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New horse racing fans might be asking themselves how to bet on horses on Betway. We have got you covered. We found that punters could bet on local races like the Durban July or major international events like the Grand National. Users can make use of up-to-date data on the races, ample betting markets, and a slick user interface. We genuinely enjoyed placing our bets on their site.
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Pros & Cons of Betting on Horses at Betway South Africa
If you’re wondering how to bet horses on Betway and what the advantages of it may be, we’ve got you covered. There are plenty of reasons to bet on the ponies with Betway. They have exciting features and competitive odds.
- Pros:
- Clean user interface: the interface makes it very easy for users to find races and place their bets.
- Multiple promos: you can use many promos to boost your horse racing bets.
- Competitive odds: the odds are more than fair and often give you superior value compared to some of Betway’s competitors.
- Betway pays the tax on your winnings: Betway currently covers the 6% tax on your horse racing betting wins.
- Cons:
- Odds format change: we would like to see the option to change the odds format for the races.
How to Play Horses on Betway
Betting on horse races at Betway is pretty straightforward for the most part. Once you have created your account, head to the horse racing section in the tab at the top of the homepage. When you land on the horse racing page, you will see the list of available races you can bet on. You can toggle between these races to see the varying odds. You can also switch between fixed odds and tote just above the list of races.
To really know how to bet horses on Betway, you’ll need to choose some markets for your bets. You can then select from the list of markets for the race, including race winner, places, multi-leg bets, and more. You can find this within the race you have selected, and it’s very clear to see. Choose the markets you want, enter how much you want to bet in your betting slip on the right, and choose “Bet Now.”
Betway Horse Racing Section Overview
There are a few areas of horse racing betting at Betway that you should get to know a little better before you get started. Let’s touch on a couple of these points to make sure you understand what all the variables are.
👉 Silk: when you see the term silk for horse racing betting at Betway, all that it refers to are the colours the jockeys will wear. There is a little jersey next to each jockey that represents their colours. This is especially helpful if you plan on actually watching the race, as you can see exactly how well your horse and rider are doing.
👉 Horse + Trainer / Jockey: as the name suggests, this is a column in the race info that shows you what the jockey’s name is, who the trainer is, and what the name of the horse is. You can typically pick out the horse’s name quite easily, as they often have pretty funny names.
👉 Age: the age refers only to the age of the horses. Horses are grouped by their ages, which means you won’t have a 1-year-old horse racing against a 4-year-old horse. This information isn’t going to give you everything you need, but it’s useful data for your bets nonetheless.
👉 Weight: the weight refers to the weight of the jockeys and not the steeds.
👉 Form: the form is represented by a points score next to each horse and rider. The form score takes multiple different factors into account, like the past finishes of the horse and rider, their performances on certain types of tracks, the distance of that race, and more.
👉 Starting Price: essentially, the starting price is whatever the odds will be on a horse the moment a race begins. This differs from fixed odds, as you will keep those odds right until the race starts. The starting price is fluid and can change right up until the race begins.
Covered Races
Betway covers a multitude of races both locally here in SA and internationally as well. You won’t find that you are short on options when it comes to picking races that you fancy on the site. Here are a couple of the major events they cover that we find the most exciting.
Durban July
The Durban July is the pride of KZN and is held annually in the province. It is arguably the biggest horse racing event we have here in SA.
The Met
A race that isn’t far off being as big as the Durban July is The Met held in Cape Town. It boasts an array of compelling races and gives punters plenty of opportunity to place big bets.
Kentucky Derby
One of the most exciting horse racing events in the US that draws crowds from all over the world. Jockeys from around the world test their mettle in this race. It is also the first leg of the famous Triple Crown.
Melbourne Cup
It’s been called the “the race that stops a nation” which should tell you exactly how prestigious this race in Australia is.
Grand National
Held near Liverpool, England, the Grand National is the jewel in the crown of horse racing in the UK.
Available Markets
Before you can truly learn how to bet horses on Betway, you need to appreciate the various markets available to you that you can create your bets with.
👉 Win: this is simply where you bet on a horse that you think is going to win a race outright.
👉 Place: betting on a horse you think will finish in the top 2 or 3.
👉 Each way: this is a two-way bet where you combine the win and place bets. If your horse wins the race, you win both bets, but if it only places in the top 3, you win 1 part of your each-way bet.
👉 Show: this is strictly betting on a horse to finish in the top 3 and is usually only available when the races have larger fields.
There are also various other routes you can take with a trifecta, exacta, quinella, and superfecta. This is essentially when you are betting on the first 2, 3, or 4 horses to finish in a specific order.
Betway Horse Racing Tips for Choosing Winning Horses
To give you a better chance with your horse racing bets at Betway, we have come up with a few tips for you to keep in mind when you get started.
Know the turf
Different horses can perform better on different tracks. Not all tracks are made the same; some are firm underfoot, and some are soft. Some are made of grass, and some are made of dirt. All of these factors contribute to the race outcome. Try to read up on how each horse has performed on certain track types before placing your bets.
Overall form
It’s a good idea for you to have a look at the overall form of the horses and riders coming into an event. If a horse has been performing below their usual standards coming into a race, then you may want to steer clear of betting on them. Conversely, if a horse has come into a race with real momentum, they may be worth taking a punt.
Diversify your bets
Open yourself up to different betting types. You can stick to some of the more straightforward betting types to jeep things sinkhole, but don’t be scared to have a go at something like a quinella or an Acca bet. They are trickier to get right, but their payouts are always higher.
Betway Horse Racing Rules
You will need to understand the rules to know how to bet horses on Betway. There are a ton of rules that you won’t have to worry about, but it’s worthwhile for us to list a couple that could come into play with your everyday bet.
🐴 Dead heats: Betway will payout half of your initial stake if your horse finishes in a dead heat.
🐴 Voided bets: your bets will be voided if a race is postponed due to any reason, such as weather, etc.
🐴 FPP: any bets you place on English or Irish races will be settled based on the First Past the Post ruling.
🐴 Refusal of bets: Betway reserves the right to refuse any bet given to them without having to provide a reason why.
🐴 Withdrawals: if a horse you bet on refuses to race, your bet will be counted as a loss (tough one, we know).
🐴 Faller insurance: if a horse falls or a rider is unseated, Betway will refund your bet. However, if the horse simply pulls up or slips up, your bet will not be refunded.
Special Bonuses for Horse Racing at Betway
There are plenty of riveting promotions at Betway right now, and many of them are specifically related to horse racing betting. Once you know how to bet horses on Betway, you can check out their promo page to see what they offer. A few of our favourite offers include the following:
- Multi-bet winnings boost
- Tax scratch on horse racing betting wins
- Deposit bonuses
1 offers found
Betway Tax Horse Racing
Why choose Betway horse racing South Africa?
For many reasons. The platform covers just about every race you could ever hope to bet on. The site is easy to use, and it offers several various promotions you can claim to boost your horse racing bets.
How to win with horse racing on Betway?
There is no set formula, that is for sure. However, if you put the time in to do some research before every race, you drastically improve your chances of success.
How can I check the Betway horse racing results?
You can take a look at your betting slip if you have placed a bet, or you can head to the horse racing betting section on the Betway platform, where you can find the results of specific races.
Nick is one of our expert sports betting and igaming writers from Cape Town, South Africa. He has a passion for sports, with a real love for football, rugby, and cricket. Keen to test his knowledge of the sports he loved, Nick quickly began to develop an interest in sports betting to see if his understanding of sports was all it was chalked up to be. Needless to say, he found success with his own betting journey and decided to pass on what he had learned by joining our team.