Horse Racing Betting Sites in South Africa

Horse racing is one of the most popular sports to bet on, so it is not surprising that most bookmakers in South Africa offer the sport of kings. However, you don't want to bet at any horse racing bookmaker. You need the creme de la creme of online sportsbooks. That's because only the top horse race betting sites have the events and markets you are looking for.

What good is a betting site if it doesn't let you bet on the Grand National or the Cheltenham Festival? Similarly, why would you join a sportsbook if you can only bet on the winner of races but not on more exotic bets such as trifectas and superfectas? Only the best betting sites can give you these and more betting options. At Betpack, we find these top bookmakers. They give you the most prestigious events and best markets. They top that off with a fantastic selection of bonuses, great odds, and a lot of other perks for horse racing bettors.

Best Horse Racing Bookmakers in South Africa

Betting on horse races is a lot of fun. Join the best horse racing bookmakers in South Africa, and you will double that excitement. That's because top horse racing betting sites give you more. With them, you can maximize your chances of winning your horse racing bets. For instance, while any bookmaker can have horse racing in its list of sports, only the best betting sites will have the events, markets, and odds you need. Even a minimal increase in odds or a few more horse racing betting markets can make a world of difference for your horse racing bets. Fortunately, with Betpack, you get great value with each wager. We point you to the best online betting sites in South Africa and tell you all you need to know about them.

How We Choose the Best Horse Racing Betting Sites in SA

When looking for the best horse racing betting sites, go with the sportsbooks we feature. These horse racing bookmakers have gone through a battery of tests and passed everything we have thrown at them. Here's how we review horse racing betting sites in SA and how we pick the best ones.

Popular Horse Racing Events at Online Bookmakers

If you want to experience horse racing betting in all its glory, bet on the most popular horse racing events. Fortunately for you, there are tons of prestigious events throughout the year, so you will never be out of excellent horse racing betting options. From the Cheltenham Festival in March to the Royal Ascot in June and the Breeders' Cup in November, the calendar of prestigious horse racing events is packed full.

At Betpack, we know how important it is to have the best wagering options for any given race, particularly for these super-popular horse racing extravaganzas. So, we go out of our way to find top horse betting bookmakers that offer all the most popular events and then some. Read on to learn more about these top events. Find out when they take place and discover how you can bet on them.

Hollywoodbets Durban July

The Hollywoodbets Durban July Handicap is a Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race with an iconic status in South Africa and has become one of the most prestigious horse racing events in the world. It first took place in 1897 and has been run uninterruptedly for well over a century. A crowd of more than 50 thousand people watches the event each year, an event that is so competitive that only six horses in history have won it twice. This year's Hollywoodbets Durban July event will be as exciting as any. So, if you are looking to make the most of some betting tips or have a particular winner in mind, you can pick your favourite horse and place your wager in no time at the top SA horse racing bookies we feature.

The Grand National

The Grand National is one of the oldest horse racing events in the world. The handicap steeplechase event has been run since 1839 at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England, over a distance of four miles and two-and-a-half furlongs (6.9 km). As is the case with the Durban July, the Grand National is popular with both horse racing enthusiasts and people who don't watch the sport regularly. One thing is for sure, though, the handicap steeplechase event is a real favourite for bettors. The length of the race, as well as the difficulty of some of the fences, have earned the Grand National the nickname - the Ultimate Test of Horse and Rider. We think of it as a test for punters too. So, if you want to test your horse racing knowledge, join a top horse racing bookie and check out the Grand National in late March or early April. You are guaranteed to enjoy the occasion. Get your horse racing selections right, and you might win some money too.

The Triple Crown

The three most popular races for three-year-old thoroughbreds in the United States are called the Triple Crown. These are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Each race is a massively important event on its own. So you can imagine how big of an achievement is if a horse wins all three of them and is pronounced a Triple Crown winner. In fact, only 13 horses have won the Triple Crown in the history of the three events. The Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the three events, as itd in 1867. The inaugural Preakness Stakes race was in 1873, while the Kentucky Derby started in 1875. The Belmont Stakes is also the longest of the three races, at 12 furlongs (2.4km). The Kentucky Derby is 10 furlongs (2 km), whereas the Preakness Stakes is 9.5 furlongs (1.9 km). 

