Best horse racing betting sites

bet365

When it comes to horse racing, bet365 offer few frills but get the basics right more than most. They have a solid tendency to take their own position on markets, as opposed to many firms who track one another’s prices. They will often hold their prices for longer, too, even when offering standout odds.

There is also a major offer on ITV races that rarely gets discussed. From 10am until 15 minutes before the off, bet365 will match the prices of Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power, Coral, Sky Bet and BoyleSports on all ITV races. It is a strong offer for any Saturday punters who bet in the mornings.

Counter to that, bet365 rarely offer the very best each-way terms on major races. However, extra places are often available.

Main pros:

• Great all-rounder
• Excellent ITV Racing offer
• Take a view and hold it more often than most

Betfair

The Betfair Sportsbook was introduced in 2012 but has rarely stood out. Prices will often mirror those of sister firm Paddy Power and enhanced each-way terms, while better than most, can often be beaten by Sky Bet, another Flutter stablemate.

Betfair remain a huge player, because they are the dominant betting exchange. Near the off in a race, exchange odds will typically beat traditional odds. The Betfair Exchange also offers a starting price mechanism these days. Similar to show prices, the Betfair SP beats its traditional rival far more often than not. This is true even after the exchange’s commission is factored in.

The Betfair Exchange is also the best platform for punters to engineer strong positions on races, by considered utilisation of the lay function. Mathematically, this is almost always a much better play than the cash-out function offered by online bookmakers, which has a margin built in that far exceeds Betfair’s commission.

Main pros:

• Industry-leading bookmaker
• The dominant betting exchange
• Ability to back and lay is a big advantage

Coral

In some ways, Coral is the Honda of online bookmakers. They’re reliable and not especially sexy, but my Honda CR-V is still hard on the bridle after 110,000 miles. Parent company Entain’s strategy seems to involve pitching Coral increasingly as the online bookmaker for horse racing punters.

What this means in practice is that, relative to other bookmakers, Coral place something more of an interest on trading. In theory, good punters can expect to be entertained for longer by Coral. The flip side is that they do not go in so much for the marketing-led campaigns such as enhanced place terms on ITV races and early concessions on Cheltenham or the Grand National. That said, they are joint best-in-class when it comes to best odds guaranteed.

Main pros:

• A horse racing-focused bookmaker
• Joint best-in-class for best odds guaranteed

Sky Bet

The favourite of each-way punters, Sky Bet will often offer the most places on the major Saturday handicaps. Seven and even eight places is not uncommon on fields with 20 runners or more.

Sky Bet also tend to offer a wide range of short-term ante-post bets. It has been observed that their overrounds on these races can be among the tightest, though, so tread carefully.

Main pros:

• Industry-leading each-way terms
• Focus heavily on the big betting races
• Decent range of short-term ante-post markets

William Hill

A few years ago, William Hill started pricing up a lot of races within a couple of hours of declarations. This meant that they would be the only bookmaker offering odds for a good 24 hours before others went up or any money worth mentioning went into the Betfair market.

It is a bold approach, and there is a lot of fun to be had – and ricks to be found – betting effectively person-to-person with the Hills odds-compiler. However, they are naturally defensive in such an exposed position. High stakers will not last long if regularly skinning these early prices. Hills also do not go in for BOG at all, which is presumably related to their early-pricing strategy.

Away from that, Hills are second only to Sky Bet when it comes to enhanced place terms. They also offer daily bet boosts, although these come with similar caveats to taking Hills’ early prices.

Main pros:

• Races are often priced up quickly
• Enhanced each-way terms
• Daily bet boosts

Paddy Power

In the early days of online betting, Paddy Power tended to lead the way. In terms of marketing, they are still well in front. When it comes to what they can actually offer clued-up punters, others have caught up.

Nowadays, a Paddy Power account performs well on many metrics: early prices will often be second up after William Hill, each-way terms are comparable with anyone outside of Sky Bet. But as that implies, your Paddy Power account will stand out on few counts in 2024.

Main pros:

• Marketing genius
• Early prices up quickly
• Decent each-way terms

Ladbrokes

‘The Magic Sign’ will always have heritage appeal to a subset of punters. Newer arrivals to horse racing betting might wonder what all the fuss is about. Generally speaking, when it comes to racing you will be better off with their sister brand Coral. Most prices, particularly day-of-race ones, seem to be aligned anyway.

One area where Ladbrokes surpass Coral is on bet boosts, with up to four per day available. One of these is reserved for sports betting, which is an area where Ladbrokes remain a major player.

Main pros:

• Established and respected bookmaker
• Major sports betting player
• Bet boosts

Betfred

Multiples punters, particularly those who love a Lucky 15, need to have Betfred among their options for betting on horse racing.

Beyond their long-established bonuses, Betfred are a useful firm to bet with. They are competitive in most aspects, without standing out on anything besides the aforementioned bonuses.

