Best Horse Race Betting Sites 2023
Are you a fan of horse racing and don’t know where to place a bet? In order to help you choose the best bookmakers in Ireland for horse racing, the Match.Center team of experts has compiled a list of the best horse racing betting sites with all the features you’ll need, best odds, live streaming, and convenient mobile apps to suit the most demanding bettor.
How We Review the Best Horse Betting Sites
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We consider our tips valuable as we analyse betting companies meticulously and recommend the best horse racing bookmakers that are as good, convenient and reliable as possible. To compile the rating of the best horse racing betting sites we used a number of criteria for each of the candidates:
- The bookmaker’s reputation. In order to estimate it, we look through the users’ reviews. We find out how often conflicts occur, including providing bonuses or winnings payouts. Our rating includes only those online bookmakers for horse racing that do not create problems for their users. They formulate the “rules of the game” transparently and abide by them.
- The range of markets to bet on. Horse racing is a traditional Irish sport, but not the most popular in the world. Some horse betting websites add the sport to their betting list for the sake of appearance, but there are no such ones in our ranking. A bettor shouldn’t accept mediocre services, especially when there is a choice. We can expect a top bookmaker to provide horse racing betting markets for all Irish and UK events. Ideally, their offer should include meetings in the USA, France, Japan and Australia as well.
- The odds. Best bookies for horse racing make money on margins. The lower they are, the greater the horse racing odds are and therefore your potential winnings increase. Make sure that horse bet sites do not inflate their taxes.
- Live betting. We might say that betting during a race is a form of betting in its own right. That is why it has to be evaluated separately. We have to understand how horse racing odds work, how quickly a bet is confirmed, note when the bookmaker stops accepting live horse racing bets.
- Promotions and bonuses. The best horse racing betting sites offer a variety of incentives: odds boosts, special bets, free bets, etc. We pay special attention to welcome bonuses for new customers so that you can benefit from offers as soon as you start.
- The simplicity of registration. Registering a horse racing betting account is rarely quick. Users have to enter a lot of data, including those necessary to verify the account and unblock fund withdrawals. At the same time, we have to pay attention to situations when a bookmaker complicates the process of registration, imposes advertising mail and conceals welcome bonuses. A registration form itself should be clearly structured and simply organised.
- A user-friendly mobile app. Every bookmaker wants to win over bettors’ smartphones, but their mobile software is not always of high quality. To recommend the best horse racing betting apps, we will evaluate several parameters. We pay attention to how easy it is to work with the interface on a small phone screen and whether all the functions of the website are available in the app, as they should be.
- The number of deposit and withdrawal methods. Pay as you like and with no fees. The bookmaker should support as many ways for transactions to be made as possible, and not to force the bettor to transfer money from one wallet to another.
Must-Have Features of Horse Racing Betting Sites
Many features that used to be considered special have become indispensable attributes of a good horse racing betting site. A quality service from a modern bookmaker should include the following:
- Information about a race and its participants. A minimum amount of data: the length of a race and the state of racing surface, names of the jockey and trainer, the age and weight of a horse. Many online bookmakers in our list give brief descriptions of the races and review the participants by respected sports editions as well as expert opinions. This is a nice addition to the basic information.
- Betting odds changing. Bookmakers offer bets on horse racing with fixed multipliers, but the sport has retained its totalisator spirit. The horse racing odds are constantly changing. A bettor should have an opportunity to monitor odds trends to catch the best horse racing odds.
- Live streaming. Media coverage of horse racing has become so popular that we can demand and expect it from all betting companies claiming a good place on our list. For most UK and Irish horse racing meetings, live streaming is mandatory. Video streaming of events in the USA, France, Australia and other countries is a big advantage. We also welcome it when sport betting sites broadcast horse racing in a democratic audio format.
- A user-friendly interface. Horse racing is different from other individual and team sports. A bookmaker needs to display the list of meetings and races as clearly as possible, so that it is easy to switch between them and the cards for each competition. Some betting houses are completely redesigning the UX and UI in the horse racing section.
- The simplicity of combined bets. Combined bets are popular in equestrian sports: from a simple double or treble to complex systems consisting of dozens of markets. The bettor does not have to think about making combinations. Good horse race betting sites provide tools to do this automatically. The bettor only needs to select enough markets.
Top Horse Racing Betting Sites
BoyleSports Betting Site
Ireland’s biggest independent bookmaker offers a great range of local horse racing markets as well as UK events. The sports betting site provides bets on international races of the USA and Australia which have separate tabs. It should be noted that some countries do not have their own category, e.g. Japanese races are grouped together with French and South American ones.
In addition, BoyleSports offers some interesting betting mechanics, including traditional equestrian sports.
William Hill Horse Racing Betting Site
One of Britain’s oldest bookmakers presents a wide range of markets which can compete with any horse racing betting site. William Hill provides bets on meetings in Asia and South America, which some online bookmakers ignore. William Hill promotions are regularly offered for Irish and UK races, with banners and special icons announcing them. Unfortunately, there are not so many rewards for other popular tomeetings (the USA, Canada, Australia), but there is live streaming for almost every event.
Bet365 Betting Site
Bet365, one of the world’s most popular online bookmakers, considers horse racing a priority discipline. Bet365 gives an excellent range of markets to bet on, though some meetings are not structured by country. You can find a horse using a search engine and add it to your favourites. Some types of bets can be found on a meeting page, others can be placed directly in the betslip. You can make live bets on a meetings page and also in the live betting centre where other sports are represented as well. It should be noted that Bet365 offers not only live streaming, but also replays of races.
