💻 Operator | William Hill | bet365 | BoyleSports | Unibet | BetGoodwin | Fitzdares | Ladbrokes | Betfred | BetVictor | Betway |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
🏇 Horse Racing Coverage | Excellent: All over the world | Excellent: All over the world | Excellent: All over the world | Excellent: All over the world | Excellent: All over the world | Excellent: All over the world | Very good: Most countries | Limited: Some countries missing | Very good: Most countries | Very good: Most countries |
📺 Horse Racing Streaming | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
🕰️ Best Odds Guaranteed Time | From 10 am | From 8 am | From 8 am | From 9 am | From 10 am | From 9 am | From 8 am | From 8 am | From 9 am | From 9 am |
🤝 Tote Betting | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
👉 Visit Site | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie | Join Bookie |
Below, we have ranked and reviewed the UK betting sites that we believe to be the best for horse racing betting. A list like this will always be subjective, of course, but we have relied on some key factors in our assessments.
William Hill is synonymous with horse racing betting in many ways and it is hardly a surprise to see the bookmaker in the No.1 spot here. Most punters would consider it a contender for various sports but when it comes to horse racing, William Hill has the edge that it lacks with sports such as football.
The coverage is incredibly comprehensive with meetings from all over the world, and not just UK as well as Ireland. Plenty of ante-post markets are offered, well in advance we should add, and the biggest perk is undoubtedly the streaming service. Thanks to Betting TV and Racing TV, as they are called, more or less all races can be watched (some completely for free).
Best odds guaranteed is offered by William Hill from 10 am on the day of the race, which is slightly later than a few other bookies, but still good enough. Extra places are offered frequently and there are also other promotions such as non-runner refunds, so there can be ni complaints here.
Overall, William Hill is a very solid choice for the sport of kings and above all, we would say this is thanks to the streaming. The fact that some races are available completely for free, without having to place a bet, is a huge perk.
If we had to pick one betting site to use for all sports, it would definitely be bet365 but while it might be unrivalled on the overall front, it is a close second for horse racing. Everything depends on what features you prioritise, of course, but second place in a list of ten great bookies should not be played down either.
The coverage is just as good as William Hill's, offering races and meetings from all ends of the world, and the ante-post selection leaves nothing to be desired. Streaming is also available on the site but only on a bet-on-race basis, meaning there are no free races as can be found on William Hill.
Best odds guaranteed is available from 8 am on the day of qualifying races, which is better than William Hill, and there is also a brilliant 'My Stable' feature. This allows you to follow the progress of certain races. Extra places are offered frequently and there is even an each-way extra promotion, meaning punters can increase/decrease the number of places.
In short, many punters would consider bet365 to be just as strong as William Hill and we actually agree. But one needed to be crowned as the winner and thanks to the free streaming, we chose the latter bookie.
BoyleSports is not the biggest betting site in the UK, nor is it the most well-known, but it is fantastic for those who like to bet on horse racing. It only entered the UK market in 2019 after experiencing great success in Ireland and, therefore, while some might it to be a 'new' site still, it comes with a great foundation.
Races from all over the world can be found on the site, such as Italy and the USA, and streaming is offered for a large selection of these. The latter is available on a bet-on-race basis, as is the case on most sites, and the ante-post offering is fully stocked with options. No complaints on the coverage front, in other words.
As for best odds guaranteed, it is available from 8 am on the day of the race - just like bet365 - and this is great news. Promotions are not lacking either with several money-back deals such as if your horse does not start or if it finishes second to the SP favourite. All of this makes BoyleSports a brilliant bookie for horse racing.
Unibet has been at the forefront of most online betting innovations for quite some time, alongside bet365 on most fronts, but it has undoubtedly fallen a bit behind in the UK market. This has mainly been due to promotions, but the bookie has improved a lot lately, especially on the horse racing front.
We have zero complaints about the coverage as the site has great coverage from all over the world. Racing even has its own section alongside 'Sports' and 'Casino', so not just a sub-section. Streaming is offered for most of the races (bet to watch) and the ante-post selection is very good too.
