What Is a Horse Racing Futures Bet?

There are horse racing bets at daily live tracks, off-track facilities and online betting sites that are pari-mutuel money pools for each day’s card. There are also horse racing futures bets that you can wager on for a particular event. A horse racing futures bet is a fixed-odds wager that guarantees a rate of return for your investment.

Where to Bet on Horse Racing Online

The futures bet have odds for every major US horse race, such as the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The fixed-odds numbers for a horse are set when you bet on the particular race in the future. You can win your horse bet at the fix-odds number if they finish first in that race.

Advantages for Placing a Horse Racing Futures Bet

One of the primary advantages to bet a horse race is the certainty of a payout. If the horse you bet is going off at 10-to-1 on fixed odds for winning the race, you would receive $10 for every $1 you wager.

Another advantage for placing a fix-odds futures bet on that particular horse for the race is a guaranteed payout of the number. The 10-to-1 odds is set no matter who bets on the horse later or how much they wager on that horse. The fixed-odds number on the horse can go down or up at a later date, but you have it locked in when you place the bet.

The real advantage of betting a horse to win a race at fixed odds is the payout. At 10-to-1 odds, you can guarantee your payout is $10 for every $1 you bet if they finish first. You can even bet the favorite at 1-to-1 odds on the futures price and you can double your money if they win.

Horse Racing Forms Explained

Disadvantages for Placing a Horse Racing Futures Bet

There are some disadvantages to placing horse racing futures bets. The time-delay may be a factor if that particular horse does not run in the race. You can also factor in the delay if the particular horse does not run well to actually win the race.

One of the advantages of pari-mutuel betting on horses races is the horses are guaranteed to be running in the race. A scratch of the horse is noted before the post time of the particular race.

Another disadvantage for futures betting on the horse race is the numbers go higher than the fixed-odds price. You may have fixed odds at 5-to-1 on a horse in a futures bet and the pari-mutuel odds at post time are set at 10-to-1. If this horse wins the race, you would miss out on lots of profit.

Horse Racing Betting Tips

The Biggest Events Feature Horse Racing Futures Bets

The Triple Crown series each spring and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in early November are a few of the biggest American horse racing events that feature futures bets. Pari-mutuel betting is a common practice at daily horse tracks across the US and Canada, but American horse racing futures odds are highlighted in online sportsbooks.

The fixed odds for futures betting at horse tracks is worldwide, especially in the UK and Europe. There is something about futures odds for horse racing that is appealing to sports betting fans all over the world.