We’re under starter’s orders and… we’re off!
Welcome to the Odds Manager Guide to Horse Racing – your one-stop shop for horse racing and horse racing betting odds.
From Ascot to Accas, we explain all the lingo so you’re not left in the starting stalls when it comes to understanding the action-packed sport of horse racing.
We’ll also keep you up to date on all today’s horse racing betting odds and juicy offers to make sure you’re fully prepared for battle when going to war with those pesky bookies.
After a tasty December of racing action, all eyes are on the racing year ahead, with the daddy of upcoming events being The Cheltenham Festival in March.
Before that, though, February offers us some top-class jumps racing with the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown.
March is clearly all about Cheltenham, and then April brings us the Grand National at Aintree as well as the Scottish National at Ayr.
May sees the flat season get going with the first two Classics of the year as the Guineas are run at Newmarket.
June is all about the Derby and Oaks at Epsom, before Royal Ascot which, this year, starts on Tuesday, June 15.
The top quality flat racing continues into July with the Eclipse meeting at Sandown, the imaginatively named July meeting at Newmarket, the King George at Ascot, and Glorious Goodwood at… Goodwood.
All eyes will be on York in August for the Ebor Festival before the flat season begins to wind down with the final Classic of the year, the St Leger, held at Doncaster on Saturday, September 11.
There is still the small matter of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October however, as contenders battle it out to be crowned the best in Europe.
Chuck in the Breeders Cup and Melbourne Cup in November and it’s another cracking year for flat racing fans.
November brings us back to jumping action, with the November meeting at Cheltenham before the festive frenzy of the King George at Kempton and the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.
Horse racing and betting go together like steak and chips and there is no end to the betting opportunities that racing offers.
Whether online, in the bookies or on course, there’s a ton of betting markets to fire into as you look to snag a big win.
Read on to get a handy breakdown of the most popular horse racing bets and hopefully we can guide you to a juicy winner or two.
Bookies offer prices for every single race in the UK and Ireland, every day of the week, plus action from the US, France, South Africa, and Australia.
Most punters will have a bet before the race but you can also have a punt in-running if something catches your eye once the race has started and the action unfolds.
Live betting on horse racing has exploded in recent years – all the main bookmakers plus the betting exchanges (such as Betfair) now offer in-running opportunities.
You might be watching a race and think a horse is running well – add it your slip and get that bet on, but be quick before the odds shorten.
Horse racing is the beating heart of UK betting – the bookies are queuing up every day to offer you some tasty Odds Boosts on the action.
Make sure you check out our Odds Boost page, where we do the hard work for you by flagging the best Odds Boosts, seven days a week.