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How we rank & compare horse betting sites in Ireland
These are the three key things we look at about when reviewing and comparing the top racing bookies:
- Horse betting offers - The top bookies have a regular stream of enticing racing promotions running every day of the week, not just around big events like the Grand National and Cheltenham.
- Horse racing betting features - Live streaming is offered by every top horse racing bookie but tools like BetFinder and added features like radio commentary can enhance your racing betting experience no end.
- Horse racing betting markets - The more markets to bet on, the better. As well as the most popular bets like Winner, Each Way, Forecasts and Reverse Forecasts, the best bookies have a selection of Placepots, Multiples and Ante Post bets too.
Horse Racing Betting Offers
One of the main details we consider when reviewing a horse betting site is the volume and variety of betting promotions.
The following are the most popular type of horse racing offers:
- Free bets
- Best odds guaranteed
- Extra race places
- Money back promos
- Rewards clubs
Free Bets
2nd to the SP fav is the most common racing promo that sees you get free bets. This deal is offered on a daily basis.
However, you will find that bookies ramp up the volume of free bet offers around major race meetings and festivals, especially Cheltenham and the Grand National.
Grand National Free Bets
Every April, three days of top-class racing at Aintree Racecourse culminates in the greatest steeplechase of them all - the Grand National.
Whether you’re a horse racing enthusiast, a casual racing punter, or, a complete novice:
The Grand National generates more betting interest than any other horse race in the calendar
With this in mind, you will find a whole host of horse racing betting offers and other special deals leading up to the race.
Cheltenham Free Bets
28 races over four days featuring the Unibet Champion Hurdle, the Betway Queen Mother Champions Chase, is rounded off with the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
A festival of racing featuring the best horses, trainers and jockeys
Many top horse racing bookies have odds available all year round, giving punters the chance to back a long shot early on.
You will also find plenty of Cheltenham free bets rolled out a few weeks before the festival begins in March as bookmakers gear up for the pinnacle of the jump racing season and a hive of betting activity.
Best Odds Guaranteed
Best odds guaranteed (aka BOG) allow you to still get paid out at the best odds regardless of any price changes.
So if you take an Early Price on a horse and the Starting Price (SP) happens to be bigger, the bookie will pay you out at the bigger odds.
Odds tend to change a lot prior to a race due to the volume of bets being placed. Therefore, the earlier you can lock in the price for a horse, the better.
| Best Odds Guaranteed: Top Offers | |
|---|---|
| BoyleSports | from 8am |
| Ladbrokes | from 8am |
| Bet365 | from 8am |
| BetVictor | from 9am |
| Betway | from 9am |
| Coral | from 9am |
| William Hill | from 9am |
| Rhino Bet | from 10am |
BoyleSports is one of three of horse bookies that allow you to place your bets as early as 8am
Extra Race Places
Extra Places is another promo you can expect daily on the top horse betting sites. This is where a bookmaker will pay out on more than the standard 3 or 4 places.
Bookies can pay out 5, 6 and even 7 places giving you more chance of picking a horse that finishes in one of the 'money positions'
You will find the majority of Extra Places offered by bookies during big racing festivals such as Cheltenham, Royal Ascot and Aintree.
Money Back Promos
This type of betting offer acts as insurance and can you get your money back as a free bet or your stake refunded as cash if, for instance, your horse finishes 2nd to the SP fav or if your pick in the feature race fails to place.
Check out BoyleSports for the best racing money-back offers.
Each Way Promos
Bet365’s Each Way Extra promo allows you to add or remove the number of places when betting Each Way on selected races.
An each-way bet on your terms
Maybe you’re dead certain your pick will place in the top two? In this case, you can remove places and increase the odds of your pick.
Or, perhaps you’re unsure your horse will place at all so the option of adding more places, albeit for a reduction in odds, is a great way of insuring your bet.
Either way, this promo is yet another reminder of why Bet365 is one of the top betting sites for horse racing.
Free-to-play promos
Coral's Racing Club gives customers the opportunity to win trips to visit trainers' yards, win free race day tickets and even become a racecourse owner for the day.
If you enjoy going to races as much as you like to bet on them, then get yourself over to Coral.
The promotion, which is unrivalled in terms of giving horse racing enthusiasts exclusive behind-the-scenes access, has clearly struck a chord. As many as 50,000 members have joined since the offer become available in November 2022.
Horse Racing Betting Features
When you dig deep into the features each bookie has and, also, the extent, to which they’re offered, you begin to find out which online bookmakers are ahead of the field, and, also, the ones lagging.
Here are some of the key features we look for when assessing horse racing bookies.
Horse Racing Live Streaming
Once a rarity, it’s now pretty standard for every horse racing site to live stream all races in Ireland and the UK.
Many also make selected international races available to watch on their platform allowing you to watch races in the US, South Africa, Australia and France, to name a few.
To watch a live stream of a race with any online bookie, you normally need to have an account in credit, or, have bet in the last 24 hours.
