Choosing your fancy:
It is a common misconception that betting is an essential part of going racing. It is not, and racing enthusiasts can have a highly enjoyable day - revelling in the atmosphere and spectacle -without betting at all.
But most racegoers like at least to dabble in betting, and before you bet you will want to decide what to bet on.
A baffling amount of information in newspapers and form summaries in the racecard is available to illuminate - or confuse! - as you make your choice, but do not be shy of going back to the most basic starting point of all: looking at the horse.
The Parade Ring & Going Down:
There is ample time, both in the pre-parade ring and in the parade ring itself, to indulge in 'paddock inspection' of each runner. Beyond general admiration for the magnificent sight of a well-turned out thoroughbred, what should you look for?
With horses, as with humans, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and fitness in a horse is easy to spot (as with humans, a fat tummy indicates lack of condition). But generally the encouraging signs in a horse before the race are a coat with a good sheen to it, an intelligent and alert countenance, high head carriage with big ears pointing slightly inwards, a well-muscled body and a springy step.
A horse which is well muscled may be said to 'carry plenty of condition', whereas one with a lean and ribby look will have 'run up light'.
Be cautious of a horse sweating up but not necessarily dismissive, as some horses run better when they are on edge. Sweating around the eyes and ears is not a good sign. Beware colts and horses, especially two-year-olds, who make obvious displays of their gender - their mind and energies may be focused elsewhere.
Consider how the horse walks.
An easy, loose stride is ideal, and a little jig-jogging suggests that he is on good terms with himself - whereas the horse that will not be led round calmly is getting agitated and wasting valuable nervous energy.
Take account of the equipment the horse is wearing.
Blinkers - a hood fitted over the horse's head to prevent backward vision -focuses his concentration on what is going on ahead, and can transform the performance of a horse with a short attention span. A visor is similar to blinkers, but has a slit in each eye-shield to allow some lateral vision. It is commonly thought that the fitting of blinkers or a visor suggests an ungenuine horse, but this is not necessarily the case, so do not be put off if all the other factors appear to be in his favour.
Try to watch each horse cantering down to the start, and have a good look at his action. If he strides out well, in an easy, flowing motion, he is comfortable on the ground, whereas if he moves to post scratchily he is not happy with the surface - and is likely to be even more unhappy at galloping speed.
But the most beautiful and sweetly moving horse in the world is not much of a betting proposition if he cannot run fast enough, so at some point you need to get to grips with the basics of that mass of information which, once interpreted correctly, should yield the winner - form.
The Form:
Form is simply information about a horse's past performances, and by amassing data from each past performance about the going, the course, weight carried, style of running, jockey, time the race took to run, distance of the race, distances between the horses at the finish, and so on, and then relating that information to the same information about every other runner in the race, the form student can work out which horse is most likely to win.
The study of every last nicety of form is highly complicated and hardly necessary for other than the most serious and dedicated punter, but you can grasp the basics by considering the broad headings:
DISTANCE OF THE RACE: Most horses have an ideal range of distances over which they run, and a horse running significantly out of that range may not do himself justice, through lack of stamina or lack of speed.
GOING: The 'going' is the state of the ground - ranging from firm to heavy - and many horses run better on one particular surface than on others. It is not necessarily the case that the firm-ground specialist will never win on the soft, but the firm will suit him better.
CLASS: Form is relative, and running fifth in the Derby would be better-class form than winning a very minor race. Is the horse you fancy going up or down in class?
TIME: Although horses do not race against the clock, the time of a race can be highly significant when measured against the standard for course and distance.
COURSE: The old theory of 'horses for courses' - that is, that some horses perform particularly well at certain courses - is borne out again and again; if a horse has won before at the course, the terrain suits him: that can be an important indicator of his chance.
TRAINER AND JOCKEY: Have they been among the winners recently, and are they in form? A trainer out of form may indicate illness in the yard, while a jockey going through a purple patch can be guaranteed to have that extra ring of confidence which could make the difference between victory and defeat.
