Can You Bet On A Horse Race After It Has Started? |
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Traditionally, we place bets before the horses leave the starting gate. Horse racing is an exciting sport, attracting millions of bettors worldwide, and most people bet like this. However, an expert could pick a winner even months in advance, so the term “before the start” can refer to many more options than just a few minutes before the gates open. It doesn’t cover in-play betting and live betting, though, which have developed with modern betting sites – they provide opportunities to bet even during the race, enhancing the adrenalin and fun horse racing generates.
Traditional Betting
Before diving into the world of live betting, we should understand the traditional way. For decades, it was the only way, as bookmakers on the tracks couldn’t offer anything else if they wanted to keep the game fair.
The most common form of a horse racing bet is Fixed-Odds Betting. The bookmakers set the odds, we place our bet, and receive a ticket – if the odds change in the future, it won’t affect our bet.
Then there is Tote Betting, where the bets are pooled together, and the final odds are determined by the money placed on each horse. If many people bet on one horse, its odds will drop together with our prize, while the odds of other horses will increase. After the race, the pool of the winning horse is divided among everybody who bet on the winner.
In Betting Exchanges, people bet against each other as we can bet on the winner and a horse we think will flop.
Bookmakers stop receiving bets once the race starts, so nobody can take advantage of early stumbles or if the favourite doesn’t get a good position quickly.
Live Betting/In-Play Betting
In traditional betting, all wagering is locked after the race begins. Live betting, also known as in-play betting, is when the fun starts as we place bets based on how the race unfolds. If we want to participate, we need to visit horse betting websites that offer it, as not everyone does.
The main appeal of Live Betting is using our horse racing experience regarding real-time developments. For example, we place a bet if the favourite stumbles at the gate, if it doesn’t gallop smoothly, gets bumped into at the rail, or if an underdog runs a fantastic race. Moreover, some people have several bets on various horses, adjusting the best to secure the profit and minimize losses.
We don’t recommend such a demanding tactic to beginners, though, as fast-paced decisions and suspicions about how market changes could be handled appropriately only by bettors skilled in horse racing.
What’s Great about Live Betting?
There’s a massive advantage in day-in betting – we can actually see how the horse runs and adjust our strategy to it. In pre-race betting, we have to rely on the statistics, but in Live Betting, our decision is based on the race itself, the horse’s position and the jockey’s behaviour aboard. Moreover, we could take advantage of some popular runners whose odds rise at the beginning of the race due to poor position – in case we trust the horse to recover and still win.
We can also combine both tactics and bet on one horse before the race but pick another one whose run looks promising as it unfolds.
What Are The Risks of Live Betting?
As we already mentioned, day-in betting is highly fast-paced, and if we aren’t skilled in split-second decisions, we might miss a great opportunity or place a bet when it’s too late to profit. Also, we must be alert when the race betting closes. Sometimes, the sites temporarily suspend markets for several reasons, like pulling up, the horse gaining a considerable advantage, or something unpredictable happening.
The other risk comes with technical issues. As we bet on an ongoing race, we rely on our internet connection to be precisely informed on its state, so we shouldn’t take part in betting when we experience delays.
Tips on Live Betting
If we want to participate in live betting, we should use the fastest possible source to watch races to avoid delays. We can watch TV broadcasts or online streams and have our possible bets noted. It’s reasonable to have knowledge about all the runners before the race and pick some whose chances depend on the way the race unfolds.
Usually, people look at horses with strong finishes who hang at the end of the field, their odds increasing, but if we know they can be swift in the final stretch, we could give them a go. Also, we should watch for horses that get bundled up during the race or are hit by others at the rails; as such, horses could get discouraged from delivering an expected performance.