Paddy Power Betting Site
This bookmaker is the most popular in Ireland and covers racing on every continent of our planet except Antarctica (for now). First and foremost, it offers an exemplary betting service in Ireland and the UK with regular enhanced horse racing odds and Extra Places bonuses. All bonus offers are shown in separate tabs so it’s easy to find what you’re after. Promotions for competitions in other countries are offered infrequently, but the list of events is full for any region.
Betfair Betting Site
The bookmaker Betfair (not to be confused with the betting exchange) does not offer the widest range of markets in comparison with some giants of the bookmakers world. It often ignores Australian and New Zealand meetings. At the same time Betfair covers all meetings in Ireland and UK, accompanies them with live streaming, regularly runs horse racing promotions to boost the odds and pays out winnings at the best multiplier when it drops.
The company offers a standard sports betting service on horse racing in France, the USA and South America: no live streaming and dedicated bonuses.
Sky Bet Betting Site
Sky Bet focuses on traditional Irish and British sports including horse racing. They cover a maximum of horse racing events and often have promotional offers including Price boosts and Extra Places bonuses for Irish and UK racing. Bonus offers are also available for almost all regions (the USA, France, South Africa, etc.). There are not many of them, but their very existence sets the company apart from its competitors. Pay attention to the widest live streaming coverage of races.
Betway Betting Site
Some online sports betting sites offer only the most popular horse races, but Betway considers several regions as a priority – it’s not only Ireland and the UK, but also France, USA, Australia and other countries. Sometimes there are no South American events covered but they do include horse races from Japan and Hong Kong. There is live streaming for most events, including less known regions. Every day there is a special bet with an enhanced multiplier, but no odds bonuses for a particular meeting or a horse. This is partly compensated by welcome promotions for new customers.
Quinnbet Betting Site
This is another bookmaker with a quality racing service. Bookie pays most attention to Irish and UK races, there are many Quinnbet offers such as: Betting Odds Boosts, Fallers Insurance and every day there is a Free bet for the horse that comes second to the favourite. The offer is only available for Irish and UK races. Generally, there are no bonuses offered by the company for competitions in other regions however, a good range of markets is offered for the US, France, Australia and Japan. Live streaming is available for most of the events.
888sport Betting Site
888sport stands out from many other horse race betting sites with its Bet Finder feature. This helps you find a bet on meetings in Ireland and Great Britain. It has horses in its database which can be filtered by several criteria: which one came first in the last race, which finished first in the last three races, and more. A horse can also be selected by a five-star rating from Timeform. The list of markets offered raises no questions, except that the Asian region is only represented by Japan. Traditionally Extra Places is available only for Irish and UK races, although there are broadcasts for most regions, including South America.
Bar One Racing Betting Site
This bookmaker started its online operations not long ago (2018), so Bar One Racing can be categorised as one of the new horse racing betting sites. Bar One Racing focuses on Irish and British races, which are presented in a separate category. All other competitions are listed under another tab. The calendar is fairly easy to follow, and you can pick and choose which races you want on your display. All of the Extra Places are displayed separately, so you can make a filtered list of bonus offers.
Horse Racing Betting Offers
Often horse racing bonuses are offered by new brands in the Irish market to expand their customer base. New brands may include some world-renowned bookmakers which have recently gained a legal status in Ireland.
Bookmakers rarely give free gifts to customers. In most cases, in order to achieve a bonus, you will have to meet certain conditions or follow certain pre-determined steps; remember, a bonus shouldn’t be considered as “real money”. Most promotions involving bonuses require wagering. Once you receive a bonus, you need to wager it several times, sometimes at odds no lower than the one specified. Until the promotion conditions are fulfilled, the account is blocked for withdrawal. Only after wagering will you become the rightful owner of the bonus funds.
Read the terms and conditions of promotions carefully. Not only the wagering rules are stated, but also some technical circumstances, such as that you can only get the bonus for depositing with the specified payment method. Accept the terms and conditions of the promotion only if they are not too burdensome.
Let’s talk about the most popular offers.
Welcome Offers and Welcome Bonuses
Welcome bonuses for new users are rarely connected to horse racing directly. They are usually not limited by any particular sport.
There are three main types of the welcome bonus:
- First Deposit Bonus. The bookmaker adds its own funds to your personal finances or pays out a bonus in a special currency (this form is called bet credits). For example, Bet365 gives you up to 50 bet bonuses as a first deposit bonus.
- Free bet for your first deposit. You make a deposit of a certain amount and get a free bet. Conditions of such a promotion can determine the sport or tournament, as well as the minimum odds to use the bonus.
- Bet (X) Get (Y). You make a so-called qualifying bet of a certain amount and receive a bonus, often in the form of a free bet. In the betting section of BoyleSports you can get up to three times the amount of your first bet as free bets.
What is the difference between a Free bet and a Bet credit? Here is the explanation:
The value of a Free bet is usually fixed, i.e. this bonus should be used in full for a single bet. Bet credits (a bookmaker’s special currency) are used as an extra account: the bettor can divide the bonus amount and make several bets. For some bonuses the concept of the Free bet and the Bet credit may be identical.
We will make a special mention of no deposit bonuses, which do not require a deposit or bet settlement. Unfortunately, these are very rare.
Free Bets
Irish horse racing betting sites provide Free bet offers in a wide variety of promotions. They can be given to new and current customers with any conditions. This bonus works as follows: the bettor uses the Free bet offer on some betting markets. If the bet loses, the bettor loses nothing. If the bet wins, they will make a profit.