WEIGHT: Has the horse a chance at the weights - that is, the weight it has to carry in relation to the weights carried by its rivals?
But if all this study of form is just too complicated, why not fall back on the age-old system of choosing your fancy by its name?!
Backing your fancy:
Having made your choice, how do you put your money where your mind is?
There are three ways of having a bet on a racecourse:
-on the Tote
- with a bookmaker
- in the racecourse betting shop
The Tote:
The Tote - whose selling points (identified by the Tote logo and by staff in red uniforms) are to be found in every enclosure, including Members - operates on a pool basis, whereby all the money bet in a particular pool is shared out among the winners, once a standard percentage has been deducted. This percentage covers the Tote's operating costs and is also used to support racing in numerous ways.
That's the principle. The practice is very simple. You go up to one of the counters or kiosks, state the number (not the name) of the horse you wish to back, the nature and amount of the bet, and hand over your stake. You will be given a ticket which, if successful, you take back to any counter to exchange for your winnings (including stake). For Jackpot, Placepot, Quadpot, Trio and Multibet wagers you fill in a 'Mark Sense' card and take that to the counter. Full instructions are on the back of the card.
The big difference between betting on the Tote and with a bookmaker is that at the moment of making your bet with the Tote you cannot know for sure what your return will be should your bet win, since the final amount in the pool (and thus the amount to be divided) cannot be known until the race has started and the pool has been closed. Television screens near the Tote counters will give an indication of the current odds of each horse, and by that means you will have a very good idea of the return that you can expect.
The principal bets on the Tote are as follows:
Win -You bet on the horse to win the race.
Place -You bet on the horse to be placed
- first or second in races of five, six or seven runners; first, second
or third in races of eight runners or more; first, second, third or fourth
in handicaps of sixteen runners or more. (An EACH-WAY bet on the Tote,
as with a bookmaker, is two bets - win and place.)
Dual Forecast - In races of three or more
runners, pick two horses to finish first and second (in either order).
Combination Forecast - Select three or
more horses. If two of these finish first or second (in either order),
you win.
Trio - You pick three horses to finish
first, second and third in any order in any race of nine runners or more.
Jackpot - You pick the winners of the first
six races at the designated Jackpot meeting.
Placepot - You pick horses to be placed
in each of the first six races (or to win any race with fewer than five
runners).
Quadpot - You pick a horse to be placed
in each of the final four legs of the Placepot.
Multibet - Multiple bets - doubles,
trebles, and so on. All Multibet selections must run at the same meeting.
The minimum bets on the Tote are as follows:
Win only - £2, Place only - £2, Each-way - £2. So a '£2 each-way' bet costs £4 because you're betting win and place. However, a £1 each-way bet is available in all Silver Ring and Course enclosures, and in other enclosures at some of the smaller courses.
Dual Forecast - £2. However, if you're selecting three or more horses in a Combination Forecast, the minimum unit stake goes down to £1. The cost of a £1 Combination Forecast works out like this: 3 horses £3, 4 horses £6, 5 horses £10 - and so on to the total number of runners.
Tote Trio, Jackpot, Placepot, Quadpot and Multibet - £1. However, permutations are accepted down to a minimum unit stake of 10 pence. For instance, two selections per race in a Placepot to a 10p unit costs £6.40 (2x2x2x2x2x2=64 @ 10p).
The Tote dividend (or 'Tote return') is declared after the race - at the end of the day in the case of Jackpot, Placepot and Ouadpot - to a £1 unit, including the stake. So if the winning Tote return is given as £9.00, that includes the stake of £1 and is the odds equivalent of 8-1.
A Tote Course-to-Course service is also available. This allows you to bet at any Tote point on races at both the 'home' course and any other track where racing is taking place at the same time.
