Spread betting on horse racing offers the strongly opinionated punter a real chance to back his racing judgement.

 At Extrabet when you log in you'll see a ‘Racing Menu’ which includes backing or opposing favourites, betting on the aggregate ‘Winning Distances’ at a race meeting, and backing or opposing individual horses in races.

The person who bets on horse racing in spreads, loves to believe he has an edge on the trader. It could be that he has heard that the favourite has been working badly, the ground is softer than officially given, or a jockey is riding with flu. That’s the romance of racing, believing you have inside information, and thereby an advantage over the bookmaker.

It doesn’t always have to be like that.  Just common sense can prevail and give you a return by not just following the crowd. In 2002 the Irish equine hero Istabraq was seeking a fourth Champion Hurdle triumph, but all had not gone well with his preparation. Niggling problems and getting soundly beaten in his prep races, strongly suggested he may not be at his best.

Nevertheless the Irish punters backed him as if defeat was out of the question, despite bookmakers standing up and taking them on.  Extrabet  made Istabraq 27 to 30pts  on the Champion Hurdle ‘Race Index’. This is where the winner gets 50pts, the runner-up 25pts and the 3rd 10pts. If there was ever a time to oppose the favourite this was it.

For people who opposed Istabraq and sold (went low) at 27pts they never had a moments anxiety.  The favourite blundered at the first hurdle and was pulled up before the second.  Connections had taken a chance, but had “gone to the well” once too often. For those who took the opinion the favourite was the wrong price, they were rewarded with a 26 times their stake profit.

The spread betting market that gives punters a real chance to back their opinions is a ‘Match Bet’.  This is a head to head contest between two horses and it doesn’t matter where they finish in a race. It only relates to their relative positions to each other in lengths, where ever they finish, even last and second last.

There will normally be a favourite and the spread is structured around the superiority (or expected margin of victory in lengths).  Very occasionally a contest will be too close to call, and the spread bookmaker will quote ‘your choice’ which allows you to choose your favourite out of the two horses.  This gives the opinionated punter a chance to delve into the past history of the two horses. One likes soft ground, the other is trying the trip for the first time.  Will the pace be strong, who has the best draw? All these pointers are put into the melting pot and if one horse ticks all the right boxes, here is the opportunity to place a ‘Match Bet’.  Remember, the maximum make-up for flat races is 12 lengths and for National Hunt racing 15 lengths.

So if you are thinking of having a horse racing bet, look at the form of the horse, the form of the stable, the form of the trainer, the weather and the draw.  These are just a few key things to consider in helping shape your view on the outcome.