Horse racing is a hugely popular sport, especially when it comes to betting. And, in each race, there is going to be a runner that is classed as the favourite, which means it’s the horse that is expected to win. But, just how often does the favourite come up trumps in the racing results?
What you’d automatically assume where horse racing betting is concerned is that favourites, or at the least second favourites, are the horses you’re going to see as winners when the horse racing results are announced. However, what if we told you that the favourite usually wins around 30-35% of the time?
Of course, that’s still a fair amount of races won by the favourite. It’s a third there or thereabouts. But some would likely have expected favourites to be successful closer to the 50% mark perhaps; however, it’s just not the case, as proven by horse racing results.
Alongside the favourite in the race, there will also be the second favourite, which is essentially the horse expected to challenge the favourite, and if the latter doesn’t win, it should come out on top. In the case of the second favourite, this will win 18-21% of the time, so you could argue that around half of races will see the favourite or the second favourite triumphant. But it’s doubtful that bettors will back both, and there will be a belief that the favourite stands a better chance, even though the odds will be shorter.
If the favourite in a race is expected to win approximately a third of the time, the question you could ask is how often does a favourite place? Because, let’s face it, the percentage should rocket up from 30-35% to a much higher figure, especially where races with smaller fields are concerned.
When you break the numbers down, it’s expected that from every 100 races, the favourite will cross the finish line first in roughly 30 of them. But, for a horse that is declared as the favourite in the betting to place, this feat will occur in around 60 out of 100 races. Bettors will effectively be seeing their chances of success double if horse racing results that document this are to be believed. But, of course, there are natural drawbacks that will come with the apparent positive of having more chance of winning.
For example, in horse racing, the favourite is always the shortest price in the selection, which means the odds are smaller, and, therefore, the returns will be smaller, too. People will also have to bet more to win less than they would by placing a small wager on a big-price outsider.
Bettors will essentially be staking on an each-way bet to back a runner to place in horse race betting. This means their bet will pay out if the horse they’ve wagered on wins or places. But, for this bet to be struck, it’s worth noting that it’s essentially two bets in one and a bigger stake. A £10 single on a horse will cost £10, whereas a £10 each-way bet will cost £20.
So, bettors are essentially going to be either placing double the amount they would on a single, or they’ll be shrinking their bet down, against potentially reduced odds, because when a horse places, depending on how many runners there were in the race, the payout is worked out as a fraction of the original price.
This leads us to our final point: when betting on the favourite to place, it’s important to note how many places are being paid and at what rate. The smaller the field, the fewer places that bookmakers will pay out on. The larger the field, the more places that will be paid, but the less chance the bet will win.
Horse racing results will show that favourites win a fair number of races and place in a lot more. And if winning is what matters, even if odds are shorter or reduced if a favourite places, then racing results will show this is the way to go. But as with any form of betting, as detailed above, there are pros and cons to consider.
