Horse racing betting
If you love horse racing betting then Ladbrokes is the place to be.
Whether you love the biggest meetings at Cheltenham and Royal Ascot or generally only have a flutter on the Grand National or the Epsom Derby, we have a great selection of horse racing odds from the UK and Ireland, and also across the globe.
Our comprehensive coverage means you will not miss a trick and we have lots of stats and form guides to help you place your bet on horse racing.
Each day you can pick a runner from every race at all the meetings in the British Isles and abroad or you can check out the horse racing odds for the next day’s action or the weekend.
Looking further ahead, Ladbrokes offer odds on the year’s biggest meetings months in advance whether it’s National Hunt or Flat racing.
For those unsure of these terms, National Hunt is split into two areas, hurdles and steeplechases, in which horses have to jump over obstacles, while the Flat speaks for itself.
The most famous National Hunt meeting of them all is the Cheltenham Festival which takes place in March and for those interested in horse race betting, we offer odds on many of the big races during that week months before the opening day.
This is known as ante-post betting which allows you to pick a horse at potentially much bigger odds than you would be offered nearer the time of the race.
Should a horse start showing winning form in the build-up to a big meeting, you could have much bigger odds than the starting price (or SP) which is announced at the end of a race.
Horse racing odds
Horse racing odds may seem complicated to some, but even if maths wasn’t your strongest subject at school we’re here to explain how they work in horse racing betting.
Let’s start with an easy one first! If you place £1 on a horse that wins at 10/1 you will receive £10 plus your original stake for a total return of £11.
If you had placed £2 on the same winner then your return would be £22 (£2x10, plus your original outlay).
Things become slightly more difficult with fractions such as 5/2, 7/4, 10/3 or 1/2, the latter being an example of odds-on.
Taking the first example, 5/2 is just another way of saying 2.5/1 (five divided by two), so a £1 bet on a 5/2 winner would return £2.50 plus your original £1 stake - £3.50 in total.
In the last horse racing odds example, placing a £10 bet on a winner at 1/2 means a return of £15 (10 x 0.5 = £5, plus your £10 stake).
It may seem tricky at first so it’s always useful to have a calculator handy if you’re unsure about race bets, or some punters prefer to choose to display the odds as decimals.
How to bet on horse racing
Horse racing betting is not just restricted to finding a winner, there is also an option called each-way (EW) which is split into two components - a win and a place.
Half of the stake goes on the win part and the other half on the place element, which means a horse usually has to finish in the top two, three or four depending on how many runners there are in the race.
If you place a £1 EW bet at 16/1 in a 12-horse race in which the odds on a place are 1/4 and it finishes first you will receive £16 plus your £1 stake for the win part (£17).
Calculating the place means dividing 16 by 4 (£4) and adding the place stake which makes £5. In total you have spent £2 and will receive £17 (win) + £5 (place) for a £22 return.
If your horse finishes second you only receive the place part of your horse racing bet (£5), but will still have made a profit.
Obviously, this is a fairly easy example and the calculations are more complex when fractions are involved, but at least you have the basics!
In horse racing betting It is also possible to combine two or more runners together either to win or each-way.
Backing two horses to win separate races is called a double, three is a treble and four or more is an accumulator or acca.
Calculating a double or treble is not that difficult, but a calculator could prove useful! If you place a £1 double on two horses that are both 5/1 then you will receive £36 if they both win.
A £1 win on the first horse returns £6 (£5 win and £1 stake) which goes on to the next runner. £6 x 5 = £30, plus the £6 stake and we arrive at £36.
Ladbrokes horse racing also offer odds on horses finishing specifically in the first two (straight forecast) or in any order (dual or reverse forecast).
The markets above are the tip of the iceberg of what Ladbrokes has available, but we have form stats on every runner to help you with your horse racing betting to put you in the picture.