Can You Make Money Betting On Horses?

I was at the horse racing track the other day and although the majority of people I saw were losing, some people were actually winning. This made me think can you make money betting on horses? Do some people do it for a living?

You should remember that betting is a gamble and you should only bet what you can afford to lose.

That said, betting can still be very profitable, and if you know what to look for and when to place your bets.

The answer to this question is yes, it is possible to make money betting on horses, but you should always know when to stop when it gets too much and make sure that you bet responsibly.

You should always be very careful and responsible when betting, but there are a few things you can do to maximize your chances when betting on horses.

Is betting on horses profitable?

Betting successfully on a horse is about knowing what you’re doing and beating the odds.

Unless you’re psychic and can see into the future, you’re going to need to spend a lot of time studying horse races and how they work before you can start confidently making a consistent profit.

That said, when done right, horse racing can be very profitable.

Making a profit off betting on the horses usually involves making a larger number of bets.

When you bet on the horses, each horse has an odds of winning.

Broadly speaking, there are 2 types of odds, long odds and short odds.

If the odds are long, the numbers will be higher. 33/1 for example. This means that the horse is unlikely to win the race.

If the odds are short, the horse will be more likely to win the race.

If you bet on horses with longer odds you will make more money if they win, but as the odds are long, they are unlikely to win on a regular basis so you may end up losing everything you’ve just won.

If you bet on a horse with shorter odds your winnings per bet won’t be as much as a horse with longer odds, but you’re more likely to win on a consistent basis.

Still, though, you need to be conscious of how much you’re losing.

There are many tips and tricks for picking a winner.

Racetracks will have television simulcast commentators who handicap between the races.

This is a great opportunity to pick up on good tips to bet on.

Typically, the top ten riders in the jockey standings win about 90 percent of the races run during the meet.

The favorite horse will win about 33% of the time, although for a much lower payoff.

The morning line is something made by the bookmaker at the racetrack and is often taken as a prediction of who the bookmaker thinks stands a good chance of winning.

In fact, it’s actually just his prediction of how the public will bet.

A horse going at odds 2-3 times higher than their morning line is a no-brainer.

What is the best bet to make in horse racing?

One of the things that works in the gambler’s favor with horse racing is the number of different bets available.

You can break these down into straight and exotic wagers.

Straight bets involve one horse and one outcome.

Exotic wagers involve multiple horses, races and outcomes.

Saying exactly which bet is the “best” to make in horse racing is not easy, but there are clear advantages and disadvantages to both.

Many betters regard a straight, single horse bet as the smartest bet.

It’s easy to understand why a bet involving a single outcome is smarter since it gives you a higher chance of having your desired outcome.

However, straight, one horse wagers understandably pay out less; the smartest, safest option may be making straight wagers on horses with middling odds.

Exotic wagers, understandably, pay out much higher.

But they’re also much more difficult to win.

Knowing where to place the money in bets like these requires a lot more care and consideration since you’ve got to get good odds across multiple races, not to mention the fact you’ll have to accurately predict the outcome of 2, 3 or even more races.

Daily doubles are often considered one of the smartest bets in horse racing.

Daily doubles involve selecting the winners of two consecutive races.

This is, obviously, still harder to win than a straight wager, but you still have a solid chance of picking the winners for a much higher payout than had you bet on them separately.

How do I calculate my horse winnings?

The exact payout will vary depending on the type of bet you took, and, of course, the oddsmaker will count out your winnings for you.

You will however still want to know what your potential winnings are when making the bet.

Your payout will be calculated by subtracting the amount of winning dollars from the total pool, dividing the remaining pool by the amount of cash bet on the winner, then finally adding back in the winning bet amount.

Nowadays, many racetracks have electronic screens which will display all this information.

So, never forget that betting is still a number’s game, however much care and attention you put into your bets.

Knowing how and when to bet is essential, and picking up all the tips and tricks of the trade can take quite a few years of visiting horse races and learning from others.

You can definitely make lots of money betting on horses, but as with any game of chance, you always stand to lose as well.