In Great Britain, horse racing aficionados are spoiled for choice in terms of venues. There are no less than 60 racecourses spread across the country, offering Flat (on both turf and all-weather surfaces) and National Hunt (jumps) racing year-round. There are only 2 “non-racing” days – Christmas Day and Good Friday. Britain`s racecourses show great diversity, with regard to their location, setting, characteristics and the quality of racing on offer. To the north, picturesque Perth is set in the grounds of Scone Palace, where Scottish monarchs were crowned. The most southerly venue, in the rolling countryside of Devon, is Newton Abbot the leading course for summer jumping. To the east, Yarmouth offers competitive Flat racing, while to the west, the Welsh course of Ffos Las has racing under both codes, in lovely surroundings.

Much of the excitement of a day at the races centres on betting:

Racecourse Betting Shops

Most racecourses have one or more betting shops, very similar to those found in most high streets and offering the same range of bets. These are ideal for punters that want to place bets on horses at other meetings or multiple bets.

For the other betting methods, namely with a bookmaker or with the Tote, purchasing a racecard is a good idea, despite the inflated prices charged by many courses. For looking up a horse`s number, a racecard is far more convenient than continually leafing through a grubby, dog-eared newspaper.

Bookmakers

To facilitate sports betting, at most courses an area of the grandstand / paddock enclosure is set aside for the bookmakers. Each of the attending layers has a “pitch” in this “betting ring” where he or she sets up a board displaying the odds for the forthcoming event. While some bookmakers still rely on the traditional use of a blackboard and chalk to display the continually-changing odds, most now use computer-driven display boards to show the odds on offer.

The Tote

The Horserace Totalisator Board, or “Tote,” is represented at every racecourse in Britain. Having a bet with the Tote is a little different to betting with a bookmaker. Rather than betting at pre-determined odds, all the stake money goes into a pool, approximately one-third is deducted for expenses and the like, with the rest divided amongst the winning tickets. As such, Tote dividends depend on the “strength of the market,” i.e. the number of bets and the amount staked on each horse. Especially at poorly-attended meetings, the returned dividends on short-priced favourites tend to compare poorly with the odds offered by the bookmakers. In contrast, the Tote “Exacta” bet often pays better than the betting shops` “Straight Forecast” alternative. The Tote offers a wide range of popular bets, including the unique “Placepot” and “Quadpot” bets. The former requires a punter to select a runner to be placed in each of the first 6 races of a meeting, whilst the latter requires successful prediction of a place horse in each of the last 4 races.

An informed approach to betting on horse races, coupling an in-depth knowledge of the form book with a reliable, free source of racing tips, perhaps freeracingtips.co.uk, will lead to many enjoyable (and not necessarily over-expensive) days out at the races.