payout. In a parimutuel bet system you do not know the payout value for your wager.
Bettors have to finish placing their bet before the commencement of the race. As soon as the race begins, no bet will be accepted. The pool of money collected is then calculated. After deducting bookie's commission, the amount left is distributed among the winners according to their wagers. So your odds will be disclosed to you only after the race starts. Your payout amount is inversely proportional to the total amount wagered on your selected outcome. The more money people bet on the same outcome as you, the lesser you get.
Different Betting Options
Win Place and Show: A win is a straightforward bet in which you predict the winner of a race. Place is another basic bet where your chosen horse should either come 1st or 2nd in the race for you to win. In show you are betting that your selected horse will come in the first three ranks. These are the most basic bets in which you are placing the bet on a single horse in a single race.
Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta and Superfecta: You can also choose to place a single bet on 2 horses of one race. Quinella bet allows you to predict which two horses will win the 1st and 2nd place irrespective of the order. Whereas in a bet called exacta, you precisely mention the order in which these two horses will win. In quinella both your horses have to win or else you lose. And in exacta not only both your horses have to win the first two ranks, but also in the specified order. In a trifecta, you place a bet on the first three winners of the race with their precise order, while in a superfecta you bet on the first four winners.
Multiple Race Bets: You also have an option of placing a single wager on many horses of different races. While placing a bet like daily double, you basically place two bets on two back to back races, not separately but as a single bet. So you win only if both your predictions come true. Pick three lets you place a single bet on the 3 horses that will win three different races. Some tracks also offer bets on 6 races.
An important step to take before you bet online horse racing is to do ground work. Gather all information about the trends and latest news of all the horses in the race. It is better to research and take a calculated risk, than to make a random guess.