Matched Betting Horse Racing Guide – How To Make Money On Horse Racing

Looking To Learn How To Make Money From The Horse? Here’s Everything You Need To Know With Our Matched Betting Horse Racing Guide

Kilbeggan Races.

That’s where it all started.

The place that allowed me to fall in love with horse racing. The pure passion that circulates the whole ‘game’ from the apprentice stable lads and lasses to the owners and riders themselves.

The work that goes on behind the scenes and then what we see on the day is incredible.

I was introduced to horse racing at an early age by my grandmother who used to take me and my brother down to Kilbeggan Races, Ireland every year when we visited during our school holidays.

Armed with 10 euro each we’d then try to spot the winners and place our 1-2 euro bets.

Usually, we’d lose. I mean when you’re looking for a winning horse using spots on their fur, the color of their jackets, and our ‘expert’ opinions on how each horse moved  – we were bound to come up short.

But the main thing was fun and there was plenty of that to go around – especially when we were spending someone else’s money!

Nostalgia aside – using nothing more than a few tools at my disposal I’ve now been able to bank profit from the horses with a combination of horse racing offers sent out by the bookmakers.

In this guide, I’m going to show you how you can make money from horse racing using tried and tested matched betting principles.

How To Make Money on Horse Racing

Despite my early introduction to betting on the horses, I’ve never been a gambling man. It just isn’t something I take too. But, if I can make a guaranteed profit or at least increase the likelihood of making money on the horse while canceling out any risk – I’m all ears.

There are various ways to bank profit from the horse that I’ll go through in a second. But, before that, why would you want to bet on the horses anyway?

Benefits of Matched Betting on Horse Racing

• Increase Your Profits

If you’re maxing out the offers on the football then adding horse racing offers to your arsenal can start to really shoot your profits upwards.

• You can continue earning during the football off-season

Another great reason to start learning about horse racing is to diversify your income streams for when the football season is closed. The horses still race even in a football off-season – so learning to match bet on the horse can keep those profits coming in when bookies’ offers are usually low.

• It’s a great sport!

Horse racing is exciting. No two ways about it! What could actually be better than making money and enjoying the spectacle at the same time?

• Increases your chances of flying under the radar 

Bookies are always on the lookout for matched bettors so they can kick them off their platforms. By diversifying your bets and occasionally losing money (strategically obviously) you could decrease the chances of being caught and keep your accounts safe.

Types of Races

There are few types of horse races – but for the purposes of this guide we’ll be focusing on 2:

Flat

Flat races are usually run over distances between 400 metres to 4km and essentially involve no obstacles to jump over – it’s a flat out race to the finish line.

Flat horse racing tends to be the most common type of horse racing around the world. Tracks themselves can take various shapes depending on the country the race is taking place.

Jump

Jump races, as the name suggests, involve some sort of obstacles placed around the track for the horse to jump over. Obstacles can take various shapes and sizes but in general, there are 2 types of obstacles – hurdles and fences.

A ‘Steeplechase’ is the name of a race that uses fences as obstacles.

Horse Racing Odds Explained

Horse racing and horse racing odds are a little different to other sports – so it’s worth at least getting familiar with a few terms and how they work.

Starting Price (SP)

Starting Price or (SP) as it’s usually presented by the bookies is basically the starting price that bookmakers make before the start of the race. This then usually changes on how many bets have been placed within that particular race.

Now the obvious thing you should note when you see ‘SP’ listed next to the horse is you don’t actually know what the price is!

As the race gets closer to the beginning, the bets start rolling in. It is at this point the prices on the horses start to move and change.

So, if you can’t see the price then why would you make a bet?

Betting at the SP can be both a convenience and advantage play-thing – for regular punters. If a punter is privy to some great knowledge about the race and a specific horse and expects the odds to change closer to the start time – then this could be a great call.

However, as matched bettors – we generally do NOT want to take this option. We rely on knowing the exact odds so we can extract the most profit out of each offer. SP doesn’t give us this option – so we ignore it for the most part.

Each Way

This was usually how I bet when I went to races as a young kid. When you place an Each Way you’re basically hedging your bets by placing two bets at the same time:

• 1st Bet: You back the horse to win
• 2nd Bet: You’re saying this horse might also place in any of the places offered on that particular race

So for example: Placing an each way bet in a race that offers places for 2nd and 3rd place means that you get some sort of winnings if your horse wins OR places in 2nd or 3rd

While you will receive some money back, If your horse does ‘place’ realise that this will be at reduced odds.