Bet365's live streaming of horse races is unrivalled
Best online bookie for horse racing live streaming
Bet365 Horse Racing
For us, Bet365 tipped the scale with its extensive horse racing live streaming offering.
They have live streams for every French race, as well as all UK and Irish races. The majority of bookies only offer the latter as a minimum.
Coverage of other races is more wide-ranging too. Selected Australian, South African and US races are complemented by racing action from Brazil, Dubai, Singapore and India.
Registration Required. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.
BetFinder
BetVictor was one of the first bookies to launch their BetFinder, a feature designed to simplify horse race betting for punters.
The BetFinder tool uses data from horse racing experts like Timeform and Racing Post to filter between horses, allowing you to personalise your search for the perfect horse.
We suggest you check out either BetVictor or 888sport for the best version of this tool. You will variations of BetFinder at Coral and Ladbrokes, though these are fairly basic by comparison.
Bet faster & smarter with Betfinder
As you know, there’s a lot to consider when choosing a horse. For beginners especially, it can be hard to know where to start. However, when betting sites that have BetFinder take the hassle out of finding your ideal horse by allowing you to narrow down the field based on certain categories. These include:
- Trainer/jockey form
- Race distance
- Course
- Odds
- Horse rating
- Last race result (Winner/ Placed in Last 3, Beaten Fav Last Time)
Horse Racing Betting Markets
While winner, each way and place markets are the most popular and also, often, the easiest to understand, the unpredictable nature of horse racing means there are opportunities to bet on a number of eventualities.
The more betting markets there are, the better chance of finding a bet that suits your taste
The best horse racing betting sites offer more than the standard markets and, provide punters with an array of other bet types to choose from. These include:
Ante-Post Betting: The top bookies will often have odds for the big racing festivals a few months prior to the event getting underway, allowing you to gain an edge or get a higher price on a horse before the odds shorten. Bet365 has the most Ante-Post markets.
Forecast Betting: Simply pick the horses you think will finish first and second.
Tricast Betting: Predict the horses that will finish first, second and third.
Betting Without Favourite: The favourite can often be priced at short odds, so short you need to bet a sizeable amount to yield a significant return. This type of bet allows you to bet on the horse you think will win if you don’t count the favourite. Like the Asian Handicap in football, it’s a great way to make a race more competitive.
Accumulator: A single bet on four or more horses to win where all your picks must win. An each-way accumulator requires each horse to place.
Summary of horse racing betting sites in Ireland
Choosing a horse racing betting site can be as hard as picking a horse.
Fortunately, having read our guide, you're now now better equipped to choose a racing bookie.
Here's a recap of what you can expect from the top horse racing betting sites:
✅ Many horse racing betting promotions (BOG, Extra Race Places, Money back offers, Each way promos, Racing loyalty club)
✅ Unique racing features & extras (Betfinder, Live streaming, Blog, Racing Post content)
✅ A range of horse racing betting markets (Win/EW, Betting without, Place markets, Forecast, Tricast, Ante-post, Specials
And here's a reminder of the best options for Irish punters:
Horse racing betting sites in Ireland - FAQs
- BoyleSports
- Bet365
- BetVictor
- Coral
- Ladbrokes
- William Hill
- Betway
- Novibet
BoyleSports, Bet365 and BetVictor are excellent bookies for horse racing betting.
These betting sites are the front runners because...
BoyleSports has terrific horse racing betting promotions including free bet money back offers, Best Odds Guaranteed from 8am on the day of a race and Extra Race Places.
Bet365 provide hundreds of live streams. Races from the UK, Ireland, France, North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand are all available to watch on the Bet365 app and online sportsbook.
BetVictor has BetFinder, a handy tool that simplifies the process of finding a horse to bet on. It also provides expert previews and tips from racing specialists, Timeform.
There are a number of things to think about, although, given we all have different preferences, you may value certain factors over others.
We suggest basing your choice of horse racing betting site on:
- Horse racing betting offers - the more the better
- Horse racing-specific betting features - the more varied the better
- Odds - the higher the better
- Horse racing betting markets - the wider the selection the better
All Irish horse racing bookmakers have promotions for existing punters.
However, bookies vary in the volume of offers they have, and, also, in how creative they are in offering something different from the competition.
We believe these bookies hit the sweet spot with a good volume of betting offers, some of which are unique to the rest of the field:
- Bet365: Price Promise, Feature Race 4/1 Offer, Each Way Extra
- BoyleSports: Money back as free bet, Extra race places, Best odds guaranteed
- BetVictor: Run for your money, BetVictor Loyalty Club
BoyleSports, Ladbrokes and Bet365 have Best Odds Guaranteed from 8am.
BOG, as Best Odds Guaranteed is also known, is the staple of horse racing betting sites.
The offer allows you to take an early price on a horse and, even if the Starting Price (SP) increases, still get paid at the best odds.
While BOG is offered by every horse racing bookie, you will find the times vary; the majority run the offer on the day of a race, either from 8 am, 9 am or 10 am. The earlier BOG is offered, the better.
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