UK Horse Racing Tips

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the largest, most famous, most extravagant, and memorable events in the international horse racing calendar. The crème de la crème of the horseracing world descends upon Cheltenham in March every year to place their bets on some of the most tense, and exciting races in the world.

But you don’t have to trek to Prestbury Park to partake in the festivities, betting online on the Cheltenham Festival was never easier and you can now get involved from the comfort of your home, work, or even out and about. Now we have the “how” sorted, what about the “who”?

Read on for our top tips to picking a winner at the Cheltenham Festival 2017.

1. Be selective. When choosing your bets, we recommend that you choose a few races to bet on and really do your research, instead of hedging your bets and having a flutter on each and every one. Unless you have psychic powers, it will be nigh on impossible to pick enough winners at random to make you any serious return on your investment. We suggest you take the time to see which races you are likely to win, to find out information on the horse and jockeys track record and put your money down on those that seem statistically probable.

2. Know your horse. How old is your horse? How well did they do in the last 10 races? Are they more suited to turf or dirt? Do you know the breeder? If you cannot answer these simple questions about your favourite, don’t even think about risking your cash.

3. Know your trainer. It isn’t just the winning streak of the horse that you need to pay attention to. Choosing a horse whose trainer is well known, successful and accomplished will go a long way in helping you improve your chances of a win.

4. Bet on the race favourite. I know it is tempting to go for the underdog- the one with the highest odds that you dream will come from nowhere to scoop first place and bank you a small fortune- but the reality is this happens very rarely. Betting on the favourite offers a 33% chance of winning and betting on a favourite to place in second or third offers over a 50% chance of a win. Now the bounty may not be quite as high, but you depending on how much you win, you can still bag yourself a nice prize.

There are of course, no sure-fire ways to guarantee a win and the above tips are just some suggestions to help you refine your technique. If you are in it for the experience, rather than just the win, why not just go for the one with the craziest name? You never know, you could be onto a winner. Whatever tactic you use, betting online on the Cheltenham Festival is simple and whether you win or lose, this year’s event is sure to be a showstopper!

In the Betbright Handicap Hurdle (3.15) at Doncaster on Wednesday, Charlie Mann’s progressive 6-year-old Some Kinda Lama wasn’t beaten far in a Class 2 event at Sandown in December when attempting a hat-trick and, although 3lb higher in the weights this time, takes a drop in class. The Daylami gelding had previously won both starts over 3 miles 1½ at Hereford, making all each time, and is clearly suited by the prevailing good going. He was originally declared to run in the Listed Regulatory Finance Solutions Handicap Hurdle at the Open Meeting at Cheltenham in November, only to be withdrawn because of soft ground, so the return to faster underfoot conditions is in his favour and he remains attractively handicapped. Abricot De L’Oasis and Rocky’s Treasure both like to force the pace, which could be to his advantage because, despite making his own running a couple of times, his trainer insists he would prefer something else to give him a ‘tow’ into the race.

Selection: Doncaster 3.35 Some Kinda Lama to win

Many horse racing betting beginners are instantly disheartened from betting on horses when they see all the types of bets available. This article is intended to help those that have never had the courage to get into horse racing betting.

It’s true that some of the wagers are too complicated for a beginner. But, there are some that are plain, straightforward and simple enough to start acting on those Cheltenham tips that you see around. Therefore, much of this article will be devoted to straight bets, which are simplest to understand.

Straight Bets

North American Straight Bets

There are four common straight bets. Win is probably the most straightforward of these. It’s when you bet on a horse that you think will be the winner. If the horse wins, you win the bet.

The place bet is the second most popular among beginners. It’s a much easier bet than the win bet because the horse that you picked has to finish in the top two, not necessarily win. However, the payouts are lower for this bet.

The show bet is the easiest of these three. You win if your horse finishes in the top three no matter at which spot. Again, the payouts are lower, much lower than the win and place bet, but the chances to win are significantly greater.

Across the board may be the most interesting of all straight bets. You have a chance of winning the entire bet or just parts of it depending on where your horse finishes. If your horse wins, you win your entire bet. If your horse comes second, you win only money for place and show. If it comes third, you only win the show money.

Rest of World Straight Bets

The biggest difference between the North American and Rest of the World straight bets is with place bet. When you make a place bet outside of North America, you bet that your horse will finish in the top two, three or somewhere even in the top four positions depending on the number of horses that participate.

Also, outside of North America the across the board bet is called each way bet. It’s a combination of the Rest of the World win and place bets.

Advanced Bets

If you are a beginner we advise you to stick to the straight bets until you get proficient in horse racing betting. After that you can start making more advanced bets, also called exotics. The most popular exotic bets are exacta, trifecta, reverse exacta, reverse trifecta, superfecta etc. There are also multiples like win double, win treble, pick 3, pick 4 and so on.

If you want to get into advanced betting, it’s probably best to start with accumulators first, also called parleys. It’s when you make several selections and the odds of all selections are combined into one. If any of the selections you’ve made doesn’t come up, you lose the entire accumulator. However, the payouts are much greater if you win.

In the Sunbets.co.uk Handicap (4.10) at Newcastle on Tuesday, Holiday Magic is 2lb higher in the weights than when beaten in a similar race over course and distance last month, but ran just about as well as he ever has on that occasion, despite pulling hard, and still looks far from impossibly handicapped. Of the three horses that beat him on his last visit, just Al Khan has run since, finishing a never-nearer sixth of 13 at Kempton, having been dropped in from a wide draw. However, Nimr and Pactolus, sixth and eleventh, respectively, have both won since to give the form some substance. It’s another competitive heat, but Holiday Magic should give us a decent run for our money.

Selection: Newcastle 4.10 Holiday Magic to win