Our guide tells you how to bet on horse racing online
After football, horse racing is the second most popular sport in the UK for bettors, around 55 per cent of whom in total enjoy a bet on the sport.
But gone are the days when it was dominated by those who bet in person at the track or in the betting shop. Now there are horse racing markets available on lots of betting platforms, including apps on iOS and Android.
How to bet on horse racing: Choosing a betting site
The first thing to do is to sign up and register to one of the many terrific UK betting sites. We have a list of the very best and most trusted betting sites in the industry. Check them all out below when signing up to a new horse racing site.
T&Cs apply. 18+. New customers only. Register with BETFRED50. Deposit £10+ via Debit Card and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. T&Cs apply.
T&Cs apply. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.
T&Cs apply. New Customers Only. First Single & E/W Bet Only. Odds Of 1/1 Or Greater. 3 X £10 Bet Tokens. Free Bet Stakes Not Included In Returns. Free Bets Exclude Virtuals. Free Bets Are Non Withdrawable. Free Bets Expire After 30 Days. Eligibility Restrictions And Further T&Cs Apply. 18+. Gambleaware.org.
T&Cs apply. 18+. New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. £35 in FREE Bets (FB) as £25 in sports bets & a £10 casino bonus (CB). Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. FB applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. FB 7-day expiry. 1 FB offer per customer, household & IP address only. Account & Payment restrictions. 14 days to accept £10 CB, then active for 3 days. CB 5x wagering & max redeemable £100. Game restrictions apply. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. 30 days to qualify. T&Cs Apply.
T&Cs apply. New customers online only. Eligibility restrictions apply. Only valid with code B10G40 on registration. £10 min qualifying bet at 1/1 (2.0) odds or greater across sports or racing (if EW then min £10 Win + £10 Place). Receive £20 Tote Credit, £10 Free Sports Bet and 50 Free Spins on Big Bass Bonanza within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. 7-day expiry on free bets & Tote Credit. Your first bet will be your qualifying bet. One per customer. UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org
T&Cs apply. 18+. BeGambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Min £20 debit card deposit. Place a £20+ bet on Horse Racing at min odds 2/5 (1.4) each leg. Receive 2 x £10 free bets within 24 hours of bet settlement, and further 2 x £10 free bets 7 days later. Valid for Horse Racing only. T&C’s apply.
T&Cs apply. 18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10 on any football market at minimum 1/1 odds. No cash out. Get £40 in Free Bets on selected events. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Debit card / Apple Pay payments only. begambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly.
T&Cs apply. New Customer offer - Use promo code YSKAST. Place a min £5 bet on the sportsbook at odds of min EVS (2.0) and get £30 in free bets. Free bet rewards valid for 30 days. Only deposits via Debit Cards & Apple Pay will qualify for this offer. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly. 18+.
T&Cs apply. 18+ New customers only. Opt in via mobile device, bet £10+ on Horse Racing at odds of 2.00+, in 7 days. Get 6x £5 in free bets on selected markets. Bonuses expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs Apply. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly.
T&Cs apply. New customers only. 7 days to place qualifying bet of £10+ at 1/1 (2.0) to receive 4 x Free Bets: x1 £10 Football, x1 £10 Acca, x 1 £10 BetBuilder, x1 £10 Horse Racing. 7 day expiry. Stake not returned. 18+. Exclusions Apply. T&Cs apply.
T&Cs apply. Join and place a £10 fixed odds bet at odds of 1/2 or greater. Once the bet is settled, get a £10 free fixed odds bet plus a £5 free Total Goals football spread bet and a £5 racing Winning Favourites spread bet. The second £10 free fixed odds bet, £5 free Total Goals football spread bet, and £5 racing Winning Favourites spread bet will be credited 24 hours later. Free bets expire in 28 days if unused. Promotions available to 18+ aged individuals. New customers only. T&Cs apply. http://Begambleaware.org.
10bet
100% up to £50 welcome bonus - Use promo code SPORT
T&Cs apply. New bettors; Code SPORT; Wager deposit & bonus 8x; Max qualifying bet stake=initial bonus; Valid 60 days; Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply; T&C apply; 18+
Parimatch
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets if your 1st bet loses
T&Cs apply. 18+ New Customers Only. Opt in and bet on horse racing (odds 3.00+) within 7 days of registration. Get your first stake credited in Free Bets, up to £30, if your bet loses. Free Bets are for set markets and expire in 7 days. Selected payment methods only. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly.
T&Cs apply. 18+ New UK & ROI Customers only. Min deposit £5. Min first £5 bet at minimum odds 1/2 to qualify for 1x £20 free bet. Certain deposit methods and bet types excl. Free bet valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.