So, if I place a £2 each-way bet on a horse I will be betting; £2 for that horse to win and £2 for that horse to ‘place’. My total bet would equal £4.

Horse Racing Offers Guide

Okay so with all that explained it’s time to move onto the types of horse racing offers you can take advantage of.

Each offer ranges in difficulty and while some are guaranteed profit others are not. But, by laying our bets off at a betting exchange we can cancel out the risk of losing money.

Regular Bets

First up is your regular matched betting bets. These are the types of bets you’ll get used to very early on your matched betting journey. These types of bets will usually come in the form of ‘bet £XX get £YY’.

So for example: [Bet £20 Get £10]

William Hill might offer a £10 free bet to use on any UK or Irish race if you stake a £20 bet on the 13.30 race at Exeter.

In this example, to claim your free bet and bank profit – you’ll need to first place a bet of £20 on the 13:00 race at Exeter. You’ll then lay this off at your betting exchange of choice. At this point, you’ll have made a very small loss – ideally anything under 30p.

Then, usually, when the race has settled (although some bookmakers are different) you’ll be rewarded with your free £10 bet. Using a tool such as OddsMonkey’s OddsMatcher tool, you’ll find a suitable race to use your free bet, lay off the result again, and bank the profit  – no matter what the results are.

These bets are usually placed;

• When you’re completing your welcome offers
• Taking advantage of daily, weekly or one-off reload bets

These types of best are usually the easiest, most simple to complete.

Price Boosts

Price boosts are often offered by bookmakers to catch the eye of regular punters looking for a good deal. Essentially, a price boost is anytime a bookie intentionally increases the odds of an outcome.

Due to the amount of racing on each day across the UK and Ireland, you’ll likely come across quite a few of these.

As matched bettors, we can take advantage of price boosts when the back odds are increased above the lay odds at the betting exchanges.

By placing a back bet at higher odds and then laying the outcome in our betting exchange at lower odds we can bank the profit.

Sometimes price boosts can be very profitable, but usually, bookmakers limit the amount you can place on each price boost.

Price boosts aren’t always immediately obvious, which is why using OddsMonkey or Profit Accumulators community forum is essential to take advantage of these types of bets. You’ll often find threads that are updated immediately when someone finds a price boost. Just set up alerts for the specific thread in your browser and take advantage of any price boosts that get posted.

Risk-Free Bets

Risk-free bets are another type of bet you’ll get familiar with pretty quickly as they not only make up a good proportion of the welcome offers you’ll complete but also a lot of the reload offers you take advantage of too.

Risk-free bets are bets where you stake or part of your stakes is refunded back to you if you’re back bet loses. This could be in the form of a free bet or a free bonus

While relatively simple to complete, I would recommend that you used a matched betting calculator with a ‘RISK FREE’ option.

By using a calculator to back and lay your risk free bet, there are two possible outcomes:

Outcome #1: Your back bet wins – nothing more to do. If you’ve used the exact figures shown in the calculator you’ll be in profit and you can move onto the next offer.

Outcome #2: Your back bet loses. You’ll be awarded your free bet. Simply repeat the process this time using the ‘FREE BET’ calculator option. Once that bet is settled you’ll be in profit.

It’s important to note that Risk Free bets can come in various different ‘forms’ depending on the bookmaker and their terms and conditions for the offer. That’s why reading the terms of any offer is highly recommended and completing each offer with a step by step guide is always a good idea.

Each Way Bets

As we explained above, an Each Way bet involved betting not only the winner but also hedging your bet and betting for your horse to ‘place’ in any of the places offered in that race (usually top 4)

Most matched bettors (myself included) don’t even entertain this type of offer at the beginning of their matched betting careers. However, if you want to maximize your profits Each Way matched bets should definitely be part of your matched betting routine.

Each Way is designed to basically give you a better chance of winning some money. Of course, however, these come at reduced odds.

When using Each Way bets in matched betting we have to lay two bets; the win bet AND the place bet.

Each Way bets, while slightly more complicated that the average Bet £XX Get £YY and Risk Free bet – should be part of your matched betting strategy. Just be sure to use both an Each Way Calculator to calculate your bets and an Each Way Matcher to find the right markets.

