How to bet on horse racing in South Africa

Horse Racing Betting at World Sports Betting

World Sports Betting has horse racing from all over the world and offers all the different types of bets like the Jackpot and Trifecta bets.

They also offer great promotions on horse racing and one of them is that they refund half your stake if the horse you backed to win finishes in second place. Not to mention the World Sports Betting promo code, deposit bonus, birthday, and other bonuses.

Register online at World Sports Betting today and then you can participate in the bookmaker’s bonus activities. Remember to read the bonus terms and conditions before accepting them.

Horse racing Betting at Bet.co.za

Bet.co.za knows that the local betting market still has many racing punters and they have among the best odds on the market with races from all around the globe.

Horse racing in bet.co.za offer to refund you your entire bet if your horse loses the race and the horse that wins is an outsider with 10/1 or better odds.

Horse racing Betting at Sunbet

Sunbet has always strived to fulfill the needs of the local punter with their Sun International casinos and now with their online betting site.

They are one of the biggest sponsors of local horse racing events and offer excellent promotions on all major race meetings (like Sunbets promo codes or welcome bonus).

One of their great horse racing promotions is that they will refund half your stake if your horse loses in a photo finish.

Horse racing Betting at Gbets

There is currently no horse racing available at G bet online but they offer virtual horse racing for those punters that fancy betting on Esports.

If you are interested in this bookmaker (irrespective of race betting) – use the bonus code for gbets. There are sign-up bonuses, birthday bonuses, and other bookmaker promotions waiting for you.

Horse racing Betting at Playabets

Horse racing at Playabet can be confusing at first as it is not listed on their main site. You need to contact them before they provide you with a link to a separate page that has horse racing.

Their odds are competitive but their strange system does not make it appealing to punters. There are no particular novelties in the Playabets promotions section on horse racing.

Horse racing Betting at Topbet

Horse racing is given special attention at SA Topbet as the main races for the day are splashed across the home page when you enter the site.

Races in South Africa and around the world are covered. They have two sites so it is important to note that horse racing is only available on the old site at this stage.

Read our article: how to register online at Topbet and don’t forget to use the Topbet promo code to increase your profits!

Horse racing Betting at YesPlay

YesPlay does not currently offer horse racing but hopefully in the future it will be offered by this bookie.

How to bet on horse racing at HollywoodBets

Hollywoodbets has grown into one of the leading bookie sites locally and internationally yet they came from humble beginnings with Tote retail shops for horse racing punters almost 30 years ago.

They have used that experience to offer fantastic odds and sports betting welcome bonus ​on horse racing. To make a horse racing bet at HollywoodBets these are the easy steps to follow.

1. Log onto HollywoodBets site. Enter your Username and Password on the top left of the page. Once these are entered click on the yellow Log In Button.
2. Click on the horseracing option on the left side of the home page
3. Choose the race meeting you want to bet on
4. Make your selections from the race you want to bet on
5. Your betslip appears on the right side of the page
6. Once you make your selections click on the Submit Bet Button

How to bet on horse racing at Betway

Betway South Africa certainly has the local punter at heart as they have an impressive array of horse racing markets covering races from all over the UK and of course all the local races are also covered with great odds for punters. These are the simple steps to follow to place a horse racing bet at Betway.

1. Log onto the bookie’s site, or in Betway data free app
2. Click on the horseracing option which is on the banner of the home page
3. Select the race meeting that you want to bet on.
4. Make your selections from the desired race.
5. Your bet slip appears on the right side of the page
6. Once your selections are made click on the Bet Now button

How to choose the best betting site for horse racing betting?

The horse racing betting market is very competitive in South Africa and that is great news for punters as they have the choice between many excellent bookies.

There are many bookies that have decades of experience with horse racing therefore they are in a great position to offer punters great betting deals.

Choosing the right bookie for horse racing is not an easy task but we have provided you with some useful tips in making the right choice.

1. The reputation of the site is very important
2. The Welcome bonus they offer to new players
3. The odds and markets available on horse racing betting
4. Promotions being offered on horse racing betting

Local Coverage of horseracing

In South Africa the usual daily race meetings always attract attention but the blockbuster horse races in the country are the Sun Met, the South African Derby and the Gold Challenge.

The last and biggest race on the horse racing calendar is the July Handicap with over R100 million spent by punters on the main race.

Dutching System

The Dutching system is a strategy of selecting more than one horse in a race with the potential to give you a guaranteed profit if either of them wins.

As long as the payoff is more than the initial stake for all selections, you’re good to go.

This strategy is ideal for those who strongly fancy two horses in the same race and have a decent bankroll to accept the losses when they occur.

For example:

You’re confident that only two horses have a chance of winning the big race of the day. They’re both low priced with odds of 2.0 and 3.0, so probably the first and second favourite for the race.

You have a total stake of £50.