T&Cs apply. 18+ New UK+IRE Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £/€5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 4x £/€5 free bets. Free bets available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.
T&Cs apply. 18+. Bet £10 on any Bet Builder Min Odds 3/1 (4.00) Min 3 Selection. Free Bets will be split into 3 x £10 Free Bet. Free Bet to be used on any Bet Builder, Free Bet to be used on any Acca Bet, Free Bet to be used on any sport. All valid for 7 days. Full TC's Apply. GambleAware.org.
T&Cs apply. 18+. New customers, Deposit & Place a Bet within 7 days, and settle a £10 minimum bet at odds of 4/5 (1.8) or greater, to be credited with 3x £10 free bets: 1 x £10 Horse racing, 1 x £10 Free Bet Builder and 1 x £10 Football. Stake not returned. T&C’s Apply. Opt-in required. GambleAware.org
Betfair
Get £50 in free bets When you place £10 bet on Sportsbook
T&Cs apply. Place a min £10 bet on Sportsbook on odds of min EVS (2.0), get £50 in Free Bet Builders, Accumulators or multiples to use on any sport. Rewards valid for 30 days. Only deposits via cards or Apple Pay will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.
Betway
£30 Matched Free Bet if your first Acca loses + 100 Free Spins
T&Cs apply. New UK customers only. Min Stake: £5. Maximum Free Bet: £30. First bet on a Football or Horse Racing multiple with 3+ selections. Overall odds: 3.00 (2/1) or higher. Free Bets available upon settlement of the qualifying bet. 100 Free Spins on More Unusual Suspects (£0.10 per spin) credited on settlement of qualifying Acca bet. No wagering requirements on free spin winnings. Debit Card deposit only (exclusions apply). This offer is valid 7 days from the new account being registered. 18+ GambleAware.org . Bet the Responsible Way. Full Terms apply
T&Cs apply. New UK customers only. Min £10 first deposit using Debit Card or Bank Transfer. Place a bet of £10 at min odds of 1.5 and get £10 upon settlement. Further £10 Multiple token will be credited after 24 hours and a further £5 Horse Racing Multiple token and a £5 Football Bet Builder token will be credited after 48 hours. Full T&Cs apply.18+. BeGambleAware.org
T&Cs apply. 18+. New customers only. Opt in and bet £10 on Horse Racing (odds 2/1+) within 3 days of sign up. No cash-out. Get your first stake credited in Free Bets, up to £40, for set horse racing markets. Free Bets expire in 5 days. Full T&Cs Apply. GambleAware.org . Please gamble responsibly.
T&Cs apply. *New members only. £10 min bet on sportsbook (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, placed & settled in 14 days of sign-up. Win part E/W bets. Free Bets: accept in 7 days, valid 7 days on sportsbook only . Stake not returned. T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. 18+.
T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs apply. New UK customers only. The qualifying bet should be either a Single or Acca (2+ selections) bet, start at £10, have 1.9 or greater odds and must be settled within 7 days of sign-up. 5 Free bets which must be placed with a min odds of 2 include: 1 x £10 Free bet on any Pre-match Football game (single); 1 x £10 Free Bet for Horse Racing (single); 1 x £10 Free Bet for Acca (min 2 selections) Bet on any sport; 1 x £10 Free Bet for Acca (min 3 selections) Bet on any sport; 1 x £10 Free Bet for Acca (min 4 selections) Bet on any sport. Max payout – £500. 7 day expiry. To unlock the offer, complete the first deposit via the banking app (Open banking). 18+. GambleAware.com.
T&Cs apply. Applies to new UK/IRE customers who sign up with promo code AKACCA100. Place your first bet as a multiple (minimum 3 selections) and AK Bets will boost the profit gained on that initial bet by 25% in the form of a Free Bet up to a value of £100. 18+ | GambleAware.org.
Mr Play
Bet £10 Get £15 in free bets, use bonus code TELEPLAY
T&Cs apply. 18+, Welcome Bonus: New Players only, 1st Deposit, Min Deposit: £10, max £15 bonus, valid for 14 days, bets must be placed at a min. odds of 1/1 (2.00) or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets no eligible.
T&Cs apply. New members only. £10+ bet on sportsbook (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accept in 7 days, valid 7 days on sportsbook only. 2x£5 Free Bets for Bet Builder only. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+.