Sometimes the Free bet offers are linked to a certain sport. For example, Quinnbet has several offers for horse racing fans. One of the free bet offers is quite unusual: you will get a free bet of up to €10 if the winner of the race beats your horse by a head or less.
- Register and place a bet on a horse to win at minimum odds of 34.00.
- If the selected horse doesn’t win, but takes 2nd place you will receive insurance in the form of a Free bet equal to your bet, but not more than €25. The promotion is valid if you place the first bet on the winner of the race.
- Use the Free bets within 28 days. The net winnings (total payout minus the amount of the Free bets) will be credited to your account.
- Register and place at least 10 single or accumulator bets of €10 per calendar week on horse racing events at min odds of 1.70.
- On Monday, you will get a €10 Free bet. Free bet wagering requirements imply using it within 30 days. The net winnings (total payout minus the free bet) will be credited to your account.
- Register and place a qualifying bet on a race in Ireland or the United Kingdom at min odds of 2.00. There must be at least 6 participants in the race with min odds on the initial favorite (SP Favourite) of at least 2.50. Only the first bet on each race takes part in the promotion.
- In case your choice gets 2nd place and loses only to the favourite, you will get insurance for your bet in the form of a Free bet, equal to the amount of the bet, but not more than €10, the following day.
- Place a single or accumulator bet using Free bet within 7 days at min odds of 1.50 up to 101.00.
- Net winnings (total payout minus the amount of the Free bet) will be credited to your account.
- To join the promotion you need to register on the betting site.
- Make your first deposit of any amount. Make a single or accumulator qualifying bet of at least €10 on horse racing events at min odds of 2.00 within 30 days of registering.
- You will then be credited with a €30 Free bet.
- The Free bet must be fully used on any sport within 7 days of receiving it.
Horse Racing Promotions
There are many promotions devoted to one of Ireland’s favourite sports.
A number of offers is connected to markets, odds and events. Some of these bonuses include:
- Odds boosts (Price/Power boosts). For some bets the bookmaker offers promotional odds that are greater than nominal ones.
- Acca odds boosts. It’s an enhanced multiplier for multiple event combinations.
- Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG). The bookmaker will pay you the winnings according to the multiplier of your bet or Starting Price, whichever is better.
- Extra places (for Each/Win stakes). The online bookmaker will increase the number of winning places for an E/W bet on a particular race.
Money back offers can be distinguished as a different type of bonus.
Money-Back Offers
Some bookmakers pay out refunds for bets lost as a bonus.
The most popular bonus is a refund of all or a part of a bet on a winning horse, if it comes second (third/fourth…). There are promotions where you can get all or a part of the bet amount if the horse fails to finish or falls down during the race. For example, Quinnbet has such offers.
Money-Back bonuses usually have a number of requirements, such as specifying the meeting or the race it must be used on, as well as minimum odds. Study the promotion terms and conditions to make sure you take advantage of the offer as stated.
- To participate in the promotion you need to opt-in on the betting site.
- Place a bet on the horse racing markets from 8:30am on the day of the race, up to €250 per race.
- Best Odds Guaranteed apply to all single and Accu bets, including Lucky 15/31/63, Trixies, Patents, Yankees, etc.
- If the bet wins, you will win from the maximum odds for the races.
- Let’s say you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 5/1, then you get paid as 5/1, but if you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 3/1, then you still get paid 4/1.
- To participate in the promotion you need to register on the betting site.
- Make a single or accumulator bet on British or Irish horse races.
- If the bet wins, you will receive the winnings from the maximum odds for the race.
- Let’s say you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 5/1, you get paid at 5/1, but if you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 3/1, you still get paid 4/1.
- The maximum amount you can get per a bet or a race with the help of the Best Odds Guaranteed is limited to €10,000.
- To participate in the promotion you need to opt-in on the betting site.
- Make a single bet of maximum €20 by clicking on the “Uniboost” button on the betslip.
- Eligible accounts will receive three Uniboost tokens every day, expiring at midnight.
- Tokens can only be used for horse racing, greyhounds and trotting.
- Opt-in required.
- Place a bet on the horse racing betting markets from 8:00am on the day of the race. The maximum daily income per player from Best Odds Guaranteed is €25,000.
- Best Odds Guaranteed covers all single and accumulator bets on horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
- If the bet wins, you’ll get the winnings from the maximum odds for horse racing.
- Let’s say you take 5/1 and your horse wins at odds of 8/1, then you get paid as 8/1, but if you take 8/1 and your horse wins at odds of 3/1, then you still get paid 8/1.
- To participate in the promotion you need to opt-in;
- Bet on Lucky 15, Lucky 31, or Lucky 63;
- If only one option wins, it will be multiplied by:
- If you bet on Lucky 15, it multiplies the odds by 3;
- If you bet on Lucky 31, it multiplies the odds by 4;
- If you bet on Lucky 63, it multiplies the odds by 5.
- To participate in the promotion you need to opt-in on the betting site;
- Make a single or accumulator bet on the British, Irish or South African horse racing festivals or races;
- If the bet wins, you will get the winnings from the maximum odds for the race;
- Let’s say you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 5/1, then you get paid as 5/1, but if you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 3/1, then you still get paid 4/1.
- Make a single or accumulator bet on British or Irish horse races.
- If the bet wins (First past the post or Double result), but the result was cancelled, the bookmaker will pay the winnings in full.
- To participate in the promotion you need to opt-in.
