Your Guide to The Best Bookmakers For Horse Racing - 11 KEY FACTORS EXAMINED

We have analysed lots of factors that punters will want to consider when looking for a good online bookmaker for betting on Horseracing, and without a doubt, coming out top of the pile is Bet365

Bet365 have come out at the top or joint top for the following factors analysed below

• Best Odds ✅
• Rewards for Picking Winners ✅
• Most Betting Markets ✅
• Most ante-post Markets ✅
• Early, Overnight odds availability ✅
• Best Odds guaranteed [BOG] ✅
• Extra places in big races ✅
• Live Horse Racing Streaming ✅
• Betting on Tote available ✅

If you are betting on horse racing, open an account with Bet365 with a click on the link below

There are many different bookie special offers but they generally fall into just a few categories:

Enhanced odds

Massive price enhancements are usually reserved for those opening new accounts but several bookmakers regularly enhance the odds a relatively small amount on certain selections.

Online Bookmakers that often offer enhanced odds:

Coral (usually huge enhancements for new customers)
Paddy Power (usually huge enhancements for new customers)
Betfair (usually huge enhancements for new customers)
888sport (usually huge enhancements for new customers)
BetBright (usually huge enhancements for new customers)

Moneyback specials

These tend to be very popular as they offer a risk free bet. Typically money back is offered on a certain race if your selection finishes within a certain distance or within certain places of the winner or a winning favourite. If you are very lucky you'll find a moneyback special where all losing bets on a certain race are refunded.

Typical examples of bookie moneyback specials:

Moneyback if your selection finishes 2nd or 3rd in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Moneyback if you finish 2nd to the favourite in the Sussex Stakes.
Moneyback if your selection finishes within a length of the winner in the 2000 Guineas.

The amount of money returned is usually capped at around £50 (it can be much less depending on how likely you are to be refunded) and is often returned as a free bet rather than cash.

Bookmakers that often offer moneyback specials:

Paddy Power
Betfair
Ladbrokes
BetBright
Betway

Moneyback on Fallers

You can reduce the risk on your bets during the national hunt season by betting with bookies who offer refunds on bets when your horse falls. No bookmakers offer this on every race but some bookmakers often refund fallers on selected races or meetings.

Bookmakers that often offer moneyback on fallers:

Ladbrokes
Paddy Power
BetVictor

Both Paddy Power and BetVictor are currently offering Faller Insurance as a separate market on jumps races. You back the horse you fancy at reduced odds but get the added safety net that if the horse falls you will get your money back. This can offer much better value when the horse you like for a race has a great chance but can sometimes make jumping mistakes.

Rewards for Picking Winners

Some bookmakers will reward you for picking a winner in a particular race, usually with a free bet to the same stake on another selected race. The free bet amount is usually capped at £50 or less.

Bookmakers that often offer rewards for picking winners:

Bet365 offer this concession on all ITV races when you back a winner over 4/1. The offer is also extended daily to some feature races that aren't on Channel 4.
Ladbrokes
Betfair

Bet365's ITV 4/1+ offer can really help improve your profitability and comes highly recommended if you are betting on live racing.

You can also earn a bonus if your selection wins by a certain distance. On selected national hunt races William Hill will give a free bet bonus of 25% of the winnings if your horse wins by 5 lengths or more.

Horse racing odds will vary for each horse and each race between the popular bookmakers but some do tend to offer slightly more generous odds whilst others can be slightly more cautious with their horse racing odds. On the morning of an average day's racing in May 2017 we compared the odds for 10 different horse racing 4folds to see which bookies offered the best odds most often.

Acca 1 - Best odds (highest first): Betfair, William Hill, Bet365, BetVictor.
Acca 2 - Best odds (highest first): 888sport, William Hill, Betfair, Bet365.
Acca 3 - Best odds (highest first): Bet365, Ladbrokes, Betfair, Coral.
Acca 4 - Best odds (highest first): Ladbrokes, Coral, BetVictor, Bet365.
Acca 5 - Best odds (highest first): BetBright, Bet365, Ladbrokes, Coral.
Acca 6 - Best odds (highest first): Betway, BetBright, Bet365, Ladbrokes.
Acca 7 - Best odds (highest first): Betfair, William Hill, 888sport, BetBright.
Acca 8 - Best odds (highest first): BetVictor, Bet365, Betway, Betfair, BetBright.
Acca 9 - Best odds (highest first): BetVictor, Betway, BetBright, Bet365.
Acca 10 - Best odds (highest first): BetVictor, Betfair, Coral, Bet365, Coral.

