Horse Racing Betting in India
Almost synonymous with the betting itself, horse racing is a true phenomenon. For at least a few thousand years, races with powerful steeds have captivated the attention of racers, spectators, and bettors around the entire globe – including, of course, India. Tapping into a rich colonial heritage, some might say that Indians perfected both races and betting on horse racing! A true representative of a higher class of entertainment, this spectacular sport has deep roots in tradition, risk, and honesty, attracting bettors to bookmakers in both brick-and-mortar establishments and the best horse racing betting sites.
At the helm of the latter is MelBet – one of the most popular and advanced sports betting and e-gaming services in India, hosting a wide selection of bets for racing enthusiasts! From the most popular derbys in the world to local Indian tracks, flat and jump events, and more are at home here at MelBet. With us, you can bet on horse racing in India legally – we are an official betting establishment under a Curacao Egaming License No. 8048/JAZ2020-060, offering our patrons the opportunity to take advantage of wagering on horse races at dedicated tracks.
But before placing your first bet on a winning steed, we invite you to check out our detailed horse racing betting guide on how to wager and win at horse racing stakes in India properly. We’ll explain every detail of placing a bet and collecting your winnings at our online betting platform, delve deep into the lingo and numbers connected with horse racing to teach you to understand the odds and use them to maximize your advantage and recount some of the most popular bets, strategies and bonuses to utilize for the efficient betting on the horse racing. Ultimately, we’ll answer the most popular questions about proper horse racing betting online and teach you how to avoid the most common mistakes. Let’s start!
How to Bet on Horse Racing: A Beginner’s Guide
Whether you’re a complete novice in online horse racing betting or a gritty professional who has only now found the best betting tool at MelBet, check out our short how-to-start guide to efficiently and quickly start your betting journey on our platform.
Sign up. The easiest part of all – create your MelBet account by clicking on the “Registration” button at the website’s top. Regardless of the registration method you choose, the signup process won’t take longer than a minute. Don’t forget to select the sports betting bonus to take full advantage of it later on!
Make your first deposit. Once registered, click on the Deposit button next to your profile’s icon and choose from dozens of available payment methods. It will serve as your bankroll for future stakes.
Verify your profile to ensure you can withdraw your winnings later on. To do so, go to the verification tab on your profile and confirm your age and contact information.
Find and choose a race. First, find the betting horse racing section on the left side menu. Then, select any event you’d like and review the participants.
Now, you can pick a horse to bet on. You can check the detailed odds next to each steed’s name, and review their performance in our “Statistics and Results” section.
Choose your bet type (only available for the major events) and amount. You can choose any sum, but we’d recommend never betting more than 5% of your total bankroll.
Click on the odds to add them to your betting slip. It should look like this – first sum, then the horse’s name, its number, and the name of the race.
Confirm your betting slip with the button below and wait for the results to go live!
For select events, we offer a live video feed, allowing you to watch the race, cheer for your horse, and take notes on its performance for future bets. Alternatively, you may bet live – the procedure is the same, but it occurs as the race is underway.
Initially, we recommend placing only the basic bets on winning or an each-way bet, allowing you to predict that the horse might not be the first to finish, but among the fastest on the day at the track. Later, as you’ve gathered enough experience and learned which events qualify for advanced betting systems, you may try the more exotic wagers.
Understanding Horse Racing Odds: A Simple Breakdown
Not only are the odds used to demonstrate how much you’ll win if your wager comes through, but also how high (or low) the chances of winning each participating horse are. Of course, it’s always according to the bookmakers, and the trick is to find value bets, allowing players to go over, but more on that later. Now, let's discuss the three main types of odds you’ll find after you log in to MelBet.
Decimal odds: the default format at MelBet and the most common type across Europe and Asia. They are always shown as decimal numbers, e.g., 1.25, 3.50, and so on. The fewer they are, the more likely the horse is to win, and, accordingly, the less is your payout. Calculating it is easy – multiply your stake by the odds. For example, betting ₹1000 on a horse with a 2.5 horse racing betting odds yields a ₹2500 prize. In contrast with other systems, decimal odds show you the entire winnings without differentiating between the prize itself and your original bet – you get everything together.
Fractional odds are the most popular across the United Kingdom and the (ex) Commonwealth, including India. Represented as a fraction with two sides – ½, for example. This way of writing down odds shows winnings in relation to your original stake: an example would be odds of 5/1 and 1/5. Betting on a 1/5 stake means you’re betting on a favorite, and you’ll win ⅕ of your wager – ₹200 from a ₹1000 stake, for instance. 5/1, on the other hand, means that by betting ₹1000, you will potentially win five times more – ₹5000, but the chances of that are, of course, slim.