Best odds guaranteed is available from 9 am on the day of the race and there are many good promotions aside from this. Our favourite, without a doubt, is the Uniboost promotion as punters can boost whatever selection they like once a day. Boost are also boosted regularly and there are money-back deals too.
BetGoodwin, or rather Goodwin Racing, has a long history in the horse racing industry and the brand is thus now new for most punters. However, the site is as the bookmaker launched it back in 2021, teaming up with FSB Technology for the sportsbook. It is a very similar journey to Fitzdares which is No.6 on this list.
In any case, the FSB-backing means that punters can have few complaints about what is offered in the horse racing section. From the comprehensive meetings to the ante-post coverage, it has everything that most horse racing punters will need and on top of that, live streaming is offered for most events (bet to watch).
Best odds guaranteed is offered from 10 am on the site, on the day of the race, and there are some very good promotions offered for the sport of kings. First past the post is one example, beaten by the nose is another and so on. The fact that the bookie is so horse racing-focused is something we like a lot.
Fizdares has been around for almost 20 years and is known among most horse racing punters, at least those who have placed bets in person before. Indeed, the bookmaker has a few 'betting clubs' in the country that are considered more exclusive but in 2018, the online version was launched.
FSB Technology is the sportsbook provider and this means that the coverage is rather impressive, and it does not look like a new betting site. A wide selection of races are offered by Fitzdares, most with live streaming as well (pay to watch) and the ante-post section is very comprehensive too.
Since Fitzdares has such a long history in horse racing, some good promotions are offered and best odds guaranteed is available for select customers (though the application is easy). It is available from 9 am on the day of the race and there are also extra places offered for some races.
Ladbrokes needs no introduction, being one of the oldest betting brands in the country, and any punter who signs up will surely be expecting a high standard across the board. That is indeed the case, with the bookie known for being a go-to option for all sports and not just one niche.
The coverage is very comprehensive on the site, as has become a theme among the top bookies on this list, and the races are displayed in a decent way. Live streaming is offered for most races as long as you place a bet on the one you want to watch, while the ante-post section has most of what you could be looking for.
Best odds guaranteed is available from 8 am every day and Ladbrokes also offered extra places for most of the races. Just like bet365, Ladbrokes also offers the option to create a stable and follow the horses of interest to you. There could have been a few more promotions, though, hence the position here.
Betfred is another heavyweight in the gambling industry and it is probably a bookie that many punters use as their main one. We cannot argue with the latter, considering the versatility, but it can still improve a bit on the horse racing front. Let's delve into the pros and cons of the bookmaker.
First of all, the coverage is not at all what we have seen on other sites. Only UK and Irish races are listed and while this is enough for many punters, you simply cannot get a high position on this list with that. It seems that there are more countries offered, but these are not super easy to find and that is no good.
Live is offered on a bet-to-watch basis and best odds guaranteed is offered from 8 am on the day of the race. There are some other good promotions too, such as extra places and money-back deals, so it is quite a shame that Betfred does not have a better coverage. Or at least it could do a better job displaying the wide range.
BetVictor has fallen in our eyes in recent years, unfortunately, due to rising betting margins and the removal of some key payment methods (PayPal). Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact that the bookie is very comprehensive for most sports, and that goes for horse racing as well.
A decent selection of races is offered, though not as good as the best bookies on this list, and the ante-post section has the big events available well in advance. Live streaming is offered and much to our surprise, a funded account is enough to access some of the races, which is better than a few others on this list.
Bet boosts are regularly offered and the lucky dip option is also available. Best odds guaranteed is offered from 9 am on the day of the race and there is another money-back promotion which could come in handy. Overall, BetVictor is no doubt a solid option but not among the best.
Betway has a lot of work to do in terms of its design, let's just get that out there immediately, and this affects the horse racing experience a lot. As for the core features, though, Betway is still a decent option for the king of sports. Not to mention that the bookmaker is very established and provides a layer of safety in that sense.
We do not have many complaints about the coverage, with meetings from all over the world, and the ante-post section has more or less everything you could want. Streaming is also offered for most races (bet to watch) and coming back to the design, the races are at least displayed in an acceptable manner.
