Doing something you love means caring enough to do it well. Unless it is to the best of your capabilities, are you even doing the most? The wish to improve is a natural thing for us humans regardless of what kind of hobby or pastime activity we enjoy. And the best way to get better is to learn how to do it and then try it until you feel the improvement. When the hobby in question involves money, being good is that much more important. As a fun activity to pass the time, gambling took the world by storm a long time ago. Still, people are finding new ways to win more money, and more often.
Wagering on games has been around for centuries and the modern iteration is a billion-dollar industry that influences many other industries. While online casinos and their classic games like poker, roulette, blackjack, and slot machines are the most widespread forms of gambling, sports betting is right there with them. Considering how many different sports there are and how many bets can be placed on them on Stake.com and similar online sports betting platforms, it is easy to see the appeal. Among all the popular sports, the traditional, old-timey sport of horse racing still shines. If you are a fan of this sport, continue reading as we reveal to you some key betting tips for horse racing to improve your game.
Is It Possible to Get Better?
Before getting on the actual tips, let us bust a long-standing myth first. Can one get better at something that involves so much luck like gambling and betting? Well, the answer is not as clear as it may appear. It is anything but a yes or no question with a lot of nuance. With today’s horse racing odds, it is very possible to improve your skill and start winning more bets. The way one improves the skill is through gaining more knowledge about the sport as well as how to place the bets. It becomes about prediction, which can only be done once the bettors do enough research and get the important data on their side.
So yes, it is very possible to improve your betting game and win more often than you lose. It requires some work and certain things must be done if one is to achieve it. In the next several chapters you will get the chance to learn all of this. Horse racing tips and predictions are all you need to win more money, elevate your game, and make your most important hobby a lot more enjoyable. Never again will you worry about placing bets and evaluating what the horse racing betting odds today are.
Make the Sport Your Obsession
The term “obsession” usually has a negative connotation because people believe it is not very productive or healthy to obsess over anything. However, there is a way to do it a certain way that is not only beneficial but encouraged. In competitive circumstances when a lot can be put against you, the only way forward becomes obsessing with the outcome being a victory. There is such a thing as the right type of obsession and it is exactly what your horseracing betting life needs to become. This is not to say that you have to neglect other aspects of your life. On the contrary.
One can only achieve this method if it does not influence other parts of their life so make sure you walk that fine line between betting on horses and everything else. The right way to approach wagering so competitively is to make it a part of your everyday life even when you are not placing bets. This means studying the sport from multiple angles and doing all the things you can to learn more about it. This means going through the history of the sport, how it became so popular, where it originated, and how the whole wagering craze came to be.
Then comes the modern form of betting which is online. It is the most important thing to learn because that is the variation of the sport you are interested in. You have to know the yearly calendar of equestrian events and when the major races take place. Of course, you must also know the teams, the horses, and the jockeys, even the owners of the horses. If you think about it, it is the same thing football fans do for their sports bets. They live and breathe football and know all the little details that can influence every game. If you want to be good at betting on horse racing today, this is how you start.
Learn the Different Types of Bets
As is the case with all other sports betting, horse races are very diverse in terms of bets the players can place. You can wager on many different things depending on the type of race. Some of the bets are easier to correctly predict, but they give back little money. Others are quite niche and specific, but the payouts are much higher. What kind of player do you want to be? Are you willing to only play it safe and win minimally, or are you a high-stakes connoisseur who is daring and wants to risk things? Ask yourself this question and the answer will help you make the type of bets that are more to your liking. Remember, feeling comfortable is the best way to go, but do not get too stuck in your comfort zone and never leave it.
The easiest bet you can make in equestrian racing is the win-place-show bet. Here, you pick a horse to either win (come in first), place (finish second), or show (finish third). It is the base bet of the whole sport and the safest one to make. It covers three spots and provided that you are at least a little bit familiar with the horses, you should be able to win some money. To make it a bit harder, you can opt for the win-show, which only covers the first two places. Eliminating the show gives you the most popular bet in horseracing, where you only bet on a horse to win. It is the hardest of the three, naturally, but it also pays the most.
