Updated: 2024This page you are now will give you a quick overview of just some of the horse racing betting options we can help you with, so read on to get your first insight on how to bet on horse races.
Top sites to bet on horse racing in the UK
Horse racing betting overview
Horse racing betting today is hugely popular, simply because it’s so exciting. There’s nothing quite like backing a particular horse, then watching in anticipation (in real or on sports streaming sites) as the race starts and your chosen steed competes with dozens of other horses for the win. Sporting events can last well over an hour, but with horse races, there’s no waiting around and getting bored since the races are over in a matter of minutes, so they’re a lot more exhilarating and thrilling to watch.
It’s long been a key part of British betting culture and is the second most popular betting option – only football has more bets placed on it.
If you’re new to the world of horse racing betting, keep to this page. Here you’ll find everything you need to know to get you started. Before you know it, you’ll be researching horses and jockeys, backing one in a big race and watching nervously as your selection thunders around the race track, hopefully winning the race for you.
Types of horse racing
There are two main types of horse racing you’ll come across.
- The most common one is flat racing. The way this works couldn’t be any more straightforward: a number of horses run from a starting point and the first to make it past the finish line, or the post, is the winner. For some flat races, the horses simply run in a straight line; for others, the horses run around a curved track, which is typically in the shape of an oval.
- Then there’s National Hunt racing, which is also known as jump racing. For this type of horse racing, the racecourse features a number of obstacles that both the jockey riding the horse and the horse itself must work together to overcome.
There are two types of National Hunt: hurdles and steeplechase.
- For hurdles races, horses are required to jump over a number of low hurdles as they race.
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Steeplechases involve hurdles as well, though these are often taller and can be made of fencing or hedges;
these races also have ditches and small bodies of water that have to be jumped over or avoided.