- Make qualifying real money bet of at least €0.10 on British or Irish horse races.
- In case the horse on which the bet was made wins (First Past The Post or Double result), but the result was cancelled, the bookmaker will pay the winnings in full.
- To participate in the promotion you need to opt-in on the betting site.
- Place a bet on the horse racing festivals of races from 8:30am. The bet is allowed to reach an amount up to €250 per race.
- Best Odds Guaranteed only apply to British and Irish races.
- If your bet wins, you will win from the maximum odds for the race.
- To participate in the promotion you need to register on the betting site.
- Make a bet on the races from 9:00am.
- Best Odds Guaranteed only apply to British and Irish races.
- If your bet wins, you will win from the maximum odds for the race.
- Let’s say you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 5/1, you get paid as 5/1, but if you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 3/1, you still get paid 4/1.
- To participate in the promotion you need to opt-in on the betting site.
- Make a qualifying real money bet on British or Irish horse racing festivals or races.
- In case the horse on which the bet was made wins (First Past The Post or “double result”), but the result was cancelled, the bookmaker will pay the winnings in full.
- To participate in the promotion you need to register on the betting site.
- Place a bet on the races from 10:00am.
- BOG only apply to British and Irish popular horse racing events available at “Sports” category of LiveScoreBet website or app.
- If your bet wins, you will win from the maximum odds for the race.
- Let’s say you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 5/1, you will be paid as 5/1, but if you take 4/1 and your horse wins at odds of 3/1, you will still be paid 4/1. The maximum amount of the bonus is €50,000.
The Most Popular Horse Racing Events and Competitions to Bet on in Ireland
Horse racing is rightly considered “the sport of kings” and has a rich history from chariot racing in Ancient Greece to the most prestigious races of thoroughbred horses at the best racecourses in the world today.
Let’s consider a list of the most famous and major horse races in the world that should be offered to make bets on by all horse racing betting sites.
Punchestown Festival
This famous five-day springtime festival in Kildare, Ireland, combines top horse racing and music. The Champion Chase, World Series Hurdle and Punchestown Gold Cup are the main races at the festival.
Galway Races
Galway Races is an Irish racing festival held on the last Monday in July at Ballybreath Racecourse. The festival attracts almost 150,000 people each year. The event schedule consists of no less than 40 races with a total prize pool of €2 million.
Fairyhouse Easter Festival
This is a famous three-day festival held at Ireland’s Fairyhouse Racecourse. The most anticipated event of the festival is always the RYBO Handicap Hurdle with the top prize of €100,000. It is not the most prestigious of meetings, but all the best horse racing betting sites present a range of bets on it.
Cheltenham Festival
The four-day Cheltenham Festival is held annually in March at the Cheltenham Racecourse in England. The event usually coincides with St Patrick’s Day and is particularly popular with Irish supporters. There are 28 races at the festival, and some of them are Class I races: Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle.
Aintree Festival
The festival takes place at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool. Every year more than 100,000 visitors flock to the county of Merseyside to watch the races with their own eyes. The event consists of 21 races which are held across three days (Thursday to Saturday) in early April.
Royal Ascot
This event is held in Ascot, near Windsor Castle (the official residence of the British monarchs). Every year it attracts thousands of spectators from all over the world. The main race is the race for the Gold Cup. The main event lasts for 5 days and consists of 17 races. The winner is chosen in overall standings. The prize is £4 million.
Glorious Goodwood
Five days of spectacular horse races make the Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse one of the highlights of the English summer. Officially known as “Glorious Goodwood”, the festival is actually called the Qatar Goodwood Festival. The racecourse is considered to be quite challenging due to the excessive amount of sharp turns and slopes. The tough course actually improves the quality of the races as only the best horses in England compete at the event.
Melbourne Cup
This is Australia’s most famous and prestigious horse racing event, which is held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Traditionally, the festival starts on the first Tuesday in November every year and is tacitly called “the race that stops the nation”. Total prize money for the event reaches $8 million.
Kentucky Derby
This is the most significant annual event in Kentucky, USA. Held at Churchill Downs Raceway since 1875, the 35-race event is the opening event of the Triple Crown series, which includes the Preakness Stakes in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes in New York.
Preakness Stakes
These are one of the biggest horse races held in the United States. It is the second leg in the Triple Crown series. The race is held annually on the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Raceway in Baltimore.
Belmont Stakes
This is the oldest and final race in the annual Triple Crown series. It is held in Belmont, New York, exactly three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
Pegasus World Cup
The Pegasus World Cup is held in Florida, it is considered one of the richest events in horse racing. The prize money exceeds $1 million each year in the main event and $500,000 in the Pegasus World Cup Turf and Mare Turf races.
Dubai World Cup
The event is the culmination of the Dubai horse racing season. Only thoroughbreds are allowed to compete at Meydan Racecourse. The particular race is rightly titled as “the richest horse racing event in the world”. The total prize money for the World Cup is $35 million. This prestigious meeting attracts the attention of every horse betting site.
Horse Racing Bookmakers with the Best Racing Odds
Modern bookmakers and online sports betting sites for horse racing use a system of fixed odds instead of an archaic totalisator, but the principle is the same.
A bookmaker sets a commission for each of the horse racing betting markets – it is called a margin. Accordingly, the lower the margin is, the greater the odds and the higher the bettors’ profits are. We check the commissions of all bookmakers in order to find the best betting conditions for you.