Best odds guaranteed is available and although the time was not stated on the official site, it seems to be available from 9 am on the day of the race. Some other promotions are also available, including the free bets clubs, but Betway would certainly not be our first choice for betting on horse racing.
Although most of the factors have been highlighted and discussed already, below are the main ones that we used to determine the best horse racing bookies...
It goes without saying that the coverage, i.e. how many meetings and races are offered, is the most important thing when picking the best horse racing bookmaker. While some punters will be happy to just have UK and Irish races available, the best sites offer anything from Italian to Australian races these days.
In addition to which races are offered, we also take a look at the ante-post coverage and how early markets are priced up for the big events. Ante-post betting is very popular among horse racing punters and the last thing you want is to not be able to place the bet you have in mind.
Streaming has become more or less standard practice for horse racing betting sites, often offered on a so-called bet-to-watch basis. William Hill is one of the few that also offers free live streaming for select races and this is something we appreciate a lot, even if most punters who want to watch a race also have usually have a bet on it anyway.
In any case, since streaming has become so common among the bookies, we must look at how many races have the feature, if some of them are for free and what the interface looks like when the stream is up and running.
Promotions are a great thing for all sports, not just horse racing, and they can say a lot about a betting site's intentions and how seriously it takes its customers. Indeed, we would all choose a betting site that offers a decent amount of promotions over a site that does not have any, so it becomes an important factor.
Best odds guaranteed is the one that comes to mind first for most punters and although the promotion itself is standard, when it applies differs from site to site. This, along with the rest of the promotions available, is something we looked into and factored into our verdict of the best horse racing bookies.
Finally, and which goes without saying, the reputation of a betting site matters a lot and this is something we took into consideration above all at the start of the process. Because after all, the sites on our top 10 list all have good reputations as bookmakers. In this case, though, we also gave extra appreciation to the bookies that have a reputation for focusing on horse racing, such as BetGoodwin and Fitzdares.
Horse racing is a popular sport worldwide, boasting fun-filled meetings and a massive gambling community. These are the top 10 popular horse racing events in the UK and worldwide.
The Royal Ascot: This famous event goes down in June every year. It is a British social sporting occasion that receives various top-class guests, including Royal families. The dress code for this festivity is specific, featuring suits, hats, and the finest dresses and corsets. The tickets are not easy to come by, but you are free to stream the races live and place bets.
The Grand National: Featuring 30 fences, the Grand National attracts over 600 million viewers in-person and on tv. It is an iconic steeplechase competition that has been taking place since 1839. The racecourse is welcoming, including several hospitality tents, restaurants, and nightly festivities.
Unlike the Royal Ascot, anyone can get tickets to the Grand National for as little as £57. However, you have to book your entry well in advance because the thrill of this jump race attracts many people.
Cheltenham Festival: Dating back to the 1860s, The Cheltenham Festival is among the UK's oldest and most prestigious horse racing events. This annual competition runs for 4 days, usually in March, at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire.
There are usually about 30 races in the event, providing a huge betting opportunity. The Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle are especially considered the most prestigious hurdle and chase horses worldwide.
Kentucky Derby: One of the most popular sporting events in the United States, the Kentucky Derby, has made its mark in the world of sports. It has a prize purse of $5 million. The competition dates back to 1875. It takes place on the first Saturday of May at the Churchill Downs Racetrack, Louisville. Among the most competitive races on this track is the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred. It has been crowned the “greatest 2 minutes” of sports action.
Dubai World Cup Carnival: Some have argued this is the biggest horse racing meeting in the world. It began in 1996 and quickly made the UAE one of the top destinations for horse racing fans. The top perk of the event is its jaw-dropping $12 million prize purse. It is known to be the richest meeting in the world.
Racers stream to the city every year from January to March, during which race events run throughout. That is three months of intense horse racing action for participants, bettors, and other enthusiasts.
Isak is an experienced content writer with a background in sports journalism. Having focused mainly on football in the past, he is certainly familiar with the betting industry and what makes a good operator. On BettingGuide UK, Isak writes reviews and other content while making sure that the site is up to date.