SKY BET SUPER WEEK 29TH MARCH - 4TH APRIL

Sky Bet Horse Racing Guide

People have been betting on horse racing in the UK since the 1700s and the sport has developed into a huge industry over the last century, so much so it is the second-biggest attended sport in Britain today behind football.

A great social occasion, people love going to the races for a day out, but unless you follow the sport closely the terminology used can be a bit daunting to the novice bettor – which is where this guide aims to help you out.

RACING BETTING

We offer hundreds of markets on horse racing every day from all over the world. The main two disciplines in the UK are flat racing during the summer and jumps racing during the winter, although the all-weather action keeps the former going all year round.

Simplicity is one of the most appealing facets of horse racing. Back a horse to win the race and if it crosses the line in front you win. Even on the very rare occasion that a horse loses the race afterwards in a stewards’ enquiry you will win with Sky Bet thanks to the first past the post concession.

But there are many ways to bet on horse racing other than a straight win bet. Each-way betting offers a safety net and each individual race will have information on how many places you get for your each-way bet. It is usually two, three or four depending on the number of total runners in the field, but watch out for Sky Bet’s extra place icon – we have paid out on five and even six places before in the big races at the big Festivals – sometimes more!

As well as win and each-way betting you can bet on forecasts and tricasts. A straight-forecast is predicting the first two in the correct order, a reverse-forecast is predicting the first two in either order – something that would cost you double your stake. Tricasts are predicting the first three and you can either try and predict the correct order or back any number of horses in different scenarios.

Those would be the most traditional ways of betting on a single race but we offer plenty of side markets on individual contests; like betting without the favourite, faller insurance, winning distance, finishing in a nominated position and lengthening the odds by predicting the winner and the winning distance.

RACING PROMOTIONS

We’re always looking to offer something exciting at the big events such as Cheltenham, Aintree, Royal Ascot, and more. This can be in the form of headline offers such as Money Back as Cash if your horse loses, but we also offer you a variety of different offers throughout every day of these festivals. 

And it’s not just at the big festivals where we roll out the offers. Every Saturday we pick a feature race and offer some sort of Money Back concession – if your horse is second, if your horse is second or third, if your horse is second, third or fourth. Just look out for the Money Back icon on the website.

Other icons to look out for are the Extra Places one and the Price Boosts one – several high-profile horses are boosted by our trading team on a daily basis in a bid to give you the best value in the market.

RACING JARGON BUSTER

Accumulator – A bet that involves more than one horse and needs every selection to win (or place if it is an each-way accumulator), paid out on accumulative odds.

Ante-Post – A bet placed in advance, sometimes before the entries are even out, in a bid to get a bigger price than will likely be available on the day.

Best Odds Guaranteed – A Sky Bet promise that you’ll get paid out at higher odds if the starting price is bigger than the odds were when you placed the bet.

Course Specialist – A horse that has won or run well at a certain course before.

Dead-heat – A tie between two or more horses in a race for a win or a place.

Distance – The length of a race.

Draw – In Flat racing the number of the stalls position.

Draw bias – The belief that a certain starting position is better than another.

Each-way – A bet placed on a horse to win and place, with the place positions usually top three but sometimes two, four or more.

Evens – Odds that mean you get double your stake if your selection wins.

Favourite – A horse the bookmakers believe is the most likely to win and will be the shortest odds in the race.

Flat – Racing that takes place on a flat racing track that has no jumps of any kind to negotiate.

Furlong – Used for distances in races – one furlong is 220 yards.

Going – Describes the condition of the course, ranging from heavy to firm in the UK on turf.

Green – A horse that shows signs of inexperience in the way that they run.

Handicap – A race where horses carry different weights according to their ability.

In-running – Takes place during a race, including bets.

Jockey – The person riding the horse.

Jolly – The favourite.

Juvenile – A two-year-old horse on the Flat or a three-year-old horse over jumps (and four-year-olds from January to May)

Length – The length of a horse from nose to tail, winning distances are calculated in lengths

Maiden – A horse that hasn’t won a race

Money Back – As cash. Watch out for these Sky Bet offers!

Nap – Best bet from a tipster on a certain day.

National Hunt – Another name for jumps racing.

Neck – Another method of measuring winning distance (also nose, short head, head and variations of lengths, e.g half a length)

Odds – The chance offered by Sky Bet on a selection to win.

Outsider – A horse at long odds, an unlikely winner according to the market.

Pulled Up – A horse that fails to finish a race.

Punter – A person who has a bets or bets on a horse race.

Rating – A number given by the official handicapper to a horse according to their ability.

Rule 4 – If a horse is withdrawn after you place your bet you could be subjected to a Rule 4 deduction according to the price of the withdrawn horse at the time of withdrawal.

Stake – The amount of money placed on a bet.

Stewards’ Enquiry – A situation where the raceday stewards look at an incident during a race – they have the power to amend the result if rules are broken.

Tricast – A bet in which you attempt to predict the first three home in order – or in any order if it is a combination tricast.

Undulating – A track that has bumps; is not flat.

Visor – A type of headgear (also cheekpieces, blinkers, hood, tongue-tie)

Withdrawn – A horse that is taken out of the race before it has begun.

Yearling – A horse under the age of one (horses are not allowed to race until they are two).

Sporting Life

Sporting Life is the home of sports analysis and betting insight. Our team of passionate experts provide unrivalled tips, previews and punditry to give you all the vital knowledge, data and opinion to make the most informed bet.

Go to Sporting Life

  1. All general Sky Betting and Gaming rules and terms apply.

Sky Betting and Gaming General Promotion Terms apply to this promotion and can be viewed here

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