We also pay attention to promotions which involve increasing the multipliers even with normal commissions – they take place regularly. In the fierce fight for attracting customers, bookmakers try to set the best guaranteed odds for the offered bets in addition to providing welcome bonuses and refunded bets. After all, in an attempt to win more money the client will first of all compare the odds of different bookmakers and opt for the best offer in the market.
Horse Racing Bookmakers That Offer Best Odds Guaranteed
The odds of horse racing betting sites are constantly changing, not only during the event, but also in the pre-race. You can place a lucrative bet, but by the time the race starts, the multiplier can drop substantially and the potential payout is reduced. Promotions with best odds guaranteed enable you to avoid this. Payouts are made according to the best multiplier: you may have caught it in the pre-match, or, alternatively, it may have been surpassed by the starting multiplier.
The Best Odds Guaranteed bonus is quite popular at top horse racing bookmakers. It is usually marked with a special icon when it is available for a race, and it is also advertised in the promotions sections. Bookmakers often guarantee payouts at the best odds, but not for all meetings and races. More often than not, the promotional list includes several Irish and British races per day, but there may be other offers. Make sure the bonus is actually available for the race you want to bet on.
To sum it up, let’s see what Ireland horse betting sites have the greatest odds and widest range of betting markets today.
Top 3 bookies that offer good odds for racing:
Bet365
The bookmaker has positioned itself as the company with the widest variety of horse racing bets. The company presents horse racing events long before they happen and gives you the chance to find out the age of the horse, the length of the race, the weather, the racecourse surface and even the jockey’s racing experience. If you want to catch greater odds early, go to Bet365 offers first.
William Hill
One of the oldest bookmakers in the world is described as “a strong all-round company with a huge list of meetings and a good odds ratio”. This bookmaker offers a range of markets for all the biggest races of the year, including Royal Ascot, the Kentucky Derby and the Dubai World Cup.
Paddy Power
This is a renowned betting giant that strives to offer good odds for all major meetings. They pay special attention to the Punchestown Festival and Cheltenham Festival and usually offer the best odds for these events.
Best Online Horse Racing Betting Apps
We used three criteria to select the best apps:
- They are available on both Android and iOS
- They support all the desktop website functions: video and audio streaming, betting mechanics etc.
- Usability
Here are the top 5 best mobile apps in our view:
BoyleSports
To navigate the BoyleSports’ app you don’t have to use the control buttons at the bottom of the screen to select a sport and a tournament. Horse racing bets are accessed via the permanent tab at the top of the main playing space, while other tabs or a drop-down menu will help you select a race. In fact, this arrangement of space is very intuitive, as all the tools for navigation are always on the screen, not hidden away in other menus.
William Hill
In the sections of priority sports (horse-racing and football) you can switch between tabs (marked with square buttons) in the main playing space at the top. It is also possible to do thisvia the Sports button in the static menu at the bottom. Note that different buttons are used to open the betslip and bets placed, which is quite unusual, but some customers will appreciate this. Links to all sections are hidden in the side menu, which is accessed by a button in the top left corner of the screen.
Paddy Power
This app will suit those who are used to the Paddy Power website. The usual static buttons at the bottom of the screen are hardly used to navigate in the betting section (most of them lead to casino sections). At the same time it is quite convenient to navigate the sports bets through the main area of the application without any additional interface elements. The organisation of the playing space is very similar to the website, which is adapted for small screens of portable gadgets.
Quinnbet
In its app the bookmaker combines the website’s navigation techniques with the classic push-button interface of an app. A static menu at the bottom of the screen takes you to the football and horse racing sections; there is also an advanced menu and a betslip button. It is possible to switch to different sections in the main screen.
Sky Bet
The application is similar to the online interface of the sports betting site in many ways. The top of the screen is used for navigation. The button in the top left corner will open a side menu through which you can go to every page. At the same time you can go to a page of a sport, a tournament or betting categories by clicking the tabs in the main zone. In the static menu at the bottom there are separate buttons for the betslip and placed bets as well as the promotion section, which is great because the company offers weekly bonuses.
Best Payment Methods for Online Horse Racing Betting
Nowadays, there are countless ways to make a deposit at a betting site. The deposit options listed below are the most popular on horse racing betting websites. However, they vary in terms of convenience, efficiency, accessibility, and the speed of fund transfer.
Warning: Bonuses. Often certain deposit methods don’t let you participate in promotions. This is always stated in the terms and conditions. What is important is that sometimes the payment systems themselves offer bonuses for making a deposit to your account at a bookmaker. This can be a solid bonus of up to 30-40%.
Here are the most popular and convenient payment systems:
PayPal
This is the largest debit electronic payment system. It actively cooperates with English and Irish bookmakers. The main advantage of the American service is an instant transfer of funds and the introduction of a policy of full confidentiality of client data.
Skrill
A UK-based payment processor that allows you to send and receive money using just your email address. Skrill is a leader in payments related to online casinos, betting companies and other online gambling industry services.
Apple Pay
This is a system of mobile payments from Apple. iPhone and Mac users can make deposits using NFC technology with the help of Touch ID or Face ID. Many bookmakers are now incorporating support for such a system into their cash registers, so that customers can make deposits wirelessly.
Neteller
This is one of the largest payment systems in the world. Its functionality is very similar to Skrill. It is notable for extremely low fees, high security of payments and a wide range of services for depositing.
paysafecard
This payment system is widely popular with horse racing bookmakers. Paysafecard does not offer to create an e-wallet, these cards have a certain prepaid nominal value. The customer buys the card and transfers its nominal funds to their bookmaker’s account. The payment itself remains completely anonymous. This method only allows you to make a deposit to your account.