BetVictor had the highest odds on 3 out of 10 accas, whilst Betfair, Coral, William Hill, and Bet365 also heavily featured. 

Bet365 were in the top 5 bookies for 9 of the 10 accas selected which shows they consistently offer good horse racing odds and it is worth noting that for racing that is shown live on ITV Racing they will match the best odds offered by top rival bookmakers (Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power, Coral, Sky Bet and Boylesports) on every single runner in each live race.

Punters are no longer restricted to just backing win, each way, forecast or tricast these days, the bookies have lots of markets on each race and these markets are becoming increasingly popular. Other than the usual fixed odds win/each way betting and forecasts and tricasts you can find these extra markets at the top bookies:

Bet365 - Betting without the favourite (win and each way), betting without the first two favourites (win and each way), insurebet/cover bet 2 places, insurebet/cover bet 3 places, horse not to win, horse to place, horse not to place, favourites versus the field and favourites match bet.

William Hill - Betting without the favourite, betting without the first 2 favourites, betting without the first 3 favourites, horse to finish in the first 2, horse to finish in the first 3, insurebet/cover bet 2 places, insurebet, cover bet 3 places and match bets.

Paddy Power - Betting without the favourite, insurebet/cover bet 2 places, insurebet/cover bet 3 places and place only.

Ladbrokes - Betting without the favourite, win only (enhanced odds) and match bets.

BetVictor - Betting without the favourite, place only and match bets.

Coral - Betting without the favourite, win only (enhanced odds) and match bets.

Betfair - Betting without the favourite, place only and match bets.

Note that Tote markets are not included above, you can find out which bookies offer Tote betting further down this article.

If looking for bookmakers that offer the most horse racing markets on day to day racing then Bet365 with 9 markets on most races and William Hill with 8 markets on most races really stand out against the rest of the bookies who tend to offer just 3 or 4 markets on each race.

The markets on offer between Bet365 and William Hill are very similar but there are a couple of differences (as well as the fact that Bet365 has an extra market). It's certainly worth having an account with both bookmakers and comparing the odds on the markets you think you can profit from.

The amount of ante post markets offered by horse racing bookies will vary depending on the time of the year but generally if a bookmaker offers more ante post markets at one time of the year, they'll offer more than the competition for the rest of the year.

Near the start of the flat season in 2017 the most popular bookies offered this many ante post markets on racing from the UK & Ireland and from around the world:

Bet365 - 77 ante post markets - 37 from the UK and Ireland and 40 from the rest of the world.

Betfair - 61 ante post markets - 44 markets from the UK and Ireland and 17 from the rest of the world.

Paddy Power - 52 ante post markets - 44 from the UK and Ireland and 8 from the rest of the world.

BetVictor - 36 ante post markets - 34 markets from the UK and Ireland and 2 from the rest of the world.

William Hill - 35 ante post markets - 32 from the UK and Ireland and 3 from the rest of the world.

Ladbrokes - 26 ante post markets - 22 from the UK and Ireland and 4 from the rest of the world.

Coral - 22 ante post markets - 18 markets from the UK and Ireland and 4 from the rest of the world.

Overall Bet365 are the best bookmaker for offering horse racing ante post odds with a total of 77 markets at the time of writing but they aren't necessarily the best if you are just betting on horse racing from the UK and Ireland. Those markets were covered in very similar depth by Betfair and Paddy Power who both offered 44 ante post markets for UK and Irish racing.

If taking a price as early as possible is important to you you'll be able to get your bets on many races from around 5pm the day before the race with several bookmakers. This appeals to many punters as there can be bigger differences in the odds offered by each bookie when the market is first formed before the bookies tend to align their prices more with each other just before the race.

The amount of races priced up the day before by bookies varies from bookie to bookie, as do the times that the odds are released. Some bookmakers will offer horse racing odds on all of the next day's racing whilst others will only price up a few races - or even none at all. Most days you should be able to get a bet on several of the next day's races with these bookmakers:

Bet365
Paddy Power
Betfair
Betfred
BetVictor
Winner
Betway
Ladbrokes
William Hill
Coral

The very biggest races should be priced up by all bookmakers as soon as the final declarations are made.

