Bet on Horse Racing in Canada

There are three different types of horse racing odds that you will find across different sports betting sites in Canada. All of the best sites will allow you to change the format to your preferred one when placing a bet on horse racing, but it’s worth understanding all three of them to give you a more complete knowledge of your horse track betting. 

Fractional horse racing odds

These are traditional horse racing odds that are used in the racing hotbeds of England and Ireland. They are easier to understand than some people think but are starting to die out in favour of the simpler decimal odds.

Made up of a numerator (top number) and a denominator (bottom number) the easiest way to think about them is that the bottom number is your stake and the top number is what you would win so if you see horse racing odds of 6/4, you will win $6 for every $4 that you place then your stake back so a $4 winning bet at 6/4 would return $10 in total. 

Decimal horse racing odds

Decimal odds are simple as they include the stake back, the 6/4 fractional odds that we mentioned above would be 2.5 at decimal odds. For every $1 you bet on horse racing, you get $2.5 returned to you. These became more popular with the rise of soccer betting worldwide, just multiply the horse racing odds by your stake to get your potential return from a winning bet. 

American horse racing odds

The horse racing odds that you will see in Las Vegas with a – or a + in front of them. In team sports, the favourite will often be – odds (less so with horse racing than team sports) with the underdog having + odds on them. In horse racing, most races will have all the runners at + odds given the competitive nature. The odds that we have above would be +150 with all horse racing odds quoted as a return to a $100 level stake, without the stake included back.

What bet types can I get horse racing odds on?

There are a huge amount of markets with horse racing odds and some of the system bets are very complex. If you are new to horse racing odds then these are the main bet types that you will need to know to get you started before you look to do more fanciful bets on horse racing.

A win bet

This is a simple bet to understand when looking for horse racing odds on sports betting sites in Canada, it’s like a money line bet on a team sport, you are just looking to find the winning horse to bet on in a given race.

Place bet/show bet

You will be able to get a place bet on horse racing anywhere but a show bet is one that you will find on a horse racing track, often in America. At sports betting sites, a place bet means that you can finish second or third but on track, it is second with a show bet used to find a horse for third. 

Horse racing exacta

Horse racing odds on exacta is trying to bet on the first and second horse past the line. These can be done straight, with horse A to beat horse B or reversed/boxed so that they can finish in either order and the bet is a winner. The second way will cost double the stake. 

Horse racing trifecta

This is horse wagering to find the first three horses to pass the line. Naturally, it makes it a much more difficult bet to land than an Exacta but the horse racing odds are far greater as well. As with the Exacta, these can be done straight or as a combination of lines so no matter what order the three of them finish in, the horse racing bet is a winner as long as they are the first three. 

Horse racing superfecta

If finding the first three horses to pass the post is not a difficult enough task for you, then the Superfecta asks for the first four! The horse racing odds of doing this can be enormous but prepare for a massive string of disappointments as this type of horse track betting are incredibly difficult to land.

Those who have placed bets on horse racing before will know that most of the bets are the same as above but the main difference is that horse track betting are from a Pari-Mutuel or pool betting operation which means that the payouts are done very differently from horse racing odds when you are betting down at the horse track.

If you bet on a horse at 6.0 at a sports betting site in Canada, you are on the horse at those exact odds but the odds on the Pari-Mutuel or horse track betting move with the volume of cash and you will only know how much you will be paid once all the money has been collated, the pool costs are taken out and the pool has been split up by the volume of winners.

The more people that bet on the same horse, the smaller the odds will be as a large number of people have backed the same horse. If the total volume in the pool is $10,000 but $6,000 of that has all been put on the favourite, the payout is going to be sub $2.00 simply because of the money that has been placed, even if the same horse is 3.5 in odds with online betting sites in Canada.

It is often a good place to have a bet on something at larger odds for horse track betting as these can pay out a little bigger than they will with a Canadian betting site but it is something that is worth looking at and comparing track by track for when you fancy a day at the races and decide where the best place is for horse wagering. 

