Can you explain me the basics of horse race betting?

Question

Horse race betting is one of the most profitable sports for betting. I am planning to test my betting skills on horse race betting. Can you help me know, what are the basics of horse race betting?

Answer 1

Many people are put off horse racing because they don't understand how betting works, when really it couldn't be simpler.

Having a little flutter on the horses is fun and it doesn't have to be complicated. Here we explore some of the basics to help you understand betting:

Stake
When placing a bet, your stake is the amount of money you are willing to gamble - be it a cautious £2 or a rather more flamboyant £500. Generally the minimum stake you can place at a racecourse is £2.

If you're a winner, your winnings (also known as 'returns') are calculated according to your horse's odds.

What are the odds? Odds
In the world of betting, the odds (often referred to as the 'price') are a way of expressing the probability of a horse winning a race.

OK - so that's all relatively easy. Here's the more difficult bit. Prices can be:
# odds against
# even money, or
# odds on


Odds against (e.g 2/1, 7/1, 15/2, 50/1 etc)
If your horse's perceived chance of winning the race is less than 50/50 it is described as odds against. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back plus your stake multiplied by the odds against it.

For example: Your horse wins at 2/1 (pronounced two-to-one).
If your stake was £10 you will receive:
# your £10 back
# plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 2/1 = (£10 x 2) = £20
# that makes £30 in total


Sometimes the numbers may appear more complicated e.g. 15/2 or 9/4. This is simply because odds are normally expressed as fractions so can't include half numbers. So,for ease of working out how much your bet would return, think of '15/2' as being the same as '7.5/1' etc.

Even money (or Evens)
If your horse's perceived chance of winning the race is 50/50 it is described as evens. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back doubled.

For example: Your horse wins at 1/1 (pronounced 'evens').
If your stake was £10 you will receive:
# your £10 back
# plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 1/1 = (£10 x 1) = £10 again
# that makes £20 in total


Odds on (e.g 1/2, 4/7, 3/10 etc)
If your horse's perceived chance of winning the race is more than 50/50 it is described as odds on. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back plus your stake multiplied by the odds on it.

For example: Your horse wins at 1/2 (pronounced one-to-two on).
If your stake was £10 you will receive:
# your £10 back
# plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 1/2 = (£10 x ½) = £5
# that makes £15 in total


The word 'on' indicates that the odds are reversed.

Long Odds or Short Odds?
Sometimes, instead of a horse's odds being expressed as a fraction, you might hear that they are simply 'long' or 'short'. This isn't meant to refer to the horse itself - or even the jockey.

Instead, odds that are said to be long (e.g. 50/1) point to the fact that a horse is very unlikely to win the race. Conversely, short odds (e.g. 2/1) indicate that a horse has a good chance of winning.