Horse Racing

Here at betFIRST, horse racing is one of the most popular sports you can bet on. Across Europe, horse racing has proven itself to be one of the most thrilling sports across the continent and we pride ourselves on being able to offer the best horse racing online bets available. From midweek meetings to all the big races, betFIRST is where it is at for all the biggest and best horse racing odds!

The origins of Horse Racing

Horse racing goes as far back as the 12th century, when English knights returned from battles with Arabian horses, who were swift and strong. Over the course of the next 400 years, a huge number of Arabian stallions were imported to the UK for breeding purposes in order to produce horses who had two key components needed for racing – speed and stamina.

You can go back even further in history to find out where the origins of horse racing lies. Records from thousands of years ago indicate that horse racing may have occurred in ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Rome, Babylon and Syria.

In Rome, their spring carnival was a hugely popular event from the 1450s until 1882, when it stopped. However, every year, the spring carnival ended in a horse race. Fifteen to 20 horses with no jockeys would be set loose on one of Rome’s famous straight streets. The race would normally last for about two to three minutes.

Along with horse racing, chariot racing was also popular in Roman times and ancient Greece. Chariot racing also belonged in the ancient Greek Olympics but was deemed extremely dangerous to horse and rider.

Horse Racing in the modern day

In the UK, there are five Classics associated with the Flat Horse Racing season. These are the St Leger, Derby, Oaks, 1000 Guineas and 2000 Guineas. The St Leger is the oldest of these, dating back to 1776 with the Derby being first run in 1780.

Other notable horse races in Britain include the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Ascot Gold Cup, Eclipse Stakes, King George VI Stakes, Champions Hurdle and Champion Chase.

However, the most famous race of all is the Grand National. Run at Aintree in Liverpool every April, this gruelling test is the most revered in horse racing. Over four and a half miles and 30 fences, this race is not for the faint-hearted!

In Europe, the Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe is the jewel in the crown. Run at Longchamp, Paris, on the first Sunday in October, it normally sees the best middle-distance flat horses in the world do battle of a mile and a half.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the Breeders Cup is run every November. This meeting is held over two days and pits the best horses from Europe against the best from the USA. Along with this brilliant horse racing event, there is the American Triple Crown. This takes in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Preakness Stakes. Only 13 horses have won the Triple Crown in history.

Some of the best horse racing jockeys in the world on the Flat include Frankie Dettori, Joel Rosario, Ryan Moore, Christophe Lemaire, John Velazquez and William Buick.

Over the jumps, the best jockeys in the world are Harry Skelton, Paul Townend, Rachael Blackmore, Bryan Hughes and Sam Twiston-Davies.

Horse Racing Betting

Horse racing is an incredibly easy sport to bet on and to navigate across our fantastic betFIRST site. There are numerous ways to bet on horse racing. The most basic way to do this is to pick a winner and pick whatever stake would like to place on this. However, there are other ways to win at horse racing with betFIRST!

You can also back a horse each-way. This means that, depending on the number of runners, your horse could finish in the first four or five in the field and you would still be able to win more than your stake.

Other ways to win on horse racing include doubles or trebles. A double in horse racing means betting on two horses to win and a treble is betting on three horses to win. From a small stake, this could give you an extremely big payout but if one of those horses lose, then the bet fails.

Tricasts and forecasts are also extremely popular in the world of betting on betFIRST. Tricasts are bets where you attempt to pick out the correct first, second and third in a race finishing in the exact order that you have picked them. Forecasts are slightly easier as you only have to pick the first two horses to finish in the correct order but these offer a multitude of options to the bettor. How does that sound? Horse racing is made simple at betFIRST!

Greyhound Racing

At betFIRST, we are now offering the very best that greyhound racing has to offer! We provide the very best information when it comes to betting on greyhounds. Greyhound racing betting has never been easier when it comes to looking on our betFIRST site at the best greyhound dog racing tips. Read on for more information on greyhound racing odds and greyhound racing betting!

Greyhound Racing Odds

Greyhound racing is a very interesting sport to place a bet on. There are only six runners maximum in a greyhound racing event but the races are usually very competitive. There are many different ways to place bets on greyhound and greyhound racing odds are readily available on our betFIRST site. You can visit our greyhound racing page and take a look at the odds we have to offer. There is usually greyhound racing everyday so betting on greyhounds is very active at betFIRST. The biggest greyhound racing odds event is the Greyhound Derby which is held in June. This is the biggest race in the greyhound racing calendar and there are the best greyhound dog racing tips for all the races listed. The UK and Ireland hold many greyhound racing meetings and the odds change hourly depending on whether many bets have been placed on a particular race. It takes a similar format to horse racing where you can bet and check the greyhound racing odds online. You can fix your odds when you bet so they don’t change or you could place a bet and the odds of that particular greyhound could shorten or lengthen depending on the confidence of the punters and how much money has been staked.

Greyhound Racing Betting

Greyhound racing betting is really easy and straightforward. With just six dogs taking part per race, picking a winner isn’t the most arduous task in the world! However, there are another couple of ways that you could increase your winnings. Forecasts and tricasts are the best way to bet on greyhound racing as it allows you to win a big chunk of money from a relatively small stake. This is gives you even more interest in the race itself as you aren’t just relying on picking a winner. You can also keep an eye on where other dogs are finishing! Forecasts are slightly easier than tricasts. The aim is to pick the winner and then pick the dog that finishes second in any greyhound racing race. If you pick trap one and then trap two to finish second and that comes in, you could be in for a big win. However, if you pick trap one (the correct winner) and trap three finishes second, then you won’t win anything at all. It is a more risky strategy but gives you a sense of excitement that you get with this type of greyhound racing betting. Tricasts are even trickier to predict. You need to pick the first three dogs to finish past the post. Like a forecast, if one dog lets you down but the other two dogs finish in the correct positions, you still lose and win nothing. However, if the tricast is successful, then even from a small stake, the winnings could be absolutely massive!

Greyhound Racing History

Greyhound racing can pinpoint its origins to a pastime called coursing, which is the practice of dogs chasing game by sight, which is what happens in greyhound racing when the dogs chase a mechanical hare around the track. Greyhound racing in Britain is almost 100 years old. The first known race in the British Isles was in 1926 when the hare was developed and introduced to the country. The following year, betting and greyhound racing associations were set up in conjunction with each other and in 1927, the first greyhound racing meeting took place at Manchester’s Belle Vue stadium. Greyhound racing was predominantly a working-class sport and received a real boom after the Second World War. The popularity of the sport declined in the 1960 and 70s and now the Greyhound Derby is the only race in the sport with any real pull. Currently, there are 20 active greyhound racing tracks in the UK and three independent ones. Greyhounds often retire at the tender age of six after just a two-year racing career. Famous greyhounds who have won the Greyhound Derby include Mick the Miller and Westmead Hawk whilst Ballyregan Bob and Scurlogue Champ are two of the greatest greyhounds in history, breaking numerous world record across all sorts of distances. Today, greyhound racing is nowhere near as popular as it once was but it still offers a competitive way to bet on sport.