Bet365, Paddy Power and Betfair are usually the first to price each up the day before and also offer the best selection of overnight early prices so it is always worth having an account with all three of those bookmakers.

The following bookmakers all offer best odds guaranteed on horse racing but the times from which it is offered do vary:

Bet365 offer BOG on all daily racing (foreign and domestic).
Paddy Power offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
Ladbrokes offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
William Hill offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
Betfair offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
Coral offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
Racebets offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK, Ireland and UAE. 
BetVictor offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
BetBright offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland. 
10Bet offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
Boylesports offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland. 
Betfred offer BOG from 8am day of race on all horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
Totesport offer BOG from 8am day of race on all horse racing in the UK and Ireland.
Stan James offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland from 10am day of race.
Betway offer BOG on all daily horse racing in the UK and Ireland from 10am day of race (£10/£5ew minimum stake).

Best Odds Guaranteed Plus

In 2016 Ladbrokes introduced a new offer called Best Odds Guaranteed Plus. This is basically the same as BOG except instead of being paid out at SP you are paid out at one price bigger than SP. So for example If you take 3/1 and your horse wins at 10/3, ordinarily you'd get 10/3 but with BOG Plus you get 7/2 instead. This applies only to your first £200 on a selection.

This offer cost Ladbrokes an extra £5.5m in payouts in 2016 and it has proved too costly an offer for other bookmakers to stick with - the likes of Bet365 and Betway both offered best odds guaranteed plus for short time periods before removing the offer. This shows what a benefit it can be to place horse racing bets with Ladbrokes.

Generally there isn't much variation in each way terms amongst bookmakers as each way terms are dictated by the type of race and number of runners but some bookies do offer either extra places or enhanced place odds on some races.

Which bookies offer more than 4 places on big races?

In 16+ runner handicaps the standard each way terms are 4 places 1/4 odds but the higher the profile the race the more likely you are to see some bookmakers offering 5 places, or less commonly 6 places on each way bets. In these races the extra place is nearly always given whilst maintaining the place terms of 1/4 the odds.

Bet365, Paddy Power, Betfair and BetVictor are normally the most reliable with offering an extra place in this sort of race.

Which bookies offer 4 places instead of 3 places for each way bets?

It is becoming more common for some bookies to offer 4 places in handicaps that have just short of 16 runners, when the usual place terms would be 3 places 1/4 odds. However in this sort of race you'll usually find that the bookies penalise you for getting the extra place by offering just 1/5 odds on placed horses. This isn't necessarily an advantage if you can only see one or two dangers but if you are simply looking for a horse to outrun it's odds it can be great to take advantage of this.

Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Coral are usually first to offer this extra place.

Which bookies offer enhanced place odds on each way bets?

If a handicap has less than 12 runners the place odds will switch from 1/4 odds to 1/5 of the odds but you'll find many bookies are willing to offer 1/4 odds 3 places even when there are as few as 8 runners. It might not seem much but it can make a fairly big difference on some bets. For example £10 each way on a 16/1 shot that places at 1/5 odds will only pay £42 whilst at 1/4 odds it pays £50. That's almost 20% more winnings!

Bet365 are normally first to offer 1/4 odds 3 places when other bookies are offering just the standard terms of 1/5 odds 3 places.

Lucky 15s/31s/63s can be a fun bet for many punters as they cover plenty of races and there are also bonuses for getting just one winner or if all your selections are successful. Shop around though as the exact bonuses on offer can vary from bookmaker to bookmaker. You can see what bonuses the popular bookmakers offer on 'lucky' bets below.

BookieType of betOdds for one winnerBonus for all correct Lucky 152x the odds15%Bet365Lucky 312x the odds20% Lucky 632x the odds25% Lucky 152x the odds10%BetVictorLucky 312x the odds20% Lucky 632x the odds25% Lucky 151x the odds0%Paddy PowerLucky 311x the odds0% Lucky 631x the odds0% Lucky 152x the odds10%LadbrokesLucky 312x the odds20% Lucky 632x the odds25% Lucky 152x the odds10%CoralLucky 312x the odds20% Lucky 632x the odds25% Lucky 152x the odds10%William HillLucky 312x the odds20% Lucky 632x the odds25% Lucky 151x the odds0%888sportLucky 311x the odds0% Lucky 631x the odds0% Lucky 152x the odds10%BetwayLucky 312x the odds20% Lucky 632x the odds25% Lucky 152x the odds10%BetfairLucky 312x the odds20% Lucky 632x the odds25% Lucky 151x the odds0%BetBrightLucky 311x the odds0% Lucky 631x the odds0% Lucky 152x the odds10%Stan JamesLucky 312x the odds10% Lucky 632x the odds15%

It's worth noting that to activate these bonuses you'll usually have to ensure you don't bet at very short odds. For example Bet365 only pay the bonuses if your selections are 1/2 or bigger. Bet365 do look the best bookie for 'lucky' bets as they offer a better bonus on Lucky 15s for every race than everyone else and generally can't be beaten on Lucky 31s and Lucky 63s either.

