Betting and horse racing go together like a hand in a glove. Champion horses have raced in Ireland for over a century, and Irish bettors have always loved placing wagers on the outcome.
Today, horse races occur daily with Flat and National Hunt cards readily available. Ireland is home to huge racetracks like Punchestown, the Curragh, and Leopardstown, where 10% of the population eagerly place bets weekly.
Ireland has become so adept at raising thoroughbred horses that they regularly compete in major UK race events like the Cheltenham Festival and the Aintree Grand National Festival. Still, many prominent horseracing events occur in Ireland each weekend.
Major Irish racing bookmakers cover each racing event in the country, giving Irish bettors plenty of wagering options.
Why is Irish Horse Race Betting so Popular?
Ireland has been racing horses for over a century.
The country is fortunate to have a large amount of rural flatland and a temperate climate, making Ireland one of the best locations in the world to build racetracks and training facilities for breeding thoroughbred horses for racing.
Breeding horses is a massive industry for the country and a significant contributor to its economy. Many thoroughbred racehorses come from Ireland because Irish breeders are renowned for their expertise in raising champions.
Horse Racing Events
Every year there are major horse racing competitions taking place globally. Betting enthusiasts will crisscross nations and travel worldwide to participate in the events.
Less affluent bettors follow the games online, happily placing their bets over the Internet, and live stream the events since they can’t attend in person. Those events include the Aintree Grand National, Cheltenham Festival, Melbourne Cup, Galway Races, and many others.
How To Bet on an Online Horse Race
Your first order of business is to select a racing bookmaker where you want to place your bets, register with the site and open a betting account. Once confirmed and funded, you’re ready to place your first online bet.
When reviewing horses participating in a particular race, you click the price link for the horse your bookmaker posted, and you’ll be whisked away to the page where you place the bet and authorize your payment method to complete the transaction.
Bookmakers will typically give you a choice when placing your bet of immediately taking the price offered on the web page or opting for the starting price (SP). In addition, some bookmakers will provide you with the Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) as a concession.
When you accept a BOG concession, you’re taking the current price shown on the page, and if your horse wins, you’ll be paid the SP price if it’s higher than the price shown when you placed your bet.
More information about placing a bet with a specific bookmaker can be found on their website with complete details of the betting terminology they use so that you understand the process entirely.
Conclusion
You can find top-notch betting services with many bookmakers accepting bets online when wagering on horse races in Ireland. When betting on Irish horse racing events, you must keep a sharp eye out for BOG opportunities.
Those concessions allow you to take early prices when a horse and be confident that you’ll be paid the rate at the starting price if you’re lucky enough to have your horse finish with a heftier price than what you took when you placed your bet.
Also, if it’s your first time placing a bet with that bookie, there’s a good chance you can claim a free bet offer or some other welcome bonus as a newcomer to bolster your odds of coming away for winter or enhancing your winnings with the bonus.