Horse racing is a legacy from our British colonial past. The first racecourse was built in 1777 at Guindy in Madras (now Chennai) which is now controlled by the Madras Race Club. We now have numerous racecourses spread across the country. Players who love sports betting in India tend to prefer Cricket and Football, but of late Horse Racing is rapidly gaining traction too!
Until recently, punters accidentally spotted the horse racing tab on sports betting sites, but now a huge fraction of online bettors register on sites purely to bet on their favourite horse.
In this article, we will explore all aspects of horse race betting, as well as a few of the best sites in India to do just that!
Indian Horse Racing Legality
Since 1996, the Supreme Court ruled horse racing as a skill-based game – which made it legal besides the implications of the 1888 Police Act or the 1930 Gaming Act.
The Turf Authorities in India manage 9 racecourses and numerous events take place in these. Land-based bookmakers mostly exploit these markets though. Nonetheless, Indian players can now bet on horse racing events taking place all over the world, through online betting websites.
Betway is one of these horse racing betting sites that is licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission and it operates within the Indian market. Currently, it offers horse racing betting options both live and before the event. We suggest that you prefer the latter, as you can also live stream and see the action live.
Horse Betting Online in India
Since online gambling is so popular today, we will focus primarily on this category.
For an Indian player to register and bet on a horse racing event online, things are very easy today. Check below the step-by-step procedure you need to follow to get there:
- Find a regulated and licensed sports betting site online
- Make sure that it accepts bets on horse racing events
- Register and verify your account
- Read the welcome offers carefully before depositing
- Deposit money in Indian Rupees
- Place your bets
If these steps seem too much trouble, we suggest that you join Dafabet. This site is licensed by the Philippines Government and is available to Indian players. It accepts Indian Rupees in deposits through various payment methods.
It has a whole tab dedicated to horse racing betting, accommodating all the major horse racing events from around the world in one place. Lastly, the deposit bonus for sports at Dafabet is much higher as compared to the match bonuses most other sites offer. Do check the website and pick the welcome bonus of your choice.
Betting on a Live Horse Race in India
If you are wondering what bets are available on horse races online, we got you covered.
Win – this is the most obvious betting option; players here try to guess the horse that will win the race.
Forecast – this terminology refers to the bet that tries to guess the winner and the horse that will finish straight after.
Quinella – this is the same bet as the forecast, but it is a winning bet despite which of the two horses finishes first.
Place – this betting option requires the picks to finish amongst the first three places in races that include 8 to 11 runners. If the runners are fewer than that it wins if the choices end in the first or second position; if there are more than 11 runners – the 4th position is also a winner.
SHP – this bet wins if the choice finishes up 2nd place.
Jackpot – jackpot win is achieved if the player predicts the winners of 5 different races accurately. If the player misses one, they still get a percentage of the jackpot prize.
Super Jackpot – Six winners guessed correctly will pay the super jackpot prize. As in the previous category, picking the 5/6 correctly still pays a considerable sum.
Each website might offer its own betting options. Bettors from India will find the best possible betting options and rates on Betway. It is a solid sports betting site, offering the biggest variety in sports – including numerous horse racing events.
Am I ready to start online Horse Race Betting?
In this article, we tried to highlight the rise of horse racing online betting in India in the past years, as well as some of the best sites to play.
The bets we outlined above are apparent in most major sites, so these should be more than enough to get you started. Nonetheless, if you pick another site for your betting experience, make sure to cross-check that it is a legal and regulated website offering competitive odds.
Tip: It is not necessary that the favourite horse wins the race, so do study all the parameters which are available for the race like the form, weight, jockey, course, track conditions, layoffs, and more.