Betfred have a stand out offer on Lucky 15s as they give treble the odds on one winner. This offer alone is worthing signing up to Betfred for. Also check out their current sign up offer below and click the link to take advantage. 

Horse racing is the daily bread and butter for the bookmakers so it is no surprise to see great coverage of live horse racing streaming on the leading bookmakers' websites.

It should be remembered that even though you are apparently watching the race 'live' there are likely to be some delays, even behind the television image, which can amount to 10-20 seconds. It's not generally advised that live streaming pictures are used for in running betting.

Bet365

Bet365's live horse racing service is as in depth as their racing odds coverage with international racing covered as well as UK racing. Any UK race that is shown on AtTheRaces or Racing UK is available plus Bet365 also covers action from over 10,000 US races and over 400 South African meetings each year. All you need to do to watch a race live on the Bet365 website is place a 50p (or 25p each way) bet on that race.

Bet365 also offer the opportunity to watch racing replays as well.

BetBright

BetBright stream racing through the 'BBTV' service on their website. They show all UK and Irish racing as well as racing from the US and it's all available as long as you've placed a bet of £1 or more on that race. Your qualifying races will appear in BBTV 30 minutes before the race is due to begin.

Coral

You can stream racing from UK and Ireland, as well as selected races from Dubai and USA, through Coral.co.uk as long as you have placed a bet of £1 or more on the race on the question. Multiple bets including that race require a slightly higher stake. If the race is included in a double the stake must be no less than £2, a treble requires a stake of at least £3, 4folds are £4 and so on.

Paddy Power

Paddy Power offer live streaming of races from the UK and Ireland only providing you have placed a bet of £1 (or 50 each way) on the race you wish to watch. If your race is included in a multiple bet the total stake of the multiple bet divided by the number of races in the bet must exceed £1.

BetVictor

You are able to watch live streams of racing from the UK and Ireland as well as South Africa and the UAE on the BetVictor website. To be eligible you'll need to place a bet of £1 or more on the race you would like to watch or place a multiple bet when the total stake divided by the number of races in the multiple exceeds £1.

BetVictor also offer the opportunity to watch racing replays as well.

William Hill

William Hill's 'WHTV' service allows live streaming of racing from UK and Ireland as well as South Africa. The total stake placed on the race must be £1 (50p each way) or greater and bets on multiples are eligible as long as the total bet stake divided by the number of races in the bet exceeds £1.

Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes offer live streaming of just selected races from the UK and Ireland. If the race you wish to watch is covered by Ladbrokes' live streaming service you'll need to place a bet of £1 or more on that race.

Some of the fixed odds bookies have occasionally tried offering in running odds on certain horse races but by far the most reliable option for in running horse racing betting is the Betfair Exchange.

On the Betfair Exchange all races will go 'in play' once they begin and a whole new betting market is instantly formed. You have the option to both back and lay (backing to not win) any selection in the race and you'll be betting against other punters rather than the bookies.

Betting in play on horse racing is not easy and the odds can move very quickly, especially on the shorter distance races. If you are new to betting in play on horses then you'd be advised to start on longer distance races as you get used to it.

Betting in running on horses gives punters an extra option when it comes to trading. Bets can placed on horses that are expected to trade shorter in running and profits can be made without the horses necessarily needing to win.

Tote betting is available with most bookmakers currently but even if a bookmaker offers some Tote markets it is not guaranteed that they cover all of the Tote markets. Check below which bookies offer which Tote markets:

Bet365 - All Tote markets are available.
Betfair Exchange - All Tote markets are available.
BetVictor - All Tote markets are available.
Ladbrokes - All Tote markets are available.
Coral - All Tote markets available.
Paddy Power - All Tote markets except for Tote Swinger.

Or of course ToteSport!