The next bet type is called exacta where instead of betting on a single horse, you bet on two. The exacta bet implies wagering on two horses, one to win and the other to finish second. The trick is that they have to finish the race in that same order, hence the name exacta. If the horse you bet to come in second wins, the bet is a loss. There is a variety called exacta box where this would still get you money as you simply bet on two horses to finish first or second in no particular order. What is more, the box can expand to more than two horses as it gives you the chance to bet on 5 or even 6 of them, as many as you like. Exactas are a fun betting option for those who have more than one favorite in the race and it requires a bit more knowledge and preparation than the win-place-show category.
To take things one step further would mean choosing the trifecta, the toughest bet to hit and the one that offers the biggest payouts. It implies picking three horses to come in first, second, and third, in that order. Alternatively, there is the trifecta box where the horses can finish 3-2-1 or 2-1-3 and you win. However, it does cost more to bet on the box, just like with the exacta. Trifectas also have a cool variation called key, where you can pick a horse to finish in two places other than the first three. For example, you bet 1 with 2-3-4 and 2-3-4-5-6, meaning 1 horse has to win, the second needs to finish second, third, or fourth, and the third can finish between second and sixth.
Learn How to Predict the Outcome
Let’s get one thing straight. It is impossible to correctly predict the outcome of any race, be it an Olympic event with sprinters, a car racing sport, or an equestrian event. The best a bettor can do is learn about the event and the participants and study their recent success history. It is the best way to increase your chances of winning and something you have to do before picking the bet type. But what exactly should the players learn about and where can they do so? What is the important data and what is not significant enough to waste your time on? According to some, there is no such thing as bad sports betting information. That may be true, but certain things are far more influential than others.
First and foremost, every bettor has to familiarize themselves with the horses. They are the true stars of the show. It may seem like the jockeys are equally as crucial, but it is not so. If the horse is unwilling to show up and show out, there is little a jockey can do. Therefore, knowing your horses is the number one step. Learn about their gender and age, their type, their build, even their color. What is their family tree and do they have some champion DNA? Where do they live and practice? It is also smart to pay attention to their owners and trainers, not just the jockey. Speaking of the jockey, what is their relationship with the horse? Have they been together for a long time or are they a recent pairing?
All of these factors matter because details and nuances tend to decide the rankings of races. Then come the more obvious sides of every race like recent injuries, current form, and track record in the ongoing season. These fluctuate all the time and a champion horse from last year does not always continue in the same manner. Study the most recent events as well as the data from the previous few seasons for that particular race. Such data is crucial because some horses and jockeys fare better on certain tracks. They have their favorites just like everyone else. Past performance and current form are the biggest factors but never underestimate career stats and previous showings.
Upcoming Events and Odds
Throughout September, there are plenty of races and events that bettors can wager money on. These represent the best chances for you to show what you have learned and use the tips and prediction strategies we discussed in this article. Let us see what the current odds are showing and which horses are favored the most for some of the upcoming UK races.
First up, there are 2 races on September 12, Doncaster May Hill Stakes and Doncaster Park Hill Stakes. For the former, it is Desert Flower with the best odds of 2.38 followed by January at 4.00 and Ecstatic at 5.50. The former has Shamida as the favorite with 5.00 odds with Night Sparkle and Mistral Star following with 6.50 and 8.00, respectively.
There are three races on September 13. Doncaster Mallard Handicap is favoring East India Dock to win it with 5/2. Doncaster Flying Childers Stakes sees Big Mojo winning with 10/3 odds. Finally, the bookmakers see Sweet William taking the Doncaster Cup with 15/8 odds.
Closer to the end of the month we have the Newmarket Rocfel Stakes on September 27. Here, you should bet on Lake Victoria (3/1). On September 28, it will be The Lion In Winter with the 2/1 odds to win the Newmarket Royal Lodge Stakes. There is one more race on the same day, the Newmarket Cheveley Park Stakes, with Fairy Godmother currently standing at 5/2.
These are only some of the upcoming races. There are plenty of other events to try out on Stake.com including those in Australia, the United States, Japan, and all over Europe. Make sure to spread your bets over multiple bets and horses to increase your chances of winning while decreasing the potential losses. Good luck!