American odds are usually used in the United States and by US-based sportsbooks. They are the most unintuitive ones and use a plus and minus sign to indicate favorites and underdogs, usually with a multiplier of 100. Betting on a +250 chance means you’ll win ₹250 when betting ₹100 (and 500, if betting 200, and so on) – this indicates that bookmakers think of this horse as an unlikely victor. If you see a minus symbol, that means you’re betting on a favorite, and your odds indicate how much you need to bet to make the default hundred – ₹250 to win ₹100 on a -250 odds.
At MelBet, you may select the odds format yourself. To do so, click on the settings button above the betting slip in the upper right side of the screen and select the format you prefer. Remember that the decimal format is enabled by default, so if you want to switch to a fractional format, which is more popular among horse racing betting sites in India, do it manually.
Top Horse Racing Events for Indian Bettors
Our wide selection of horse racing online betting events features every single race you can think of, and then some! But, first, here are some of the key terms you ought to remember and types of racing to distinguish between. Two of the most significant types of events to wager on are flat and jump races.
Flat races are held on flat ground without any obstacles – a pure competition of speed. Keep in mind that if a race is called a derby, it will most likely be a flat one. Flats are the most popular local events in India – almost every city has its derby, and these competitions are usually built around flat racing.
Much more popular in Britain, jump races are held over longer distances, aren’t as fast, but feature multiple obstacles horses have to jump over in order to proceed.
At MelBet, as it’s one of the most popular new horse racing betting sites, we feature a mixture of events from both India and across the globe. Major Indian racing events only allow Indian-bred horses and include:
Indian Derby (Mumbai) – the most prestigious racing event in India, this flat race happens annually at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. The entire course is about a mile and a half long, and the steeds compete there every February. Winning the Indian Derby is considered one of the greatest honors in the horse racing world, but it’s not the only reason to participate – winners receive ₹10.000.000 as a reward!
Bangalore Derby (Bengaluru) – It has almost the same rules as the Indian Derby and can compete with it in the prestige level and overall popularity: same course a mile and a half long, the same requirement only for four-year-old Indian horses to compete, and the same excitement generated by yet another big event in the winter – this time in January.
Calcutta Derby (Kolkata) – a traditional competition with almost two hundred years of history, the derby in Kolkata is held in December and marks the start of the season for the three biggest races, followed shortly by events in Bengaluru and Mumbai. The best place to start your horse racing betting India journey, as the stakes aren’t quite as high as following events, but the prestige level is unmatched.
However, if you want to explore far-off lands and their racing traditions, join MelBet and explore our tremendous selection of international racing events, including:
Grand National (Aintree, UK) – In contrast to India’s (and the US) love for derbys, the biggest race in the United Kingdom is a jump competition – and it’s the biggest one in the world. Held annually in a Merseyside country, next to Liverpool, it involves a racing course around four miles long and thirty hurdles of fences along the way. It takes place each spring and is known for its difficulty and large fields. The long jump races are a perfect fit for anyone learning how to bet on horse racing: the distance to conquer, along with obstacles, make each run unforgettable and unpredictable – an ideal chance to beat the bookmakers!
American Triple Crown: Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, and most of all, the Kentucky Derby, are the most significant horse racing events in the world, especially the latter. Held in Louisville, Kentucky, each May, this race will be a perfect fit for Indian bettors – the rules are similar to those in India and Bangalore derbies, and the run is also a mile and a half, with the difference, of course, being the stakes. Winners of the Kentucky Derby earn the biggest paychecks in the world, and the title of a Triple Crown (winning all three events in one year) is almost unbelievable and has been won only by about a dozen horses.
Melbourne Cup – the largest horse race in Australia, famous for its “the race that stops a nation” nickname – is so extraordinarily popular that the day it is held has become an official holiday in the state of Victoria since 1876. Compared to other popular derbys, Melbourne Cup’s distance is a quarter larger – full two miles, which makes it one of the most challenging races on our list.
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FAQ - Horse Racing Betting in India
How do I bet on horse racing online?
You sign up or log in to MelBet, deposit funds to your account to make a bet, pick a race and a horse, and place your wager!
What is the difference between a win and an each-way bet?
Win is a standard bet – you choose a horse and place a wager predicting its victory in the race, which you lose if it comes even second. An each-way bet is far more relaxing – you win if the horse finishes in first or second place (or a third, but not in all races.)
How do I place a bet on horse racing in India?
To do so, you have to log in to your MelBet account. Then, choose horse racing from the menu on the right. Scroll through the upcoming events, or use the search to find the exact one you’re interested in. Once you find the race you’ve been looking for, click on the horse’s name with the odds next to it to add it to your betting slip. The more important the event, the more markets and types of bets are available!