Choosing the Best Horse Racing Bookmaker: What to Look For

Now more than ever, we are inundated with choice. Since the introduction of online betting, punters are faced with the difficult decision of comparing countless of horse racing bookmakers that claim to be the best, and choosing the right one. So, we have compiled a list of must-have features to look out for and make your choices easier.

Good Market Coverage

Horse race betting has a lot of really interesting betting markets, and isn't just limited to the

outright winner like many other sports. When browsing through the bookmaker's selection, punters should typically see the following betting markets:

• Race Winner: predicting the horse which takes first place
• Place Bet: predicting a horse which finishes in the top positions (this is usually 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place can be more or less depending on how many runners)
• Each-way Bet: a double wager made up of a 'win' and 'place' bet
• Forecast Bet: a straight forecast predicts which horses take 1st and 2nd place in order, a reverse forecast predicts this in any order
• Tricast Bet: a straight tricast predicts which horses take 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in order, a reverse tricast predicts this is any order
• Length Bet: the distance by win a horse beats its closest competitor, e.g. a neck, head, or nose

Range of Racing Events

A good horse racing bookmaker should host a range of competitions to be able to accomodate to all punters. Whether you prefer betting on prestigious horse races with a rich history, or niche international races with little publicity, there should be room for both.

Popular horse racing events in England and the UK include the Cheltenham Festival, Epsom Derby, Royal Ascot, The Grand National, Galway Races, and Punchestown Irish National Hunt. There are also many famous international competitions like the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup.

Before signing up, you can check which events a betting site offers without registering, for example, racing bookmakers like BoyleSports offer €/£50 in free bets. This way, you can make sure that they not only cover the race, but also provide perks like competitive odds and special promotions.

Live Streaming

Although disappointing, the majority of betting sites do not offer live streaming. This may be because it is simply not in their budget, or they are a new company that are still in development. With this being said, some of the bigger names in betting do have live streaming capabilities of competitions.

The conditions you must meet to access a live stream vary with different betting sites but can include:

• Having made a bet in the past 24 hours
• Having a funded account
• Being a part of the loyalty program

Or simply offering live streams for free as long as you are a registered customer with a verified account!

On the other hand, most bookmakers in Ireland have in-play betting, which is a type of wager where the betting markets are only open whilst the game is live. When live streaming is also available, you can place live bets much easier, because you can see which horses are performing well and which ones aren't!

Promotions & Offers

Every sport has its own unique promotions, so it is important to familiarize yourself with the most significant horse racing offers:

Best Odds Guaranteed

The majority of bookmakers in Ireland offer BOG on all UK and Irish races. This is where you are paid out based on the highest odds out of:

• The Starting Price: the odds of the horse when it races
• The Initial Odds: the odds of the horse when you place the bet

Enhanced Odds

Enhanced odds, also called odds boosts or price boosts, are where the bookmaker inflates the odds by a colossal margin. For example, Horse Lucky could have bets of 2/1, but the bookmaker changes this to 11/2 temporarily on race day for a few hours. In this period, you have the choice to make an enhanced odds bet before they revert back to normal, as this means if you win your winnings will be much higher.

Non-Runner No Bet

The non-runner no bet policy is, in our opinion, one of the best out there. This rule means that if you bet on a horse that doesn't end up running in the competition, you will receive your stake back. In any other case, you would lose the money because your bet would be deemed unsuccessful. There can be a variety of reasons for a horse not running which are valid in this case, the most common being a sickness or injury of the animal or jockey.

Extra Places

The extra places promotion is valid in an each-way bet or a place bet. It adds extra places to your wager, which is often the first three places. If this was the case, you would win the bet if your horse finished in the top four places, as an extra is added.

Ante-Post Betting

Ante-post betting is a type of horse race betting before the betting markets have opened, which can be months in advance of the event. Although this makes betting much harder to predict, the market has competitive odds and the non-runner no bet policy takes care of any adverse conditions.