How to stay in the green with horse betting
Horse racing is one of the most exciting sports to watch. It's so unpredictable and horses often come out of nowhere to win a big race.
Everything that makes horse racing such an exciting sport to watch, makes it a difficult sport to make money while betting on.
However, horse racing is one of the few sports that mostly exists because of the gambling industry. So, there must be ways to successfully bet on the right horse, right?
Here are 6 tips that will help you to stay in the green while betting on horse racing:
#1 - Set yourself a budget
If you want to make money from betting on anything then you need to track your finances. You need to be aware of exactly how much you are spending, losing, and winning. You should also have a monthly betting budget that you strictly stick to.
Your budget should only contain money that you can afford to lose. You may find it easier to decide which races you are going to bet on in advance and set aside money for each one. This will prevent you from overspending and will make it less likely that you will run out of money before the end of the month.
#2 - Do your research
As we mentioned, horse racing can be unpredictable. We want to correct ourselves - horse racing can seem unpredictable if you don't know enough about the horses and their riders.
You may look at a race result and see that it was won by a rookie horse. Only to find that its rider has been successful for many years or it was trained by one of the leading trainers in the world.
When researching horses for the race it is important to research their riders and trainers as well. There are so many different elements that cause a horse to win a race.
#3 - Shop around for the best odds
When you bet on horses it's important not just to put your money on the first set of odds that you see. You should shop around and see if you can find odds that suit you a little better.
Horse racing happens across the globe and throughout the year. Many sportsbooks only offer odds on the bigger races, so make sure you have found somewhere that will let you bet on every race you want to. The TVG website offers great odds on horse racing all year round.
#4 - Resist the long odds
While long odds can be very tempting you should resist them. Unless you have seen something in your research that would make you consider otherwise.
The idea of winning on a 32-to-1 bet is intoxicating. But if you want to make a profit from betting on racing then you need to think of it like it was a full-time job. Would you take that kind of risk with your boss' money? No? Then why do it with your own money?
It is much better to consistently win on 4-to-5 odds than to win once out of 60 tries on a 32-to-1 horse.
This tip will help to keep you in the green.
#5 - Double-check your information before you place a bet
On a typical racing day, there can be 10 to 20 tracks racing with 8 to 10 races at each – all starting at different times on different tracks. It is easy to get overwhelmed and accidentally place a bet on the wrong horse or race.
If you want to stay in the green then you need to eliminate silly mistakes like this.
We recommend putting together a list of horses, races, tracks, and times to help you keep track of what you are betting on. And ALWAYS double-check the bet you place before you confirm it.
#6 - Review your betting practices
The only way to get better at anything is to reflect on your performance.
At the end of every month sit down with your finances. Take notes on how well you stuck to your budget, how much you won, and how much you lost. You should also look at what kinds of odds paid off for you and which ones didn't.
By looking at this data, you will give you a good idea about how you can make better choices in the upcoming month. You may be making simple mistakes like putting too many winnings back into bets and losing them again.