Visa
This is an global payment system, which customers use to make their electronic payments to bookmakers. The only condition when choosing this deposit method is that your bank card must support online payments.
MasterCard
This is an electronic payment system that competes directly with Visa in the market. The main difference between Mastercard and Visa is that Mastercard focuses on transactions in euros – Visa works mainly with dollars. As for British bookmakers, it is better to use Mastercard, otherwise, currency conversions and transfer fees could be higher.
Bank Transfer
This deposit method is very popular in the UK. A customer transfers money from their current account to their betting account at a bookmaker’s company via a bank branch.
Rapid Transfer
These differ from a Bank Transfer as the transfer takes place via the bank’s website or its mobile app rather than in the bank itself. The entire transfer process is done directly by the client of an online bookmaker independently of bank staff.
Once again, you are often required to use a certain payment method to make a deposit in order to get a bonus.
Most Popular Types of Bets in Horse Racing
Horse racing betting sites Ireland offer a variety of different methods for placing bets on horse races. If you choose enough markets, you can bet on different types of combinations. All horse racing bookies in our ratings allow you to form more than a dozen betting systems automatically.
Bets like Forecast and Tricast can also be placed in a betslip, although Paddy Power and BoyleSports put them in a separate betting category. Ante-posts are an exception, they are only available in the sections devoted to upcoming races.
Let’s take a closer look at the most popular types of bets.
Each-way (sometimes called Win/Each-way or Win/Place)
This type combines two bets:
- A bet on winning the race (1st place)
- A bet on the place: For a win of the second part of the Each-way bet, the horse must finish placing in a certain range of positions (e.g. from 1st to 4th). This range depends on the number of participants in the race and the bookmaker’s policy.
For example, the odds for a horse to win are 8/1. For an Each-way bet, the bookmaker determines 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. The odds for a bet on the place are 1/4 of the odds for a bet on win, i.e. the real multiplier is 2/1 (8/1 : 1/4). You bet €5 on the Win and Place parts each, i.e. €10 in total. Payouts in all cases are:
- The horse comes in first. Both parts of the bet are a win. The winnings are: 5 x 8/1 + 5 * 2/1 = €45 + 15 = €60.
- The horse comes in third. Only a Place part wins: 5 * 3/1 = €15.
- The horse comes in fifths. The bet is a complete loser.
Betting Without the Favorite
Usually for this type of bet horse racing betting sites offer a separate type of market display. The favourite (the participant with the lowest odds) is excluded from the list, the odds of the other horses winning are recalculated. A bet without the favourite wins if the horse comes first or second (after the favourite).
Single
This is a bet with one selection. This can be a bet on the horse’s win or on its place, an Each-way bet, etc. A single bet is independent of other bets.
Double
For football fans this can be described as an accumulator with selections. The punter combines two independent bets in one betting slip, for example a bet on the horses winning two different races. The odds of the events are multiplied, making the total multiplier of the double bet greater, but both selections must be a win. If one loses, the whole bet is lost.
A double (like any accumulator) can combine most of the independent single markets, but not all of them. The bookmaker will make a note in the betslip, if a selection is not suitable for a multi bet.
Treble
This is another form of the popular accumulator which combines three independent selections.
Accumulator
A multi bet with 4 or more selections is called an accumulator. This type of bet is not often used, as it is very difficult to predict 4 outcomes in horse racing. Large accumulators are not given a special name because of this reason.
Trixie
Horse racing at online betting sites attracts bettors with the ease of creating complex systems that offer some insurance if one or more selections are a loser.
A trixie is an interesting alternative to a treble. This type of combination requires three independent selections, from these, four multi bets are formed:
- 3 doubles (AxB, AxC, BxC)
- 1 treble (AxBxC)
The customer bets on each of these combinations. If they predict two selections correctly, they win, if three selections are predicted correctly, then this can result in a big profit. For example, horse racing betting odds of all selections are 1/1. With a €5 bet, one winning double at odds of 3/1 will return all the money spent. If a bettor predicts all three selections, they will get: 20 + 20 + 20 + 40 = €100.
You don’t need to combine Trixie yourself. In most companies all you have to do is to select three markets, include this type of betting in the betslip and enter the amount.
Yankee, Lucky 15, Heinz
A trixie is one of the simplest combinations, but there are many others.
A Yankee requires four selections, they are combined as follows:
- 6 doubles
- 4 trebles
- 1 four-fold accumulator
If you add 4 singles bets to a Yankee, you get Lucky 15:
- 4 singles
- 6 doubles
- 4 trebles
- 1 four-fold accumulator
Systems may include several dozen bets – like Heinz, where six selections give 57 combinations:
- 15 doubles
- 20 trebles
- 15 four-folds
- 6 five-folds
- 1 six-fold accumulator
Ante-Post Bets
Ante-Post Betting involves betting on horses that have been announced for an upcoming race or event but have not been confirmed by the starting list. If a horse does not start, the bet is not returned, as it is after the confirmation of competitors. At the same time, the ante-post format gives the opportunity to catch the best horse racing odds. The outcome includes the risk of no return, and therefore it will be priced higher.
Betting Sites with Live Horse Racing and In-Play Betting
A bookmaker can’t get a high rate if the company doesn’t provide a quality live betting service and live streaming. There are several criteria for convenient horse racing betting online:
- How many markets are offered. Some pre-race markets can be excluded from the in-play offer, so you need to count the number of possible bets.
- How long markets remain intact during in-play betting. This is especially important for short and medium distance races. Good betting sites for horse racing close the line after a race is over or several moments prior to the end.
