Spread Betting On Horse Racing Explained

I did briefly touch on spread betting on horses in a previous article, so as promised, I am going to elaborate on it in this article.

I have noticed that spread betting is becoming a more popular way for punters to bet on horse racing, as if it's done correctly it can enable you to really rack up large amounts of cash in a relatively short amount of time.

As with all gambling however, the risks are still there. Spread betting on horse racing can be confusing for novice punters or those who are new to the sport. It can lead to huge losses and can even result in you losing a lot of money.

This makes it absolutely essential that you must be sure that you clearly understand the methods of spread betting on horse racing.

Spread Betting On Horses Is Growing In Popularity

Spread betting is a popular concept in sports with high potential winning margins. This includes American football, American rugby, American cricket, and darts.

People who wish to place bets on financial markets also use it. They bet on whether or not a stock will rise or fall and how much.

Spread betting on horses is not something I believe in. The risk is too high and many people have great success with it. Spread betting on horses is a fun and interesting way to take calculated risk. However, everyone must be aware of the fact that there are high risks, which discourages many from trying it.

How do you spread betting on horses?

The first type of spread betting on horse racing is based on what is known as the favourite's index. Each favourite is awarded a certain amount of points. http://maptcha.org/raising-the-limits-in-texas-hold-em/ Hot favourites, such as at 6/5, would be awarded the most points (25), while a Grand National favourite of 9/1 would receive eight points.

The bookies are protecting themselves by reducing the number of points.

So with the allocation of points, a spread is created and essentially what punters will do is buy if they feel the horse will win, or sell if they think it won't.

You can also bet on jockeys, which is a new twist to traditional betting. Jockey betting is almost identical to the favourite's index except that you are placing your bets against a prediction of the strength of a race or more than one jockey.

Predicting Winning Distances Will Pocket Cash Too

The winning distance index works in the same manner, but there is a slight variation. Points are awarded based on how much you believe a horse will win. These can be broken down into a short head, head and neck, half a long length, 3/4 length and multiple lengths (two to ten, five to ten, etc).

The spread and points allocation for distance betting will often be affected by the racecourse's going. This is where the bookies really make their money. Bookies could lose thousands if they make poor judgments about how race conditions will affect races.

In my opinion, spread betting on horses involves too much work. This is not to suggest that I am lazy. However, there are many factors and key points that must be considered before you even consider which horse to back.

I do prefer a more simplistic approach and perhaps this is why I have done well, as I have kept it simple.

I'm also a firm believed in effective money management, and unlike traditional betting, or even betting on the Tote, you do not know how much you stand to lose with spread betting, until the race is over and then its possibly too late. That to me is a major drawback.

Although there are some punters who excel at this type of betting, you can call me old-fashioned. I prefer the traditional approach and I recommend it to all beginners.