Using an online Dutching calculator will advise you to place £30 on the horse priced at 2.0 and £20 on the horse priced at 3.0.

This will give you a guaranteed profit of £10 if either of them wins the race.

This is known as Dutching and works well if you firmly believe it’s between 2 horses.

Of course, it can work with more than two horses, but we’ll stick with two selections to keep things simple in this strategy.

Remember, you fancy the two horses to win, and it’s also worth noting that around 50% of all races last year was won by the first and second favourite for the race.

You can also increase your profits if the prices go up a little bit.

Take a look at the same example as before, but let’s change the odds for selection two from 3.0 to 5.0:

Notice how the profit has risen from £10 to £21.43, and the second selection is still possible to be a second favourite for the race, or at worst third favourite.

Below are a few tips for the Dutching system:

1. Study the horses and form before betting
2. Only bet when you are pretty sure it’s between two horses
3. Always use an online Dutching calculator before betting
4. Only risk what you can afford to lose.

80/20 System

The 80/20 horse racing system is a strategy for profit from horses by betting on them to win and get placed on the betting exchange. 

You bet 20% on the horse to win and 80% on the same horse to be placed.

You’re probably wondering why?

Have you ever backed a horse to win at short odds and thought to yourself, this has an excellent chance?

The horse is cruising and looks like it’s flying, but then you enter the final furlong, and it starts to lag and gets pipped at the post to come second or third.

It happens a hell of a lot.

And there’s a way to counteract it.

As most horses get placed more than they win, betting a different amount on each outcome makes sense.

To profit in this system, you need to back 80% of your stake on the horse to get placed and 20% on the horse to win the race.

For example:

You fancy a horse with odds of 3.0, and you have a total of £10 to place a bet. So you put 20% on the win, which is £2, and 80% on the horse to be placed, which is £8.

The horse you picked gets pipped on the line by a nose, and you would typically have lost the bet like so many times before.

But this time, you have also backed the horse to be placed with 80% of the stake, so you have profited from the bet.

Here’s the breakdown for the example above:

£2 to win – Lost £2

£8 to be placed – Won £16 profit.

If you would have placed the £10 on the horse you fancied to win (Low odds, probably the favourite), you would have lost it all, but since you decided to use the 80/20 rule, you gave yourself some insurance and came away with a profit because it got placed.

What would have happened if it won?

If the horse had won, your profit would be a further £4 on top of the placed £16 profit.

This is a good betting strategy to add insurance to your low-priced horses getting beat and adding a profit at the same time by backing them to get placed.

Place/Laying System

The “Place, Lay System” is a horse racing strategy that involves laying two horses with low odds in the same race. You need to pick a race between 5 and 7 runners as you want the race to only pay for 1st and 2nd in the each-way market.

You profit with this system when one or both of them don’t get placed, which is more common than you probably realise.

To use this system, you’re going to need an exchange betting account with the likes of Betfair and Matchbook.

Here’s a breakdown of how the system works:

1. Choose a race with 5-7 runners (7 is better)
2. Pick two horses that have relatively low odds. You’re looking for odds of around 1.3 to 1.4, so in total, the combined odds will be around the 2.8 mark but not exceeding 3.0.
3. Place a ‘lay bet’ on both of them.
4. Profit when one or both don’t finish first or second.

Here’s an example of the bet:

You place a £10 lay bet on Red Rum & Kauto Star. The odds are 1.4 for each horse, so the combined total odds is 2.8, which is fine as it’s less than 3.0.

The liability for each bet is £4.

Here’s the profit and loss for each outcome with a £10 Lay Bet:

1. If Red Rum & Kauto Star both finish either first or second — you’re down £8
2. If Red Rum gets placed, but Kauto Star doesn’t — you win £10 for one bet but lose £4 for the other. If the odds are the same for each horse, like in this example, you will receive the same profit and loss if Kauto Star was placed, but Red Rum wasn’t.
3. If Red Rum & Kauto Star are both not placed — You win £20.

The only way for you not to win with this system is for both the horses to finish first and second in the race.

While these two horses are likely to be the top two favourites, it’s still a big ask for this to happen frequently, making this system a good possibility for you to turn a profit.

Remember, even if one lay bet wins, you are still in profit.

You’re not turning massive profits with this system, but it is an excellent way to start building a bankroll.

Yankee Strategy

The Yankee bet has been around for many years and is regarded by many as the grandfather of betting strategies.

You pick four horses in different races and need at least two to win or get placed — depending on whether you go with a win or an each-way Yankee.

The Yankee bet consists of 11 bets in total. So you have six potential doubles, four potential trebles and one fourfold accumulator.

Example: £1 win Yankie will cost you £11, while a £1 each-way Yankie will cost you £22.

The potential to win big with this bet is what gives it the most appeal. A £1 each way Yankee can pay you in the thousands for a stake of £22, and you don’t have to pick massive odds either.