Remember:
Betting with bookies, who are to be found in the Tattersalls/Grandstand and Paddock and Silver Ring/ Course Enclosure, is very simple, but it's as well to be aware of the basic distinction between a bet to win and an each-way bet (which some, but not all, bookmakers will take).
A bet To Win means just that: if your horse wins, you do; it if doesn't, you don't; and if it dead-heats, you receive half what you would have received for an outright win.
An Each-Way bet is in effect two separate bets: one to win, one for the horse to be placed (that is, to finish in the first two in races of five or more runners, the first three in races of eight or more runners, the first four in a handicap of sixteen or more runners). Since an each-way bet is two bets, you hand over twice the unit stake: a bet of £1 each way costs £2. The odds for a place are normally one fifth the win odds: the bookmaker will advertise the fraction on his board.
So how do you make that bet? Go into the betting ring and 'shop around' by looking at the boards on which the different bookmakers will be displaying the odds of each horse. Each bookmaker will advertise the minimum stake he will accept, and you will soon find one happy to take even a very small bet.
Say you want to have £5 to win on Dead Cert. (Having the right money helps speed things along.) Most bookmakers have him marked up at 6-1, but one has him at 7-1, which seems to you to be a good price. Go up to that bookie and ask for 'a fiver to win on Dead Cert'. The bookmaker will call out to his clerk, poised with a ledger, '£35 to £5 Dead Cert', and will then announce the number on a small coloured card which he will give you.
This is your receipt for the transaction, and many punters like to make a note of the bet on the back of the card. Whether Dead Cert's officially returned Starting Price is longer or shorter than 7-1, your bet is made at that price - so by taking longer odds than SP you can 'beat the book'. Starting Price (SP) is the price at which the horse is returned in the betting shops.
When Dead Cert scoots home in front (as he certainly will), return to the same bookmaker as soon as the course announcer has declared 'weighed in' to indicate that the result is confirmed, and you will receive £40 - seven times five for your fiver at 7-1, plus your original stake back. Easy peasy!
Among the many advantages of betting on-course with a bookmaker are that there is no betting tax to be paid (as there is with off-course betting).
Exactly when you place your bet on the racecourse can be tricky: in order to be furnished with the maximum amount of information about your choice and his well-being, you need to wait until you've seen him canter past - but by then it may be too late to get the best price, or too late to get a good vantage point from which to watch the race. Sometimes you may decide not to bet on a race - and then the horse cantering past you displays such poetry in motion that you have to get on!
Remember:
Betting in a racecourse betting shop (some courses have more than one) is very similar to betting in any off-course shop. You can have a variety of bets (including combination bets such as doubles and trebles) at much smaller stakes than a ring bookmaker would appreciate. You can also bet at the day's other meetings.
As in a off-course betting shop, you fill in a slip and hand it over together with your stake. The slip is receipted and you are given a duplicate, which you return to the counter for paying out should you be successful. Winnings are calculated at the Starting Price.
A deduction - usually 6 per cent - is made from returns, this sum going towards racecourse improvements.
Remember:
How you 'read' the race depends a great deal on whether or not you have a financial stake in its outcome. If you've backed one of the runners, you're likely to be keeping an eye on him all the way through the race, which may cause you to miss significant moves elsewhere in the field. On the other hand, that moment you know your horse is starting his winning run adds exquisite spice to your day at the races!
One of the most telling factors in any race is pace. If the horses go too slowly early on, then speed up for a sprint finish, the form may turn out to be suspect, whereas a 'truly run' race, with the field going a good gallop all the way, is more reliable. A sprint race (five or six furlongs on the Flat) is likely to be run flat out from the start, while in a long-distance race the runners tend to gradually pick up speed in the later stages.
Look for horses coming 'off the pace' to make a challenge as the race heats up, and try to spot those who are running on towards the end of the race: even if they do not win this time, that can be encouraging for future prospects.
To be able to glean information about the future prospects of horses is one of the most fascinating aspects of watching a race live, and before long you'll be able to recognise the tell-tale signs for when you next
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