T&Cs apply. Qualifying bet of £10 at min. odds 2.0 within 5 days of registration, E/W excluded. Get 3x Free Bets at min odds 2.0 each. 1x£10 Football, 1x£10 Racing, 1x£10 Acca (Min 4 selections). 7-day expiry. New selected customers & 18+ only. Min. deposit of £10. Full T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org
T&Cs apply. New customers only. Min stake £2. Min legs 3. Max win £1,000. Min odds 3.0. Max £25 back as a Free Bet on losing bets only. 7 days to use free bet at odds 2.0+. Full T and Cs apply. Play responsibly BeGambleAware.orgT&Cs apply
T&Cs apply. 18+. New Customers Only. Max one £10 Free Bet. Qualifying bets at Odds of 1/1(2.00) or greater. Paid as Bonus Token with Min 4/5(180) Odds Req. Skrill, Neteller & Paypal not eligible.BeGambleAware.org. T&Cs apply.
T&Cs apply. New Players Only. Free bet - one-time stake of £50, min odds 1.5, stake not returned. 1X wager the winnings. Wager from real balance first. Wager calculated on bonus bets only. Max conversion: £200. Valid for 7 Days from receipt. Limited to 1 sport & 5 casino brand/s within the network. Withdrawal requests void all active/pending bonuses. Excluded Skrill and Neteller deposits. Full Terms apply. 18+ | GambleAware | #Ad
T&Cs apply. Deposit and bet on any sportsbook markets of your choice at odds of evens (2.00) or greater. Get 50% back of your first days losses as a Free Bet up to £50 plus 50 Free Spins. Min. 3 bets required. If your account is up, you’ll receive a £5 Free Bet regardless plus 10 Free Spins. Use coupon code "5050" at registration. T&Cs apply | 18+ New UK Customers Only | GambleAware.org | Gamble Responsibly.
T&Cs apply. 18+. New customers only. Within 3 days of registration, place a minimum £10 qualifying bet at minimum odds of 1.5 (1/2) as their first bet that is subsequently resulted as a loss. Within 3 days of registration, place a second and third minimum £10 qualifying bets on Racing Markets at minimum odds of 1.5 (1/2) that subsequently resulted as a loss. All qualifying bets must be placed on different events. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
T&Cs apply. 18+ | New UK players only | Min deposit req. £10 | Certain deposit methods excluded | Place 1 sport bet (3+ selections) | Excl Horse Racing | Min stake £10 | Max stake £20 | Min Odds 2/1 (3.0) | Max FreeBet £20 for football only | FreeBet valid for 7 days | FreeBet stake not returned | T&Cs apply.
ThePools
Get £10 to use on Accas when you place 2x £10 Accas Monday to Sunday
T&Cs apply. 18+, UK only. Place a minimum 2x £10 pre-match 4 leg acca cash bet where odds accumulate to 3.0 (2/1) or more and get a £10 bonus funds to use on multiples (3 or more selection, min odds per selection 1.5 (1/2)). Cashed Out, Asian Handicaps, Draw no Bet wagers or bets with void legs do not qualify for this promotion. Free Bet credited every Monday by 12pm. Maximum 1 free bet per customer per week available from this promotion. Full T&C's apply. http://BeGambleAware.org.
T&Cs apply. New Customers Only. Sign up using Bonus Code: GET30. To qualify for free bets, the new user must place and settle £30 on Matchbook Exchange markets only. The user must bet on at least 4 different events to qualify. T's and C's Apply. Gamble Aware. 18+
T&Cs apply. 18+. UK&IE New customers only. Min. deposit £10. One Free bet token will be awarded once you have made your first deposit and have bet £10 with min odds of 1/1 (2.00) or higher. This bet must be settled within 14 days of bet placement to qualify for the welcome free bet offer. The Free bet can only be used on a coupon with total odds of (4/5)or higher. System bets such as a Trixie, Yankee, “Lucky” Bet etc will not be eligible. T&Cs apply.
Fafabet
50% Losses Back up to £70 Free Bet + £20 Casino Bonus
T&Cs apply. 18+. New customers only. A "Qualifying Bet" is a first settled real money single or multiple bet of £10.00 or more placed at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater. If you place a £10 bet you'll receive a £5 free bet + £5 Casino Bonus up to 24 hours after your qualifying bet has been settled. If you place a £100 or More bet you'll receive your £20 free bet +£10 Casino Bonus up to 24 hours after your qualifying bet has been settled. If your Sportsbook account losses at the end of the first day (the day ends at 23:59), you'll get back 50% of the losses as a Free Bet up to £70 + £20 Casino Bonus. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org.
T&Cs apply. 18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 18.10.2022. 4x £10 free bets. Free bets expire after 7 days. New customers only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further terms apply. #ad.
How to bet on horse racing
There will be contrasting sign-up processes for each of the different betting sites but the generic steps are as outlined below.
