If you are thinking of placing a horse racing bet, perhaps for the first time, then it can all be rather confusing. There are lots of horses to choose form, you can bet on a win or place and then the bookmakers have their odds. These show what chance they think the horse has of winning. They set the odds initially and then change them according to what people are betting. This means that they can change right up until the race starts. The favourite is the horse that is expected to win. However, there are many people that choose not to bet on the favourite for a number of different reasons.
The Favourite Never wins
There are many people that say that the favourite never wins. This is not true, of course, the favourite does win at times but it does not win every time. This is due to the unpredictability of horse racing and no one is completely sure of the horses form, course conditions and how they will race at that specific time. However, if you look up the statistics online you will see some reports that favourites win around 59% of the time, although this could be different depending on who calculates the figures and which ones they take into consideration. However, you can see that you are more likely to win if you place a bet on the favourite than if you do not but it is by a very narrow margin. It may not be as obvious choice as you might think.
The Return is Lower on the Favourite
The odds on the favourite are always the least favourable. This is because the bookmaker wants to make sure that they do not have to pay out too much if it wins. Therefore if you bet on it, you will get less back if it wins, than you would had you bet on a horse that was not the favourite and that one had won. It all comes down to whether you would rather have an increased chance of any sort of win, therefore bet on the favourite or whether you would rather have a larger win and therefore bet on any other horse.
Betting on the Favourite is Unexciting
The favourite is expected to win and therefore betting on them can be rather dull. You will already think that you will win the bet. However, betting on any other horse will make it all rather more exciting. You know that there is a lower chance of it winning and therefore you will want to watch the race closely and see what happens. It is likely to cause you to feel more anxious about the result which can make it all far more exciting than if you think that you already know the result. Your friends and family may also think that you are a bit boring for making this choice. If you are with them when you bet, they will probably encourage you to be more adventurous.