The great news for bettors is that Century Mile is going to be offering fixed odds which is going to shake things up in a good way so that bettors know what horse racing odds they are getting.

Without a doubt, the most famous horse race in North America is the Kentucky Derby which is run every May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. There are Kentucky Derby odds available a long time in advance as it is one of the most popular future markets to bet on horse racing anywhere in the world.

Confined to three-year-old horses only, it is the first leg of the American Triple Crown. The other legs are the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont. It is a horse race where the value of the winner as a stud prospect goes through the roof so it is a contest that all involved in the horse racing sport are desperate to win, no matter the Kentucky Derby odds.

Most winners of the Kentucky Derby will at least show some class as a two-year-old the year before and any likely-looking candidate will be supported in the futures bet market but the eagle-eyed who are hoping to get the biggest Kentucky Derby odds that they can when placing a bet on horse racing.

Betting on horse racing in advance is a good way to get longer Kentucky Derby odds but it can also mean that there is a long wait for the bet to run which is not an ideal scenario for everyone. There is still a lot of fun to have a bet on the Saturday of the Derby with the race that afternoon with all the sports betting sites in Canada looking to lay Kentucky Derby odds on this historic contest.

Horse wagering is a difficult thing to get right but the horse racing odds are bigger than you will get if you are placing a bet on sport that only has Team A or Team B winning a game. Often there are fields of 10 or more horses in a race so there are a lot more variables to consider. Some of the things to consider for betting on horse racing are:

The surface

Most horse racing in North America are run on dirt but there are also races run on turf when the conditions are suitable. Some horses can win on both but most are better suited to one or the other. Weather conditions can make the dirt fast or sloppy and turf firm or soft so these are worth keeping in mind for horse wagering as a horse might be better on turf but it has to be firm turf so check the surface.

Starting gate position 

Some horse tracks will have a more pronounced draw bias than others but those in a higher number draw will be further away from the inside rail. That is something to keep in mind for your horse wagering. But that is not always a disadvantage as those wide are less likely to run into trouble during a horse race but they are going to be covering more ground around the bends. A horse who likes to go from the front will be better suited to a starting gate from 1-5 rather than 8-12 where they will have many more horses to clear on the tracks. 

Race conditions

Horse races are all at different levels so the conditions of a race are hugely important for horse wagering. The quality of the opposition that a horse has to take on plays a big impact. Learn the levels of the horse racing sport and at which one each horse shows their best form and that is the best time to back them providing that they tick some of the other boxes that we have mentioned to be successful. 

Form of the horse, trainer and jockey

Confidence is a huge thing in any sport and horse racing is no different. A jockey who is riding plenty of winners is going to pick the right gaps and challenge at the right time with success breeding success for horse wagering. 

A horse trainer who is struggling to have winners might have an issue in the yard with a virus that is not public knowledge. Once they start to get winners again, they are worth following. 

Confidence is a key thing in a horse as well, they know when they get their head in front and while a win means that their next task is going to be harder, that confidence cannot be underestimated when placing a bet on horse racing. 

Other variables

One of the great things about horse wagering for long-standing fans is the many nuances of the sport, though they can be something that is hard for novice bettors to get their heads around. There are some further variables to the above that are worth considering when placing a bet on horse racing in Canada.

The pace of the horse race is the first one of those. You will be able to see from the form what position a horse normally takes in a race and this will help you see how the horse race maps out in your mind. If you want to wager on a horse who likes to lead then you are looking for a race where there is going to be as little pace pressure as possible to give them an easy time on the speed. A horse race where there are four others who all like to lead is just going to set things up for a backmarker to close and sweep past them late.

Something like the time of year is also important for horse wagering. Some horses simply don’t like the cold, are very slow to come into their summer coat and as such will show little until the weather is warm and they are enjoying some sun on their back. 

Check our recommended sports betting sites in Canada to find the best horse racing odds available. Always do your own study for when placing a bet on horse racing and make sure that you gamble responsibly.