Horse Racing spread betting explained

Did you know you can also place spread bets on horse racing as well as fixed odds bets via your Spreadex account?

Spread betting works by playing on a 'spread' or prediction on the number of things to happen in a race or over a meeting.

Step 1: Choose a market. E.g. the 'spread' on Winning Distances at a meeting may be 9 - 10 lengths.
Step 2: Decide if you think the final outcome will be higher or lower than the spread.
Step 3: If higher (e.g. more than 10 lengths) you would buy. If lower (fewer than 9) you would sell.
Step 4: Your profit or loss depends on the difference between your buy or sell level and the final outcome, multiplied by your stake.

Remember that unlike fixed odds betting, you can lose more than your initial stake with spread betting should the bet go against you.

See more in our short video on sports spread betting.

HORSE RACING SPREAD BETTING EXPLAINED

Get with or against horses in a certain race or bet over a full meeting. See more via the links below.

Race indices

Favourites

Winning Distances

Other Card Markets

Jockey Index

Match Bets

HOW TO PLACE A RACING SPREAD BET

To place a bet, look at the Spreadex prediction or spread on the market in question. If you think the outcome will be higher than our price, then you would buy on the spread. If you think the outcome will be lower than our price, then you would sell on the spread.

The more right you are the more you can win, but the opposite is the case if you get it wrong, as you may lose more than your initial stake.

Read on for detailed descriptions of some of our more popular horse racing betting markets.

Alternatively see an example of a horse racing spread bet here.

Race Indices Market

The spread is based on points being awarded to horses in the following formats:

For races with 11 runners or less: 50 points awarded to the winning horse, 25 to the second placed horse and 10 to the third placed horse (known as the 50-25-10 Index).

For races with 12 runners or more: 50 points awarded to the winning horse, 30 to the second placed horse, 20 to the third placed and 10 to the fourth (known as the 50-30-20-10 Index).

Spreadex may give a horse a spread of 12 - 15 for a race with 12 runners or more. You would buy at 15 if you thought the horse would finish first, second or third or sell at 12 if you thought the horse would finish fourth or worse.

Favourites

Favourites: For each race in a meeting we award points to the horse which is the starting price favourite based on the following: 25 points if it wins the race, 10 points if it finishes second in the race and 5 points if it finishes third in the race.

So if, over seven races in a meeting, the favourite in each race finishes third, first, fourth, first, second, fifth and third then Favourites will make up at 70 (5+25+0+25+10+0+5 = 70). In case of joint or co-favourites, the lower racecard number is deemed the favourite.

Racing Post Favourites: Based on the performance of the Racing Post favourites (as per scoring system above) as indicated by the first horse named in the betting forecast of the tabloid edition of the Racing Post.

Winning Distances

Winning Distances: The winning distance between the winning horse and the second placed horse for each race over a meeting, aggregated.

For distances less than a length, the following applies: Nose 0.05, Short Head 0.1, Head 0.2, Short Neck 0.25, Neck 0.3, Half a length 0.5 and three-quarters of a length 0.75. Maximum winning distance per race = 12 lengths.

99s Distances: As above but with the maximum winning distance per race = 99 lengths.

2nd to 3rd Distances: The distance between the second placed horse and the third placed horse for each race at a meeting, aggregated.

other card markets

Racecard Number 1s: The combined total of points scored by the Racecard no 1s at a meeting based on: 25 points if no 1 horse wins a race, 10 points if 2nd, 5 if 3rd.

Double numbers: The combined total of racecard numbers of the winning horses of all races at a particular meeting, doubled.

Stop at a winner: Number of races until a favourite wins at a meeting, x 10. E.g. if favourite doesn't win until 4th race, make-up is 40. If no favourite wins all day, make up is number of races + 1 (x 10).

Multi-mules: Aggregate sum of the racecard number of the winning horse multiplied by the racecard number of the second placed horse for all races at this meeting.

Jockey Index

Bet on the performance of a named jockey over a meeting. For each race in a meeting we award points to the jockey based on: 25 points if he wins the race, 10 points if 2nd, 5 if 3rd.

If the jockey does not ride the intended mount but the horse still runs, then the horse still counts as if it had been ridden by the intended jockey.

The intended mount will be taken to be the horse published in the Racing Post on the day of the race as to be ridden by the jockey concerned.

If the jockey rides any horse which, according to that day's tabloid edition of the Racing Post, he was not scheduled to ride, that ride does not count for the purpose of bets on that jockey.

Match Bets

Don't worry about the full field in a certain horse race, instead focus on a two-horse race by playing on our horse racing Match Bets.

Our Match Bets allow you to bet on how many lengths a named horse will beat, or will be beaten by, another horse in a particular race at a meeting.

In a flat race, the maximum make up is 12 lengths. In a National Hunt race, the maximum make up is 15 lengths. The market is void if both horses fail to finish.

Note that the market can have a negative make-up if the favourite in the Match Bet finishes behind the other horse.

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