Dubai World Cup

The Dubai World Cup is a horse racing event that has been taking place in Dubai on the last Saturday of March each year since 1996. It consists of eight thoroughbred races and one Purebred Arabian event that are run at the Meydan Racecourse. The Dubai World Cup is run on a surface over about 10 furlongs (2km) and is open to three-year-olds and four-year-olds and up. The prize purse of the Dubai World Cup is massive and is among the biggest in the horse racing world.

The Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is four days long and takes place in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, England. It consists of several Grade 1 races. The most popular of these are the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Triumph Hurdle, the Champion Hurdle, and Stayers' Hurdle. It also features one of the most popular Hunter Chases, the Festival Hunters' Chase. The great thing about the festival is that there are at least six races each day, meaning there are always ample wagering opportunities for punters. The first edition of the Cheltenham Festival took place in 1860. Interestingly, unlike Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival usually doesn't feature many international runners.

Queen Mother Champion Chase

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is one of the most popular events at the Cheltenham Festival and is the feature race on the second day. It is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase and is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham. The distance is 1 mile and 7 furlongs (3.2 km), and there are thirteen fences runners need to clear during the race. The inaugural race was in 1959 but was called National Hunt Two-Mile Champion. The current name of the event was given to the race in 1980 the year when the Queen Mother celebrated her 80th birthday. The Queen Mother was always a great backer of horse racing, and jump racing in particular. A horse she owned, Game Spirit, was the runner-up in the 1976 event.

Breeders' Cup

The Breeders' Cup is a championship consisting of several Grade 1 thoroughbred horse races. Its first edition took place in 1984 as a single-day event. However, the Breeders' Cup became a two-day event in 2007. The interesting thing about the Breeders' Cup World Championships is that the location changes yearly. Almost all events have taken place in the US, except for the 1996 Breeders' Cup which was run at the Woodbine Racetrack in Canada. In terms of attendance, the Breeders' Cup is one of the most popular horse racing events on US soil, behind only the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Kentucky Oaks. According to the 2015 list released by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), there are three Breeders' Cup events in the Top 12 Grade 1 races in the world. These are the Classic, the Turf, and the Mile. The Distaff, on the other hand, is one of the best Grade 1 races for fillies and mares, according to the IFHA.

Horse Racing Betting Odds

There are tons of perks to betting on horse racing at online bookmakers instead of going down to the racetrack. One of the best benefits is the enticing betting odds you get. When you bet online on horse racing, you are given fixed odds. These prices allow you to know how much you would win days ahead of the event. So, don't have to wait until the betting pools are closed to know your potential windfall.

Do you know what else is great? Getting your hands on some of the most competitive horse racing odds. However, that's easier said than done. To locate the best odds, you need to compare and contrast house edges and profit margins. And that's not for everyone. You need to be a math whiz to know how to isolate the house edge and see how much you are paying the bookie. Fortunately, our experts can help. We analyse the horse racing betting odds of each bookie and help you find the betting sites with the lowest house edges and minimal profit margins in South Africa.

Horse Racing Betting Markets in South Africa Bookmakers

At Betpack, we know that the only way to profit from your horse racing betting adventure is to have access to a fantastic range of betting markets. That means you should be able to bet on the most popular markets, also called straight bets. However, the horse race betting site must give you a wide range of exotic bet types too. With these, you can bet on more specific outcomes in one race, but can also go for big wins and multiple races. Keep reading to learn more about horse racing betting markets you can find at bookmakers in South Africa.

Win

The win bet is the most straightforward of all race horse betting markets. With it, you predict which competitor will win the race. In other words, your horse needs to finish first for you to win. If that doesn't happen, you lose.

Place

Like the Win bet, Place is a straight bet too. However, unlike Win, Place will pay if your horse finishes first or second. In other words, even if your runner ends the race second, you get the same payout as if it won. However, as you can imagine, the horse race betting odds for the Place bet are lower than those for the Win bet.