- Free or cheap live streaming. You will be required to make a deposit to watch broadcasts even if the streaming is free. Nevertheless, the financial conditions for watching the streaming should be reasonable.
- Broadcast signal delay. “Live” is not a completely accurate description for the race streaming you watch. Some delays are normal however, they shouldn’t be too long as this could impact on the decision and therefore accuracy and result of your live horse racing bet.
These are the top 10 best betting sites with live horse racing and video streaming.
William Hill
Most of the competitions that a prematch offer contains are available in the live betting mode, it is true even for short distance races. Horse racing fans that prefer Irish and British competitions can watch them via the Betting TV service after topping up the account. You need to have made a bet on the race in order to get access to the broadcast and watch it yourself. Live streaming is available for meetings hosted by the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, Brazil, and some other countries.
Bet365
This is the top horse racing betting site in the world and provides one of the largest live streaming services that won’t disappoint horse racing fans. Usually all the Irish, British, and American meetings offered by the bookmaker are broadcast live. A user can access the live streaming service if there’s money inthe customer’s account and they have placed one bet within the last day. In-play betting is available for all long distance races.
BoyleSports
Irish horse racing is the priority for the bookmakers along with the British and US meetings. The company offers the widest range of betting markets for meetings hosted by these countries. However, you can find many other competitions, too. You need to top up your account to watch the broadcasts.
Paddy Power
This bookmaker covers a huge variety of races and almost all of them are broadcast. This includes the meetings hosted by the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the USA, Canda, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, France, Japan, South Africa and the other countries. The bookmaker claims that you can watch horse racing online for free after making a deposit. Live betting is available for most of the events.
Unibet
There is a distinct section for pre-match and live betting on horse racing. Unibet TV broadcasts the Irish, British, North and South American meetings on a regular basis. Other competitions are provided too. You can watch any race even if there’s no money in your account as long as you’ve placed at least one bet within the last 24 hours.
BetVictor
To get access to most of the popular Irish and British meetings you need to have money in your account and make at least one bet within the last 24 hours. The Racing TV service provided by the bookmaker includes broadcasting of the competitions hosted by the USA, South Africa, UAE and other countries. However, in this case you need to place at least a 1 euro bet on a race. French and Japanese competitions are offered occasionally but live streaming is not provided on a regular basis. The live service has the same good quality as pre-match.
Sky Bet
The horse betting section is perfectly delivered to the bettors in both the pre-match and in-play sections. You can also go to Skybet TV to watch the streaming. Bet & Watch and Watch & Bet broadcasts are available for many meetings which are held in Europe, North and South America. You can open some broadcasts right before a race starts and watch them for free.
Betfair
The bookmaker offers the perfect live service and great TV coverage of the Irish, British, French, US competitions. Live streaming can be available for meetings hosted by some other countries, too. You can get access to the broadcasts via the Bet & Watch option. You need to bet at least 1 euro on a race in order to be able to watch it.
32Red
This is a new horse racing betting site that provides the perfect live service for the Irish, British, and Australian competitions. You need to have money in your account to get access to the races being broadcast or by placing one bet within the last 24 hours.
Betfred
This bookmaker is primarily focused on Irish and British horse racing. The widest selection of markets and broadcasts are available for these tmeetings. You need to make a 1 euro bet to access them and you can watch other sports which are live-streamed for free.
Why you should bet on horses online instead of in a betting shop
It’s much easier to bet on horse racing now that modern digital technologies allow you to do it online. Many bettors prefer horse betting sites instead of going to a betting office. There are several reasons for this.
- Online betting is faster and more convenient. You only need to visit a betting website, make a deposit, and place a bet. It only takes a couple of minutes.
- You can bet wherever you are and whenever you want. You can do it at home, walking outside, or commuting to work. You only need to have an Internet connection, download an app, open it and choose an event to bet on.
- You have a chance to catch good odds. The odds tend to change pretty swiftly so you need to be able to reach your account fast. This isn’t possible when it comes to using a betting shop.
- No need to deal with cash. You only need to connect your bank card or e-wallet to the account and make a deposit for online horse racing betting.
- It’s easier to follow a game live. Sometimes odds can change in just a couple of seconds. You only need to choose an event and place a bet via an app. It’s much faster than contacting an operator at a betting shop.
There are many advantages to using horse racing betting sites so it’s no surprise that the use of online betting sites is growing very fast. However, some bettors still prefer offline gambling. Many large bookmakers keep opening new betting offices to cater for and maintain this audience.
Things to Consider Before Betting on Horses
- The age of the horse. A young horse has a better chance of winning a short-distance race than an older one. In a long-distance race, a horse with more racing experience has a better chance.
- The length of the race. A horse should not compete in other races for at least a month before a short-distance race (a sprint). It is important for the horse to be in good shape. If it is a long- distance race, a long break is not necessary.
- Jockey’s experience. It is essential to know who will be sitting in the saddle. A jockey in horse racing is important. The more prizes and wins they have, the better. A good jockey predominantly rides excellent and fast horses which needs to be taken into account when choosing a horse to bet on. This is the hardest parameter to evaluate, as not all horse racing betting sites include detailed track records.
- Jockey’s weight. The lighter the jockey, the faster the horse can run and therefore the better its chances of winning. The optimal weight for a jockey is 60 kg.
- The weather. Horse racing bookmakers often choose the favourite and the outsider based on good weather. However, surprises often happen at the racecourse when the weather is bad.
