There’s nothing like getting dressed up in your Sunday best and cheering on the horses in a day at the races. Many racegoers like to add an extra layer of excitement to the action by placing a bet or two; a winning flutter giving them an opportunity to earn the bragging rights over their friends. So, with that in mind, here’s a look at some of the most common horse racing bet types (other than a single wager) that you can choose from.
Cover Bets
Bookmakers like Paddy Power Sports offer horse racing odds for meetings across the UK, Ireland and the rest of the world, as well as ‘ante post’ prices for big races such as the Grand National – for which I Am Maximus is the current 12/1 favourite to defend his title. Those firms also offer cover bets, which enable you to wager on a number of horses. You can use a Lucky 15 bet calculator to learn more about one such cover bet type.
Here, you back four horses and place 15 bets: one four-fold accumulator, four trebles, six doubles and four singles, so that all of the possible permutations are covered.
I Am Maximus wins the Randox Grand National! 🏆#ITVRacing | #GrandNational | @PTownend | @WillieMullinsNH pic.twitter.com/y1DmJbJEzX
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 13, 2024
You will secure a payout even if only one of your four wins or places, although the highest returns are paid should more of your selections take the tape in first place. Lucky 31 (five horses backed) and Lucky 63 (six) are extended versions of a Lucky 15.
Other cover bets are based around multiples, without placing the singles used in the ‘Lucky’ series above. So a Yankee, for example, requires you to back four horses, but only eleven individual bets are placed: one four-fold accumulator, four trebles and six doubles.These bet types are useful for a day at a meeting like the Cheltenham Festival, which has seven races at each of its – for now at least, as The Guardian points out – four days.
Forecast/Tricast
If you wanted to double down on a single race, you could place a forecast bet. This requires you to correctly predict the 1-2 finishers. A Reverse Forecast requires you to pick two horses, but you don’t need to specify which you think will win and which will finish second. For a higher potential return, you could try a Straight Forecast; here you must specify which horse you think will win and which you believe will finish second. A Tricast is similar to the Forecast, albeit you will need to correctly predict the 1-2-3 finishing combination.
Tote Betting
At many UK racecourses, you will see Tote kiosks dotted around the concourse. These provide pool betting, where you are still looking to back the winner of the race. However, your payout is not determined by the odds but the size of the prize pool, as well as the number of other people that have won.
🟡🟤 Galopin Des Champs – @Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup hero AGAIN!
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 15, 2024
🏇 18 runs
🥇 12 wins
🏆🏆 G1 Cheltenham Gold Cup
🏆🏆 Irish Gold Cup
🏆 G1 Savills Chase
🏆 G1 John Durkan Memorial
👑 Nine G1 victories
⭐️ Superstar pic.twitter.com/4M36GQE5ry
Therefore, the Tote can be a useful way to bet on popular races like the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup; especially when you fancy an outsider. The prize pools are likely to be larger for these races, with fewer winners should an underdog prevail.
The key to betting on the horses is to have fun with it; your flutters should enhance the enjoyment that you are already having watching the sport of kings live.
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