Main pros:

• Brilliant for Lucky 15 betting
• Offer competitive prices on racing

Tote

If so much of choosing the best online bookmaker is putting as many colours as you can on your palette, then mixing in a bit of Tote betting is necessary from time to time.

If you are an SP punter, the Tote guarantee will ensure that you never lose out compared with the industry SP. Previous analysis by the Racing Post has shown that the Tote’s SP guarantee makes it better than the traditional prices offered and competitive with the Betfair SP. However, it must be said that the latter still wins out more often than not.

The Tote is also the home of the Placepot, which comes with guaranteed pools sizes on at least one card every day. The easiest, but not the only way to play in the Placepot, is directly through the Tote.

Exotic bets like the Swinger (pick two of the first three, in any order) are handy to have in your quiver. It is also the best place to bet on French racing as since 2023 Tote have commingled with the French PMU pools. Traditional bookmaker odds on French racing generally have huge overrounds and are best avoided.

Main pros:

• The home of pool betting
• Tote guarantee on starting prices
• Placepots and other exotic markets

Unibet

If you want a price and no-one else is offering it, Unibet can be a good place to go. Their ante-post suite is usually the most extensive of any bookmaker and they will price up races that are not available anywhere else.

Otherwise, Unibet’s bet boost offerings are solid. They are in the pack when it comes to the best online bookmakers.

Main pros:

• Strong suite of ante-post markets
• Not afraid to price up a race
• Bet boosts are solid

New Horse Racing Betting Sites

BoyleSports

Sports bettors should similarly have BoyleSports on their radar. Many of BoyleSports’ leading offers are on football, and some of their standout racing promotions are football-led. The ability to lengthen your odds by specifying a winning distance is sure to have been influenced by the popular bet builder offer on football. When it comes to the basics, BoyleSports remain competitive but rarely stand alone.

Main pros:

• Strong in the sports betting market
• Ability to lengthen your odds
• Competitive racing prices

talkSPORT BET

As the UK’s favourite commercial sports talk radio station, talkSPORT BET has moved into the betting market and offers some decent opportunities for those looking to punt on racing.

The size of the brand should appeal from a security perspective, and it is clear they are looking to attract casual punters and those new to the sport of racing.

There is plenty of how-to information alongside a large number of ante-post markets for the big meetings, and there is also a Betfinder function that is likely to be popular with beginners, as clicking on buttons such as ‘jockey form’ or ‘won at this course’ can cut down the field.

Main pros

• Excellent for those new to the sport
• Easy-to-operate Betfinder function

BetGoodwin

If punters are looking for the best Odds Guaranteed, then BetGoodwin is a firm to consider as they offer BOG from 10am on raceday for all UK and Irish races.

The firm frequently offers price boosts on mid-market runners, enabling punters to secure a higher price. They also provide advice on a variety of bets and discuss strategy, highlighting the importance of value and specialisation.

There are plenty of antepost opportunities too, and could well be worth adding to your account portfolio with the firm also renowned for swift payouts.

Main pros

• Best odds guaranteed
• Vast array of antepost markets

How to find the best horse racing betting app for you

As a leader in all things horse racing, It’s a good idea to follow the recommendations of the Racing Post team and our advice on the best betting app for horse racing. It’s also a smart move to check the reviews and comments from genuine users on the App Store and Google Play. But what do you think makes the best horse racing betting app?

The ideal app for a friend might not work for you, so it’s worth considering what you need from your platform, including getting the best odds and the most generous bonus. Here are three things to consider when making your final decision.

Horse racing odds

Basic, but true. The first thing most punters ought to be looking for once they’ve settled on their view of a race is the price of their selections. The contest to provide UK punters the best odds for horse racing is cut-throat, many big name bookmakers have best odds guarantees, usually restricted to 8am onwards on raceday. Paddy Power, bet365, William Hill, Ladbrokes, and Boyles Sports among them. Outside of that window, there’s not one bookmaker that can be singled out as having the best horse racing odds, any we recommend here are competitive and could have the best odds for any specific race or horse.

Ease of use

Mobile betting is all about speed and convenience. You need your app to be super-fast, reliable and able to keep pace with the demanding UK and Irish horse racing schedule. The firms mentioned on this page each have homepage quick links to the next race due off and a list of upcoming events.

Live-streaming options

Today, if a bookmaker doesn’t give you free access to a HD-quality live stream for horse racing then they’re not worth joining. Each of the bookmakers on this page gives free live streams with expert commentary, betting odds, predictions and other delights. Preview a race, make your predictions, place a bet and watch the action live. The quality is as good as you’d hope to find at any major TV broadcaster. I do recommend you double check each bookmaker’s exact criteria to view live streams, more on that below.