Take a look at the image below; it shows you the potential winnings from a £1 each-way bet. Notice the odds; they’re not exactly huge odds, are they?

Granted, they’re not odds-on either, but you’re talking third or fourth favourites in big meetings like Cheltenham or Aintree.

If you get four winners, you’ll receive a massive return of £32723. If all four get placed, you’ll receive around £550; if two get placed, and two win £683; and if only three get placed, you’ll still turn a profit for the bet.

My Yankee Advice

When using this strategy, you can either go for a win only bet and choose four selections with odds of 2.0-5.0 or an each-way bet and choose odds between 11.0-15.0.

Of course, the big wins are with the higher prices, but you can still profit with the smaller odds.

Exacta Strategy

I’ll share an ‘Exacta strategy system with you in just a second, but first, let me explain what an Exacta bet is for those who don’t know.

An Exacta bet is where you bet on two horses to finish in first and second place.

Example: If you’re betting on a race that has ten runners, you choose horse number 3 to finish first and horse number 5 to finish second — this is a standard exacta bet.

You have to get them to finish in that order to win unless you decide to bet on them to finish in any order, so horse 5 can finish 1st and horse 3 can finish second. In this case, the bet is called a box exacta, or you may know it as a twist or reverse exacta.

The cost for the exacta bet depends on whether you have placed a box exacta or a standard exacta.

Example: A £2 exacta bet on horse number 3 and 5 will cost you £2 because you’re betting on horse 3 to win and horse 5 to come second (1 combination).

However, if you bet a box exacta, where the horses can finish 1st and 2nd in any order, it will cost you double because you are now betting on two combinations, i.e. 3-5, 5-3.

Now for the system.

The idea of this system is to pick two horses that have both been backed in by the punters and the bookmakers. To do this, you need to look at the odds a few days before the race, and then again in the final 20 minutes before the race.

Example: The big race at Cheltenham is at 3.45 pm on Saturday. On Wednesday morning before the race, you look at the odds and see that the bookies have horse number 9 as the favourite; this means they think it has the best chance of winning the race.

You mark that horse down as your first selection.

You then revisit the odds page about 20 minutes before the race starts and look for a horse with declining odds in the betting.

For example, say horse number 2 started at 12-1 in the morning, but now has been backed into 10s, then 8s and now the odds are sitting at 5-1 or 6.0.

This means the horse has had significant backing by punters and has the bookies running scared. In other words, there’s a good chance that someone has inside information that this horse has an excellent chance.

You mark down this horse to go with your original choice from Wednesday.

You now have horses 9 & 2 for an exacta, and you place a box bet with these two selections, which means as long as 9 & 2 come first or second in any order, you win a percentage of the prize pool.

While this system isn’t risk-free and has no guarantees, it’s an excellent way to choose your selections for an Exacta bet.

Read also: 5 Basketball betting strategies that actually work

Martingale System

The Martingale system is possibly the most well-known and used betting system in the World. It’s a simple process that started in the casino’s and now gets used in horse racing.

The process is to bet on a horse at even money (2.0). If the selection loses, you double your stake on another even-money horse until you get a winner.

If you win, you will receive a profit of double your initial stake.

Example: You bet £1 on horse number 6 at even money, but it loses, so you then bet £2 on a different horse at the same odds, and if that fails, you double the stake again to £4 and bet again on another horse with same even money odds.

The problem with this system is that it’s not unheard of to go on a 12 race losing streak; even longer losing streaks have been mentioned by those using it.

If you were to start at £5 and went on a losing run of ten races, you would need to have £2560 in your bankroll, which is quite a lot of money for most people.

Not only that, sometimes you will struggle to find a horse you fancy to win at even money.

This system is best avoided because you could very well find yourself in a trapped situation where you can’t afford the stake needed to get out.

Even if you did have the money to place the bet, you could be risking hundreds to win double your initial starting stake — which in the above example would be £5!

It’s simply not worth doing and will likely get you into a lot of financial trouble.

Beaten Favourite System

If anyone ever tells you to back horses that lost last time out as a beaten favourite, don’t listen to a word they say.

It’s a useless system that will have you losing money fast.

People have this crazy logic, simply because a horse lost as a beaten favourite last time out, it will have a good chance next time out, but there’s more to it than that.

Favourites lose for many reasons, and you’ll need to look at a whole load of other things before deciding to back it again.

Don’t ever back a beaten favourite without a good enough reason.

Tipsters System

This system is another one that belongs in the bin.

The idea is to round up the leading tipsters online and in the newspapers and bet on horses with the most tipsters tipping them.

It simply doesn’t work!

If you’re going to use a tipster for horse racing, then you’re better off paying for a professional service that has proof of profit over a 12-month term at least.

Blindly betting on the average of tipsters’ selections is a sure-fire way to lose cash.

Read also: 5 Golf betting strategies that actually work