Best Betting Sites For Horse Racing Promotions 2026

Best Bookies for Extra Places

Horse racing punters can place each way bets. This is an extra bet that allows bettors to back a horse to win a race, as well as a horse to "place". Usually "to place" means finishing second or third, but it is always dependant on how many runners there are in the particular race. As a promotion, bookies often offer "extra places" meaning that punters can win money if there horse finishes 4th, 5th, 6th and sometime seven more.

Although a bookmaker pays out more places than usual, the number of places paid at the betting exchange will remain the same. Although these offers are predominantly on horse racing it's worth noting that they can be used on other sports, too, such as golf when the majors are on. It's always worth hunting around for extra places for big races – the Grand National being the most obvious example – as a great opportunity to win more money, cover your bets in more ways, or cover potential losses.

These are the best bookies for this specific promotion, and you can read on for further detail below.

1. William Hill
2. bet365
3. Coral

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Best Betting Sites for Extra Places for 2026

Best Bookies for First Past The Post

First past the post is a popular promotion that has been a part of horse racing betting for some time now. The name is pretty explanatory and is set by the bookmakers where they payout on the horse which finishes first, regardless of what happens to that horse.

For example, if there is a situation where the horse crosses the line first but is then demoted to second as the horse interfered with the other following a stewards’ enquiry, with the horse which finished second being awarded the winner, the bookmakers will still have to pay out on the official winner, which is where the ‘first past the post’ comes into play.

These are the best bookies for this specific promotion, and you can read on for further detail below.

1. 888Sport
2. SpreadEX
3. Kwiff

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Best Betting Sites for First Past The Post for 2026

Best Bookies for Faller Insurance

Faller Insurance protects your bet in the event of your horse falling eg the horse you backed didn't win the race because it fell. There's obviously no guarantee that they would have won if they hadn't have fallen, but for the sake of this promotion, the bookie will usually give you your stake back, often as a free bet. The rules regarding this promotion usually consider your horse falling, the unseating of the rider or your horse being brought down.

If a bookie offers Faller Insurance and that horse falls, you'll get your money back – it's that simple really. What is worth noting, however, is that there will almost certainly be a limit on your stake (or at least the amount that you'll get back from the bookie), so it may say something like money back as a free bet up to the value of £50, or similar. The bookie should state this clearly.

There are some exceptions to Faller Insurance, and events that don't count as a "fall", although these are often pretty understandable. Often bookies won't include a horse pulling up, refusing to race or hitting rails as part of the offer. Also, if a horse is withdrawn before the race and is a non runner it's unlikely to be considered a part of the promotion, although plenty of betting sites pay your stake back anyway in this instance. Faller Insurance shouldn't form a huge part of your betting decisions in terms of which horses to back, but it's nice to have to cover any losses, especially in big races, with plenty of runners and plenty of jumps/hurdles, where falling is commonplace.

These are the best bookies for this specific promotion, and you can read on for further detail below.

1. QuinnBet
2. BetGoodwin

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Best Betting Sites for Faller Insurance for 2026

Best Bookies for Money Back Offers

Money back promotions come in a number of different formats, and it's important to be clear from the outset that often the "money" that you get back is often in the form of free bets, although that's not always the case. The majority of time it is a small way of giving punters a little safety net for the potential losses if specific events occur.

Some of these revolve around your selected horse just missing out on a victory. Promos like 2nd To The Fav and 2nd To A Rag mean that if you back a horse, and you just miss out on them winning with a second place finish, you'll get your stake back. With these promos your horse has to finish second to a specific horse, be that the favourite in the race or a rank outsider. Beaten By A Head is similar, to the promos above, but it's the margin of victory that matters, rather than the horse that your pick loses, too. This covers you if your horse only just loses, by a head or less.

These are the best bookies for this specific promotion, and you can read on for further detail below.

1. QuinnBet
2. BetGoodwin
3. SpreadEX

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Best Betting Sites for Money Back for 2026

Banking and Responsible Gambling

There are many ways to fund your betting account. While this list is not exhaustive, it covers the most popular and trustworthy methods. 

