One of the biggest sport markets on the Betfair Exchange is Horse Racing and the amount of cash wagered and traded is huge. Every man and his dog pretend to be a Horse Racing expert when the big festivals roll around. However, if you’re not familiar with the strategies and trading methods, you’ll struggle to turn over a profit on the Exchange.
A lot of the time with trading especially within Horse Racing, it’s not just the bet that you’re placing, it’s also about how you play the exchange. With a sustainable strategy, you’ll be able to profit by betting on Horse Racing using the Exchange.
It’s important to understand what sort of bets you’ll be looking to place when betting on Horse Racing with their being a limited market in comparison to Football, you’ll really need to find what works for you.
The most common horse racing bets to place
Win Bets – As simple as it seems, backing a Horse to win a race on the Exchange, you’ll get favourable odds in comparison to a Sportsbook (if your bet gets matched by another punter.
Place Bets – Again, similar to a win bet, this is just simply a horse to place in a race, this changes between how many horses run in the race. It’s usually 1st, 2nd & 3rd, with your horse needing to place to win the bet.
Each Way Bets – Little bit more complicated and a combination of both of the above, you’re placing two bets, one on the win and one on the place. Your stake is split equally between the two and you’ll need your horse to place to get a return in this race. Obviously, dependant on odds, you may still return a loss if your horse places after going off at an odds-on price.
How to bet on horse racing
When you’ve understood the basics and familiarised yourself with the layout of Horse Racing on the Exchange, you’ll firstly need to understand what your wallet will be. It’s imperative that when betting on the Horse Racing, you’re keeping to a consistent bankroll managing system.
It’s important to gather knowledge of the Exchange and how a Horse Race plays out there, from the off to in-running. In some extreme cases, you’ll see Horses trading at 1.01 and going onto lose and horses trading at 100.00 and going onto win. That really is the beauty of the Exchange, you’re seeing trades being taken at ludicrous odds and going onto win.
When you’re setting out to start trading on Horse Racing, first up study the form of certain races that have caught your eye, in which people are trading. Then you’ll need to pick horses which have taken your fancy to either back or lay, it’s important to know about what you’re betting on and who you’re betting on.
You’ll learn plenty about the horse/jockey combo, are they a front-runner? Or a great finisher? This sort of information will hold you in good stead when analysing your position on a Horse. Are they likely to kick on and lower from a higher position than they started or is your horse priced up to low and you’re thinking of laying off.
One of the main advantages of betting using the Exchange, is that you get the opportunity to analyse how your horse starts off in the race and how others are travelling throughout.
With the speed in which you’re betting on the Exchange in-running you really need to set out your stall and understand what your betting strategy is going to be. You’ll find yourself changing opinions on how a race is playing out especially over a longer course e.g. Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup.
These changes need to be precise and give you the best possible chance of coming out of this trade in profit. Whether that be backing a horse soon after the off, after you see it travelling well and finding its way in the race or you’ve seen its struggling and want to lay off your initial bet.
However, you plan to do so and what strategies you employ will hold you in good stead for your time trading on Horse Racing. It can be a very tough environment to bet in, but if you can grasp the basics and establish a strategy which works for you, you’ll profit greatly.
If ever I’ve posted a horse racing tip, you’ll be able to find it on my website under Other Sports Tips.