Markets & race coverage

We’re no longer stuck in the times when horse racing bettors only had the win or each-way markets available. Today, you can wager on multiple markets on each race, and you can even gamble in-play on longer races when using the Betfair Exchange. More ways to bet means more ways to win and you’ll often find new additions on the betting page or in the promotions tab. If you like to bet on horse racing in new and creative ways then a wide range of options is something to look out for.

Another thing to consider when it comes to coverage is ante-post betting. This could mean how early ante-post markets open for major racing festivals like Cheltenham, and their non-runner no bet (NRNB) options. If short-term ante-post bets are more your style, firms like bet365, Sky Bet, Paddy Power and Unibet tend to offer the greatest number of short-term ante-post markets. Unibet are particularly keen to offer ante-post markets that no-one else will price up.

Free bets & offers

You can tell a lot about a horse racing betting site from its welcome offer. It’s not as simple as the best offer = the best bookmaker, but a generous offer does suggest confidence that punters will enjoy the betting app and continue to use it after their free bets have been used. Perhaps just as important is the value and consistency of offers that a bookmaker gives to its existing customers, especially during the major racing festivals such as Cheltenham, Grand National, and Royal Ascot.

If you’re a consistent horse racing punter, the bookmaker with the best offers will depend on your style and how you tend to bet on racing. Each-way punters will be interested in enhanced place terms. Most firms will offer extra places on handicaps on ITV Racing; Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair & William Hill especially.

Best horse racing betting mobile app reviewed

More horse racing bets are struck on mobile than desktop computers and high-street betting offices combined. To be considered among the best horse racing betting apps, a bookmaker must offer a user-friendly, stylish and secure smartphone platform. See the table below for details on how our bookmakers scored on their mobile app.

The best horse racing betting apps by feature

When researching, the five firms listed on this page stood out on the features I deemed most important to a horse racing betting site. However, we found each app had an area where they excelled more than their rivals.

Which mobile betting app offers the best horse racing markets?

Each of the five bookmakers mentioned on this page offer dozens of ways to bet on horse racing, and it’s not only the biggest races and festivals. Place bets on any of today’s meetings and enjoy extensive coverage, including unique markets. The Betfair Exchange does things a little differently, allowing customers to bet or lay selections, playing the part of the bookmaker and accepting wagers.

Which mobile betting app is the best for live streaming horse racing?

There’s little to separate the sportsbooks on horse racing live streaming as they all offer free access to all members. Some apps ask you to bet on the outcome of a race to get access to the live stream for free, but not those covered in this page. Some, such as William Hill and Tote, only require a funded account or an active bet on the race. For others, like bet365, you need to have placed any bet within the last 24 hours, note that it doesn’t have to be on the race you want to watch, or even on horse racing at all.

Which mobile betting app offers the best horse racing odds and price boosts?

William Hill is a favourite of experienced horse racing bettors as they limit their welcome bonus free bet and put more emphasis on offering the market’s best price on every bet. Check a betting odds comparison app and you’ll often find William Hill is the most generous bookmaker on favourites in particular. The other four firms included in this page hold their own on generosity and price boosts. It’s worth checking your betting app’s promotions page before you gamble to ensure you have the best deal.

Which mobile betting app is the best for horse racing accumulators & multiples?

Bet on horse racing singles or add a few predictions to the same betslip to create a big-priced multiple. The leading bookmakers on this page all offer winning accumulator bettors a bonus on their returns. The more winners on your betslip, the higher your bonus. Read the terms and conditions attached to your bookmaker’s accumulator promotions. You’ll also get cashback if just one leg lets you down.

Multiples punters, especially those who look at Lucky 15s, Lucky 31s and Lucky 63s, will want to stick closely to Betfred. The boosted wins for getting all winners on a Lucky, and the multiples of odds on one winner, are long-standing offers.

Which mobile betting app is the best for horse racing bet builders?

Not all online betting apps offer the bet builder feature, but each of the firms on this page allow you to access this unique market on all your favourite sports, including racing. Bet builders are a big hit with horse racing bettors as they allow them to place multiple bets on the same race, fight or game. Check your bookmaker’s promotion page for more information on the best bet builder deals.

Conclusion

When it comes to the best online bookmakers for horse racing, the names that established themselves in the early days of online betting – the giants now – are likely to stay there for the foreseeable future.

By all means experiment with newer firms, as RP Recommends writers do and on which we will report back, but the best offers and greatest security will come from firms that built themselves up during the industry’s boom years.

Which bookmakers you choose will come down partly to personal taste and user preference, but the advice in these quarters is that the best online bookmakers are the ones offering the best price about the horse you fancy. The advice, therefore, is to give yourself as extensive a choice as is possible.

In case it was not clear by now, most savvy punters will have several accounts. The other advantage with having accounts with major firms is that bets with many of them can be placed directly through the Racing Post website and mobile app.