It will usually take no more than 10 minutes to do, but it may be worth giving yourself longer so that you can take things at your own pace.
Click the “Claim Offer” button next to the offer you wish to claim.
Click the button to register a new account. This might also say “sign up” or “create account”.
Fill in any personal details requested by the betting site, including verifying you are over 18 years old.
Enter your details for your deposit method, making sure you deposit and/or bet the correct amount to trigger the sign-up offer.
Select a race and then a horse and place your bet. Find out more about placing a bet online below.
How to place a bet on horse racing online
Once you have signed up and have some free bets ready to place on the horse racing markets thanks to a new customer offer, you are then ready to bet.
If you still need more help choosing your selections then continue reading our guide below.
Finding the horse racing home page
The first thing to do is to navigate your way to the horse racing homepage on the betting site you have chosen. This is not the same on every betting site but there are some general steps you can follow.
When first clicking on the betting site there will generally be a link to “horse racing” either on the side bar or the bar at the top of the page. Click on this to go to the screen where you can make your selections.
If this is not there, there will be a horizontal or vertical menu where you can either click “Sport” and then horse racing – but horse racing itself often has its own place on the menu to click on.
Once you’ve navigated to the horse racing section of the site, you are likely to see a list of courses that have meetings that day. Once here, you can then choose any of the horses from the races taking place either on that day or in the future.
Getting excited about Royal Ascot? Take a look at the best Royal Ascot betting offers ahead of this year’s edition of the famous meeting.
Placing a bet on horse racing online: Adding a selection to your bet slip
Once you have located the page that has all the horse racing markets and have picked the race and horse you want to bet on, you will then want to add them to your bet slip before placing the bet. This is done as follows:
Click on the odds next to the horse you want to bet on. It will then be added to your bet slip, which should pop up on your screen.
Enter the amount you would like to stake on your horse in the appropriate box. If you would like to bet each-way then tick the box on the bet slip marked each-way or EW.
If you already have deposited the money required to place your bet, simply click the button marked “place bet” or something similar to place your bet with the money you have deposited. The bet slip will update to tell you when this is done.
If you want to use any of the free bets you may have earned by signing up on your horse racing bet, there should be a button or box to use them on your selection.
Different types of horse racing bets you can place online
The most common types of bets people place on horse racing are the following:
Win-only
The win-only bet is definitely the easiest to understand as you simply back a horse to win the race. For you to win any money back, the horse you have backed must finish first in their selected race.
Each-way
Horse racing meetings such as Royal Ascot will often feature races that have a big number of runners, so picking a winner can prove to be a tough task, especially if you are not a regular racing punter.
That’s why each-way bets (EW) are very popular in horse racing.
This is effectively placing two bets: one on the horse to win and one on the horse to finish within a designated number of places advertised in the each-way terms at the top of the list of runners.
The place part of your each-way bet pays out at a fraction of the “to win” odds that are listed. In this case the place part of your each-way bet pays out at 1/5 of the win odds if your horse finishes in the first five places. If your horse wins the race you will also be paid out for the win part of the bet at the full win price listed.
For example, let’s say you place a £5 each-way bet (totalling £10) on a horse at odds of 15/1 with the each-way terms described above. That means you have a £5 bet on odds of 15/1 for the horse to win and a 3/1 bet (one-fifth of the odds) on it to finish in the first five.
If your 15/1 shot ends up being the winner of their race then you will be paid out for both parts of your bet and you will net £100. This consists of your win bet (£5 x15 = £75), your place bet (£5 x3 = £15) and your stake (£10).
If your horse finishes second, third, fourth or fifth then the win part of your each-way bet is unsuccessful and your £5 stake is lost. However, the place part of your bet has won so your returns are £20 (£5 x3 = £15) plus the £5 stake of your each-way bet).
Withdrawing your winnings
If you’re able to get some luck with your horse racing bets and win some money then it’s vital that you know the significant steps needed to withdraw your winnings. These can vary slightly from one betting site to another, but will generally be roughly as follows.
Locate the link to access details related to your account. This is most often in the top left or top right of the screen with a title such as “My Account” or the username you chose when creating the account.
Once you have clicked on this button you should see a menu, which will include an option such as “Withdraw” or “Banking” or similar.
Choose your withdrawal method and how much you want to withdraw and hit the button to withdraw your winnings. The betting site will then tell you how long the money typically takes to arrive back in your chosen account. This will depend on your withdrawal method.
Betting | Telegraph Media Group provides extensively researched, expert analysis on tips and odds to ensure readers are best informed when placing bets on horse racing. Read more about our Publishing Principles here