Show

Show is another straight bet, and the easiest to win of all of them. With it, you get a winning wager even if your horse finishes the race third. Show bets reward all runners that end up on the podium. Understandably, the Show bet odds are the lowest of the three straight bets.

Each-Way Bet

If you want to get the best of Win bets but benefit from a safety net if your bet loses, try each-way betting. With each-way wagers, your bet actually consists of two bets - Win and Place. If your runner wins, you are paid on both Win and Place. However, if the horse places, you are only paid for the second part of the bet.

Exacta Bet

The Exacta wager is an exotic bet type. It allows you to bet on which two horses will finish first and second and in what order. The payouts for this bet are much larger compared to a scenario in which you bet on the two runners with individual Win and Place bets.

Trifecta Bet

The trifecta wager allows you to predict the winner of a race, the horse that finishes second, and the competitor that ends third. Similarly to the Exacta bet, you must get all your predictions in the correct order for your wager to win.

Tips for Choosing the Best Horse Racing Bookmakers in SA

Finding top-quality horse racing bookmakers in South Africa is easy when you do it with the right advice. However, it is not so easy when you do it alone. There are various factors you need to consider to find the best horse racing betting sites, and even if you are a seasoned betting pro, you would find it hard to do it with no assistance.

That's where Betpack comes in handy. We don't just analyse and review betting sites. We also reveal some tricks of our trade. These pieces of advice can help you a lot when you go on a hunt for the best horse racing betting site in SA and assist you in narrowing down the options to only the best bookies. Read our three tips for choosing race horse betting bookies and find the sportsbook that works for you.

Bookies Must Have All the Big Events

If you want to enjoy and profit from each horse racing bet, you need to join bookies that have all the major horse racing events. Analysing things such as previous forms and reading race cards does help. However, if you are only betting on second-rate races, you will never realize your full potential as a bettor. At Betpack, we tell you which race horse betting sites offer the biggest events, so you will always know which bookie to join and which to avoid.

Pick Horse Race Betting Sites with Free Bets

Horse racing bookmakers that offer bonuses and free bets areal if you want to maximize your chances of winning. Let's explain this. Let's say you join a bookie that has enticing free bets. When you activate the free bet, you wager with the funds the bookmaker gives you. So, win or lose, your account balance will remain unchanged. Let's now say you trigger a risk-free bet, a variation of the standard free bet promo. In this case, when your original bet loses, you get your losing stake back in the form of free bet credits. If you win, you collect your winnings. As you can see, horse racing promos and free bets help a lot with your betting cash flow, but you need to find a bookie that offers these bonuses.

Horse Racing Odds are Crucial

Your best chance of winning big when betting on horse racing is finding the best odds. Sure, knowing weight anomalies and how good the jockey is are things that matter. However, they will mean little if you cannot turn that info into money. And the only way to do that is to find the best odds in the country. That means you need to get good odds from bookies in South Africa at all times - both when you bet at current odds and when you bet in advance and agree to the bookie's starting price. If a race horse betting site has competitive odds and works with minimal profit margins, you don't need to always win to stay profitable. A couple of wins from time to time will keep you in the game.

Conclusion

If you are looking to extract maximum excitement from your wagers, you cannot go wrong with betting on horse racing. Horse races are super-dynamic from start to finish, and if you join a top horse racing bookmaker, you can make them even better. That's because the best horse race betting sites in SA give you all the betting options necessary for successful wagers. They provide prestigious horse racing events from around the globe to complement the top South African races you get. That way, you benefit from top-quality horse racing events and they are available year-round. These horse betting sites also have the best markets, odds, and bonuses. So, when you join them, you get the full horse racing package a punter dreams of.

However, to feel all these perks, you need to find these top horse racing bookmakers. If you search for them unaided, you likely won't succeed, as there are various factors you need to analyse, from licenses to horse betting odds and house edges. And that's where we come in. At Betpack, we don't just produce impartial and objective reviews you can trust. We also give you the best horse racing bookmakers in South Africa. We check the credentials of both established and new betting sites so that you don't have to. We also examine all their crucial features so that you can only focus on your bets. All you need to do, on your side, is pick the horse racing betting site you like and join it. Betting on horse races is as easy as that when you let us help you.