The minimum deposit is often £5, but it can be much higher for some bookies. Check out our review pages for online betting sites' minimum deposit amounts. In addition to varying by the bookmaker, this can vary by the deposit method used.

Bookmakers will generally return any winnings to the same card or payment method used to deposit unless instructed otherwise. Sometimes, you will be asked to provide details to help the online bookmakers comply with money laundering regulations. Please understand that the online bookmakers are not being difficult, they are simply following legal guidelines. This will be even more likely if you withdraw using a different payment method than you used to deposit. 

Visa Debit Card

The most common deposit method for online betting sites is a debit card, which is a straight transfer from a UK bank account. Bookmakers or gambling companies are no longer allowed to accept credit cards as a deposit method. 

PayPal

Most UK bookies accept PayPal, the most popular e-wallet with sports bettors. Some people like to use it to keep betting transactions off their bank statements, while others find it a much faster way to deposit into and out of betting sites. However, using PayPal could exclude you from welcome offers with some bookies. 

Apple Pay

Many of the larger online betting sites support Apple Pay, which is expected to be available on more sites soon. Deposit and withdrawal times will be the same as those for bank cards used through Apple Pay. 

Skrill 

Skrill is an alternative to PayPal. Formerly known as Moneybookers, it has always been a popular payment method for online gamblers and is accepted at most sites. 

PaySafeCard

PaySafe Cards are prepaid cards which can be used to fund online betting accounts. Fees aren't charged for deposits so these are a popular way to fund online accounts for those who don't use bank cards. 

Click on the links in the above list to view each bookmaker's review. We will detail all the deposit methods available for each site. 

With most of the online bookmakers listed here, you may be able to easily transfer money between accounts and other products such as poker, casino, and bingo. Transferring money between accounts is often very simple, and if you only want to play the sportsbook, you can ignore this function.

Many people use payment providers such as Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) to deposit into and withdraw from online bookmakers, as these can be faster and more convenient than bank or credit cards. However, sometimes using these methods may exclude you from bookmakers' welcome offers. If so, this will be mentioned in the terms and conditions of the welcome offer. Please read through our bookmaker reviews for more info on which payment methods are accepted by which bookmakers. 

👍 Responsible Gambling, Identification & Affordability Checks

In recent years, the regulations for bookmakers have tightened as the Gambling Commission has looked to increase the protection of the user. This is fantastic news for the industry and all who use online betting sites but you need to be aware that you may have some small inconveniences when trying to open a new online betting site or if you are wanting to place large bets with a bookmaker. ID verification is very strict and sometimes you may be asked to send off copies of documents for ID and address verification. 

Also if you are placing large bets and or making large deposits then online betting sites have a responsibility to ensure that you can afford to do so. You may be asked affordability checks such as showing your pay slips and or you may be asked for proof of funds for money laundering checks. Don't take such requests personally, all licensed online bookies must follow these regulations or they can face huge fines.

Here are some common tips to help you with gambling responsibily online. For more information take a look at our detailed responsible gambling guide. 

✋ When The Fun Stops Stop 🛑

You will have seen this slogan used by online bookmakers frequently over recent years. It is trying to get across the serious point that if you aren't enjoying gambling you should stop immediately. You can use a process of self evaluation to help you to understand if you have a gambling problem. There is a great tool at Gamcare. 

If you do believe that you have a problem then there is always someone to talk to at begambleaware. They can offer great advice including helping you to self exclude. There is a valuable service called Gamstop which allows you to self exclude from all betting companies signed up to the program for a period of your choice. All UK licensed bookmakers listed on this site will be part of the GamStop programme. For this reason (and many others) you should never join betting sites not GamStop.

 🔚Set Limits and Use Bookmaker Tools

We strongly recommend that you record your gambling and set yourself limits. Only bet what you can afford to lose. Online betting sites have started to offer a number of tools to help you with this including 

• Deposit Limits 
• Session Limits
• Account History 
• Time Outs

Using playing time notifications to remind you how long you have been gambling and when to stop is a useful tool and so is setting a specific loss amount you are happy with in advance.