Betting On Horse Racing (Spread Betting)

Spread betting is becoming very popular amongst seasoned veterans of horse racing since it is a way that you can really profit from if you understand what you are doing. However, it can also be extremely difficult, like anything that you can stand to win a lot of money from, and you can lose a substantial amount of money if you are not careful.

You will want to make sure you have more than a basic knowledge and you clearly understand the methods of a spread bet before you actually try to place one. Unlike other forms of betting, like tote and standard bets, you will not know how much money you have lost until the race is over so if you only have so much to lose or are afraid that you may spend beyond your means, then you should not consider placing a spread bet at all.

If you are frequently betting on horse racing and are beginning to get bored with the conventional bet, then spread betting will certainly spice up your time at the track. Once you have a good understanding of the types of bets that can be placed it is only natural to want to take the next step up to possibly higher winnings.

The first type of spread bet that you can place is based on the favourite’s index. In it all favourites are awarded certain points and the spread is based off what all of the points at the end of the races add up to be. You can either bet that the spread will end high, which is known as buying the index, or it will end low, known as selling the index.

You bet on what amount you think the point total exceeding the quote will be if you buy the index. If you don't think that the favourites will perform up to the quote total, than you bet on how many points under the score they will be. You can really win big on this type of bet but just as with anything that comes with a big win there can also be a large cost if you lose.

Once you understand the first type of spread betting, the others are relatively simple. Another bet you can make is very similar, except you bet against a Jockey and how he is expected to perform. If you think he is going to have a better day than expected, you bet higher than the quote, but if you don't think this is going to be his race, than you'd bet lower. The point system is practically the same as the favourite’s index.

You can also bet on how long in front you think the winning horse will be. Points are awarded based on the distance that you think the horse will lead by. The types of lengths are categorized as short head, head, neck, half a length, and three quarters length and anything greater than this is one point a length.

You bet against the quote index again on how much you think the horse will pull in front of the others at the finish line. This is the largest guess that you can make because no one can ever know how much a horse will win by when it comes to length, no matter how many statistics you study. It is a guess that can really pay off due to the unpredictability, especially if the horse that wins is a long shot.