- The complexity of the race. This is a key factor which is frequently overlooked. All, racecourses differ from one another, with some involving much more sharp turns and rises than others. In this case, it is better to pick a horse that already has experience of racing on such race tracks.
- Horse’s track records. The more medal places a horse has won at race tracks, the better. In addition to winning places, the complexity of races should also be taken into account. If a horse wins against new participants regularly, it does not mean it will win the race against other experienced horses.
- Expert opinion. If the event is big enough and well-known in the equestrian world, there will be lots of information available about the event that can be analysed t. Consider carefully the opinions of journalists, equestrian experts and jockeys, who can predict with some degree of certainty which horse is a real favourite of the race and which is the outsider, and which is a “dark horse” that could win the race unexpectedly.
How to Make an Online Horse Racing Bet
Universal instructions outlining how to place a bet on online horse racing betting sites are as follows:
- Register on the bookmaker’s website or in their mobile app. When creating your account, make up your nickname and password. Also enter your name, first name, e-mail address and phone number.
- Verify your account. You will need to upload a scan of your passport or other proof of your identity. The bookmaker may also ask you to provide details of your residency (for example, utility bills, local bank statements).
- Make a deposit to your account. Open your personal page and select a deposit method that suits you best in the “Deposit” section. Check the minimum / maximum deposit amount and the amount of commission for funds transfer.
- Click on the “Horse Racing” tab in the main menu of the betting company. If you access the bookmaker’s website from your phone, remember that the tab with all the sports is often not displayed on the main screen. To find the “Horse Racing” button, you will need to click on the top left corner of the website to open the list of sporting events.
- Select the event and the market to bet on. When selecting competitions, be sure to look at the date of the event. It is not uncommon for horse racing bookmakers to offer bets on races that will only take place a couple of months later. The odds are greater then, but the stake will not be returned if the horse does not take part in the race.
- Enter the value of your bet and press the “Bet” button. Be careful before you place a bet, once you’ve made it, you will not be able to modify or cancel it. All information about forthcoming and settled racing bets can be found in your personal account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you verify whether a horse racing betting site is licensed and regulated?
All betting companies mentioned by Match.Center have a valid license from the Revenue Commissioners. More often than not (but not always) brands also have a license to operate in the UK, this license is issued by the UKGC.
Information about a bookmaker’s license is available on their website at the bottom of the page in the main menu or under the “About the company” tab.
See RC website for the full register.
How do I choose a horse to bet on?
We, the experts at Match.Center, recommend that punters use the following criteria to select the most suitable horse to bet on:
- The age of the horse;
- The length of the race;
- Jockey’s experience;
- Jockey’s weight;
- The weather;
- The complexity of the race;
- Horse’s track records;
- Expert opinion.
You can read about the criteria listed above in more detail in the “Things to Consider Before Betting on Horses” section on this page.
What are the best horse racing betting sites in Ireland?
The best horse racing betting sites in Ireland include Paddy Power, BoyleSports, Bet365, William Hill, Betfair, Sky Bet, Betway, Quinnbet, 888sports and Bar One Racing. Read more about their advantages and disadvantages in this page.
What does nap mean in horse racing?
The term “nap” (the full term is “Napoleon”’) means the best predictions of the day according to bookmakers, specialists, or punters. Horse racing betting online sites often ask experts and journalists to give their recommendations for betting on different races. Sometimes recommendations are given by analysts of the bookmaker itself. The most probable and solid predictions are called the “nap”.
What is a trixie bet in horse racing?
A trixie bet is a system of four accumulators involving the markets of three events. One accumulator consists of all three events, the other three consist of doubles of all possible pairs of three events.
If more than one of the accumulators wins, the winnings of each of the selections are added up.
The advantage of the trixie bet is that it protects you from losing on one event in the system. The disadvantage of this type of bet, however, is in the difficulty of calculating the optimal value and odds for the bet.
What should you consider when choosing a horse racing event to bet on?
There are two key things to consider when choosing which horse racing event to bet on:
- The prestige of the event. It is no secret that the bigger the meeting, the wider the range of horse racing markets of a bookmaker. The list of the most reputable horse racing events every year includes Royal Ascot, Dubai World Cup, Melbourne Cup and the Triple Crown series.
- The total prize pool of a meeting. The bigger the pool, the higher the number and quality of thoroughbred horses taking part in the race, which means that competition will be great and it will be hard to pick a favourite.
What streaming options are available at horse racing sites?
As a rule, many bookmakers, including Paddy Power, BoyleSports and William Hill, have live streaming from racecourses in Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and America. Sometimes horse racing betting sites offer live streaming of races, but the video is streamed for free by the services TVG, TwinSpires or BetAmerica rather than the betting site.
In addition to the video streaming, horse racing fans can listen to the audio and text broadcasts on the bookmaker’s website. More often than not, these types of broadcasts are available to unauthorised betting customers.
Who has the best odds guaranteed on horse racing?
Enhanced odds are one of the most popular ways to attract new punters and keep old ones.
Among horse racing betting sites in Ireland William Hill, Paddy Power, Bet365 and BetVictor offer the best odds guaranteed.
That said, Match.Center advises bettors to be extremely careful before selecting a market with enhanced odds at your favourite horse racing betting site. If the race due to start in a few months, but the bookmakers are already making up a list of events in advance and offering bets to be placed, these bets are usually not refunded if your horse doesn’t take part in the race, as stipulated in the terms and conditions. You can choose whether to catch enhanced odds and accept the risk of non-refunded bets, or to bet later without additional risk, but at lower odds.
