The Most Popular Horse Racing Bets Listed

Many first time punters often feel like they are going on a very sharp learning curve when they initially start placing bets on horse races, and to be fair there is a lot to learn about the many different types of bets and wagers that can be placed on such races.

At the end of the day though, every single punter is going to want to win when placing any type of bet on horse races or for that matter any other sports, but it is important to know just which bets are the best ones to place.

Some bets are much more popular with punters than others, and for many different reasons too, but if you are interested in discovering the differences between each type of horse racing bet you can place, below is an overview of the most placed and most popular ones with all horse racing punters.

The most common bet you can place on a horse race is of course a simple win bet, and by placing such a bet punters have to pick out the horse they think they is going to win any race, and then decide how much to place on that horse too.

It is worth noting though that unlike most other sports, when betting on horses punters have the option of taking the odds being offered by a bookie, or they can take the starting price of the horse instead.

When doing the latter it is the odds that the majority of bookies were offering on the racecourse at the time of the race starting on each horse, that are the ones given to punters taking the starting price, so there are risks associated with taking the SP as it is known as it could end up being lower or higher than the odds a bookies offers before a race starts.

Accumulators and Full Cover Multiple Bets

An accumulator bet is one on which punters are tasked with selecting any number of horses running in different races and perming them all together in one single bet.

If each horse named and listed on an accumulator wins the stakes and winnings from the first one roll over onto the next one and the next one and so on, and as such the potential winnings can be huge when lots if horses are selected and placed on such a bet.

Multiple bets as they are known allow punters to pick a small number of horses in different races and then have them permed together in every possible way, such as in single, double, trebles and four timer bets etc.

Below are the most popular multiple/full cover bets along with the number of bets that each one covers, each of which will require a stake to be placed on them by the way. This first set of bets do not offer singles, as such the smallest wager on each of them are doubles.

Trixie (4 Bets)

Yankee (11 Bets)

Canadian / Super Yankee (26 Bets)

Heinz 57 (57 Bets)

Super Heinz (120 Bets)

Goliath (247 Bets)

There are also plenty of full cover multiple bets that can be placed which do include a set of single bets, and as such below are the names of those bets and an overview of the exact number of bets associated with each of them.

Patent (7 Bets)

Lucky 15 (15 Bets)

Lucky 31(31 Bets)

Lucky 63 (63 Bets)

Each Way Betting Opportunities

Each-way bets are simple two parts bets that can be placed on most horse races, and they require two individual stakes to be placed on them too.

The first part of an each-way bet will cover the horse a punter has selected to win its race, and the second part of the bet will cover that horse finishing in any of the top positions of the race.

Punters placing such a bet do need to be aware though that the number of places per race a bookie will pay out to can and will vary, as to will the odds offered to you on the place part of such a bet.

Often a bookie for example will pay out to three places on the place part of such a bet and punters picking a horse that does finish in first, second or third position will be paid out at one quarter of the win odds.

But always do check the terms of each-way bets as they can and do vary not only from race to race but from bookie to bookie too.

Straight and Reverse Forecasts

Another type of bet that is very popular with fans of horse racing are straight forecast bets, they are bets on which punters have to pick out a horse that they think will win a race but also the horse they think will finish in second position too.

The stakes they can place on such a bet are varied, so they will suit all punters bankrolls and will be affordable bets to place, and at the end of the race the straight forecast dividend will be announced which is based on several different factors including the odds of each horse filling the first or second spot.

The forecast dividend is declared to a 1.00 stake, however if for example a punter has placed a winning 0.50 staked straight forecast bet they will simply win half of the announced divided, and a punters placing a winning 5.00 staked straight forecast will win five times the announced dividend.

It is also possible to place a reverse forecast bet, and that bet requires two stakes of the same amount and covers the two horses chosen by punters to finish first or second in any order.

Tricast Bets and Combination Tricast

A Tricast bet is one on which punters have to pick out the first, second and also the third placed finisher in any horse race, therefore the winning dividends on this type of bet can be and always are higher than the dividends punters can win on a straight forecast bet.

Once again it is possible for a punter to pick out three horses in a race but have them covered in every possible winning combination to finish first, second and third and a full combination Tricast as they are known will require in total six equal stakes to be placed onto them.