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On the Day

You’ve booked your tickets, made your preparations and now you’ve finally made it to the big day. A typical raceday consists of 6 – 8 races, taking place roughly at half hour intervals. So, there’s plenty of time between races to enjoy a drink or something to eat and take in the runners and riders for the next race.

Here we explain some of the important things you need to understand at the course, such as:

• How to read your racecard
• A beginners guide to some of the racing terminology you might hear at the course
• Betting and watching the race

Picking a winner

Don’t forget to check out our guide on how to pick a winner.

More useful raceday info

In addition, before you set off why not check some of the other information on our site for some useful information about your race day, including:

• The weather forecast at your chosen course
• The ‘going’ report. This tells you whether the ground the horses are running on is firm, good, soft or heavy. It is important to know this in case the horse you want to back doesn’t like running on certain types of ground
• Any non-runners at your meeting, where a horse has pulled out at the last minute

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The Racecard

One of the first things you need to do when you get to the racecourse is buy yourself a racecard. It contains useful information about the course including a map indicating the various facilities.

The racecard will tell you everything you need to know about the races and runners you’re about to see and will help you select the horse with the best chance of winning. .

Sometimes it also contains useful information such as which horses, trainers or jockeys have a good record at that particular course or over the distance which your race is being run at.

Most racecards include a diagram explaining how to read the card – here’s an idea of what to expect:

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With you research done and the first race approaching, now is the time to place your bet and watch the race unfold.

The Parade Ring

If you own Grandstand or Members tickets you can take a closer look at each horse before the race. Which one catches your eye? If you’re unsure what you should be looking for, take a quick peek at our guide to picking a winner which gives you some good pointers.

Betting

You are now ready to place your bet. There are three ways in which racegoers can place a bet at the racecourse:

• The Tote
• Bookmakers
• Racecourse betting shop

Read our Guide to Betting for a full explanation of how to place your bet and understanding betting.

Watching the Race

The Grandstand will give you the best views of the race. However, there also TV screens around the course if you do not have Grandstand tickets. Some of the bigger meetings also have giant screens on which you can follow the action.

However, one of the best places is to stand right by the rails so you can see the horses thundering past, an absolutely breathtaking spectacle. It’s also often possible to stand next to one of the hurdles or fences so you can get a sense of the energy and power of the horses as they fly past.

After the Race

If you have Grandstand or Members tickets you can share the triumph of the winners as they are presented with their trophies in the Winner’s Enclosure. Or if you’ve got a winner of your own head back to the same place you placed your bet and collect your winnings!

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The best thing about horse racing is that no one knows who is going to win any given race at any given time. However, here are a few handy tips to help you try to pick a winner.

Study the form

‘Form’ is simply the information and facts about a horse’s past performances. You can find a summary of form in your racecard, and in the national newspapers. If you would like a more detailed analysis, then the Racing Post (which you can buy at the course) has a wide range of statistical information.

Some factors worth taking into consideration when looking at form are:

• Whether your horse has won any races recently. On your racecard this will be represented as a series of numbers ,e.g. 120631. Each number represents a race and your horses position in that race
• If your horse has beaten or lost to any of its rivals in this race before
• Whether your horse has won over this distance before, or at this course (a course and distance winner is a very desirable bet)
• Whether the horse has won previously on the same going (i.e the state of the turf) as it is running on today
• The weight your horse is carrying compared to previous races or whether it is going up or dropping down significantly in the class of the race
• What kind of form your horse’s trainer is in at the moment

Let the experts help you

There will always be people around who think they will be able to tell you the winner of every race on the day, but in reality they probably know no more than you!

However, if you’re looking for some reliable and official sources of information from professional pundits, try researching these websites before you go to the course:

• The Racing Post
• At The Races
• The Guardian Online
• The Times online

In addition make sure to buy your copy of the Racing Post and the Racecard at the course.

Focusing on the horses

 
If you have purchased Grandstand or Members tickets you will have access to the Pre-Parade Ring or the Parade Ring, where you can go and have a look at the horses before they race.

The sort of signs you should be seeking in a potential winner are:

• A good muscle tone, often referred to as ‘condition’
• Match this with a shiny coat, bright eyes, forward-pointing ears and an alert manner and you’re in with a good chance
• Pay attention to how the horse moves. A relaxed forward stride is ideal but watch out for unnecessary agitation
• Profuse sweating can be an indication of nerves, but don’t cut this out altogether as for some horses this is normal
• Equally, don’t be put off by blinkers or visors, which are worn to help channel the horse’s concentration during the race

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How betting works

Many people are put off horse racing because they don’t understand how betting works, when really it couldn’t be simpler.

Having a little flutter on the horses is fun and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here we explore some of the basics to help you understand betting:

Stake
When placing a bet, your stake is the amount of money you are willing to gamble – be it a cautious £2 or a rather more flamboyant £500. Generally the minimum stake you can place at a racecourse is £2.

If you’re a winner, your winnings (also known as ‘returns’) are calculated according to your horse’s odds. 

Odds
In the world of betting, the odds (often referred to as the ‘price’) are a way of expressing the probability of a horse winning a race.

OK – so that’s all relatively easy. Here’s the more difficult bit. Prices can be:

odds against

even money, or

odds on

Odds against (e.g 2/1, 7/1, 15/2, 50/1 etc)
If your horse’s perceived chance of winning the race is less than 50/50 it is described as odds against. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back plus your stake multiplied by the odds against it.

For example: Your horse wins at 2/1 (pronounced two-to-one).
If your stake was £10 you will receive:

your £10 back

plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 2/1 = (£10 x 2) = £20

that makes £30 in total

Sometimes the numbers may appear more complicated e.g. 15/2 or 9/4. This is simply because odds are normally expressed as fractions so can’t include half numbers. So,for ease of working out how much your bet would return, think of ‘15/2′ as being the same as ‘7.5/1′ etc.

Even money (or Evens)
If your horse’s perceived chance of winning the race is 50/50 it is described as evens. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back doubled.

For example: Your horse wins at 1/1 (pronounced ‘evens’).
If your stake was £10 you will receive:

your £10 back

plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 1/1 = (£10 x 1) = £10 again

that makes £20 in total

Odds on (e.g 1/2, 4/7, 3/10 etc)
If your horse’s perceived chance of winning the race is more than 50/50 it is described as odds on. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back plus your stake multiplied by the odds on it.

For example: Your horse wins at 1/2 (pronounced one-to-two on).
If your stake was £10 you will receive:

your £10 back

plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 1/2 = (£10 x ½) = £5

that makes £15 in total

The word ‘on’ indicates that the odds are reversed.

Long Odds or Short Odds?
Sometimes, instead of a horse’s odds being expressed as a fraction, you might hear that they are simply ‘long’ or ’short’. This isn’t meant to refer to the horse itself – or even the jockey.

Instead, odds that are said to be long (e.g. 50/1) point to the fact that a horse is very unlikely to win the race. Conversely, short odds (e.g. 2/1) indicate that a horse has a good chance of winning.

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