Extra Places Offers

Extra Places is a more advanced matched betting strategy that should only be completed after you have a solid grasp of the easier bets.

So what is an Extra Place offer exactly? It’s when you back a horse and hope that your horse finishes in one of the extra places offered in that race.

For example: If the offer states that the bookie is paying out on 4 places instead of 3 – you’ll back your horse and hope that it finishes in 4th – the extra place.

Again as with Each Way bets – to lay these offers you’ll need to lay 2 separate bets – your win bet and your place bet.

As you can see, this is not a guaranteed profit offer. You could go multiple bets actually losing money – so if you’re going to take advantage of these offers it’s important to keep your qualifying losses to a minimum. In some cases, however, you can eliminate the risk completely).

There is one advanced way to guarantee a profit, but I would only look at this option once you are comfortable with more intermediate matched betting offers and have a large enough bankroll.

Also to place these bets you’ll need to use the ‘Each Way’ option often located on the betting slip when you make your bet.

Horse Racing Refunds

Finally, we’ve got the horse racing refund offers. These can be a great way to add additional income on a daily basis and are especially useful on bigger racing days and events such as; Saturday Racing and the Cheltenham Festival.

Various bookies offer different types of refunds and the refunds are triggered depending on the terms for that offer.

Some of the more popular horse racing refunds you’ll come across are:

• Saturday Racing Offers
• Bet 365 4/1 Racing Refund
• Paddy Power Refunds
• SKY Bet Refunds
• Betway 1st Race Risk-Free

As most of these refund offers are not guaranteed profit, keeping your qualifying losses to a minimum is key to banking profit.

To make money with these offers over the long term, understanding ‘Expected Profit’, having access to a racing matcher software, and following an easy to use guide is essential.

You can find the answers to all of these using OddsMonkey.

BOG: Best Odds Guaranteed

Just a quick note on ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’.

Odds on horses tend to rapidly change from second to second. BOG is basically the bookmaker guaranteeing that no matter what happens you’ll get paid out at the best odds and price.

The first time I came across BOG was an unexpected amount of money in my Bwin account. After digging a little, however, I noticed that I backed a horse in a race with ‘BOG’ and due to that was able to bank an additional £20.

Matched Betting: Horse Racing Betting Tips

• Time your bets

When it comes to matched betting the timing of your bets can make all the difference. That’s why it’s important to use a matched betting service that is updated in real-time.

• Take advantage of Popular Events

Big horse racing events of the year draw thousands of people from around the country and usually bank nice tidy profits for matched bettors.

• Use a matched betting service to help you

I mentioned this briefly above but not using a service to help you find the best offers, odds, and to be able to take advantage of those odds will put you at a disadvantage.

The two services I would recommend are; Profit Accumulator and OddsMonkey. You can check out my comparison review of both of those services here.

• Keep Your Qualifying Losses as Low as Possible

Look for really close odds to keep those qualifying losses low. Again, I’d highly recommend using a racing matcher and calculator to complete any horse racing offer.

How Much Money Can You Make Matched Betting on the Horses? 

It depends.

Not what you were looking for eh? It depends on;

• The horse racing events currently taking place
• The offers made by the bookies
• The amount of luck you have non-guaranteed offers
• And, your ability to efficiently and effectively complete each of the offers above.

That said, however, providing you complete a good chunk of offers and get a little lucky on some you could realistically add a few hundred to your monthly profit numbers.

To increase your chances of banking as much profit as possible I would highly recommend you use a matched betting service. There are two on the market and depending on your skills level I generally recommend OddsMonkey for those new or semi-new to matched betting and Profit Accumulator for those a little more seasoned. Why?

You can find out a full analysis of the two here.

Matched Betting: Making Money from Horse Racing

Overall, horse racing and the offer that circulate the sport should make a good percentage of your matched betting profits.

While some offers are pretty simple to take advantage of others are not. And, it’s only recommended you complete these more advanced offers when you have completed the welcome offers, taking a good amount of reload offers, and even possibly banked some profit from the casino games.

If you’d like to really amp up your horse racing profits I would suggest investing in either OddsMonkey or Profit Accumulator depending on your current skill level.

But in short? Making money from the horse is possible and if you haven’t already made money from the horse, my next question would be – why not?

Get started now…

All the best,

MrMatchedBetting.com