Master Your Online Horse Racing Betting Strategy in 2025
Getting sustained winners on the horse racing action can often be testing, as there is often the element of unpredictability that comes with wagering on the action.
Therefore, it isn’t unheard of for short-priced fancies to ultimately cost gamblers the chance of wracking up significant returns in a parlay.
Mastering betting on horse racing can often take time and patience, and you will likely need to be willing to lose money in order to find your preferred strategy to make money in the long-term.
Despite this, betting on the sport remains extremely popular, especially around the times of the biggest events on the schedule.
Newcomers are prone to get involved when races such as the Kentucky Derby.
You can find more information here: https://www.twinspires.com/kentuckyderby/betting/
Still, what are some of the most interesting strategies that are proven to have a winning formula?
Dutching System
One of the most popular horse racing strategies comes in the form of dutching. This is a popular betting angle for many, especially with newcomers to the sport that are just looking to back a winner.
Here, the bettor will wager on at least two selections as opposed to siding with just one runner. The system is predominantly used in order further the chances of a bettor finding a winner, as they would have covered more bases in order to do so.
One of the major drawbacks is that it requires a bettor to put down a bigger stake, but the loss will be minimal providing that at least one of the selections is a winner.
Laying
Betting on the exchanges is a popular option for more experienced bettors, as there can be value in laying a short-price favorite in the betting. After completely the extensive research, just as you would when backing a horse, it can be determined whether a horse at the top of the betting is a weak or strong favorite.
If it is the former, then it could be worth taking on the favorite by laying it. By doing this, the bettor will then have essentially wagered on every other runner in the field, as any other result except for the favorite winning would see returns awarded.
The stats support the strategy of laying favorites as only one third of races are won by the pre-race market leader. Circumstances to take on a favorite can hinge on a couple of factors, whether that be adverse ground conditions, poor stable form, or inexperience over the distance.
80/20 Betting
A similar betting strategy to Dutching that is popular in horse racing is the 80/20 approach. Here, a bettor will have two possible selections and then divide their stake in the percentages mentioned in the strategy.
For example, if you have $100 to wager on a race such as the Kentucky Derby, you can place $80 on your preferred selection, before putting the remaining $20 on a selection at a bigger price. Alternatively, this strategy can also be implemented to revolve around a single horse.
For example, $80 can be wagered on a selected horse placing and the remainder of the $100 budget can be placed on the preferred horse winning the race. This is an excellent approach to betting on the race, as it can also cover the insurance should your selection finish second or third, which will limit the loses that you will expect to get.
However, it does come with its obvious drawbacks. The most obvious of those is the fact that the entirety of the stake will be lost should either neither of your horses win the race, or the preferred horse finishes outside of the places.
Follow In-Form Yards
A tried and testing betting strategy when betting on horse racing revolves around following the yards and teams that are in excellent form. Stats surrounding the strike-rates of trainers and jockeys are easy to find, and following the winning pattern has been a preferred angle for many.
Trainers that are in red-hot form are always worth considering, as it would indicate a team that have their runners at the top of their game. One winner for a team can quickly lead to two or three, meaning siding with the momentum is often key for a sound betting strategy.
However, in-form yards and value in the market are hard to find, as trainers with excellent strike-rates will often have their runners in the betting at much shorter prices than should be the case.
That means you should still consider whether the price of the runner truly reflects their chances of victory before making a wager. It is also worth considering that excellent stable form could also end on a given day, meaning timing is everything when opting to follow the in-form yards as a betting strategy.