Racing is the sport British betting was built on, and it’s still the one where picking the right bookie makes the biggest difference. A price a point bigger, an extra place on a 16-runner handicap, or Best Odds Guaranteed when your horse drifts and wins: over a season, those add up to more than any welcome offer.
We’ve checked the racing features of every bookmaker we review. Here are the ones we’d use for horse racing, and what each does best.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites in the UK
- 365bet365
Best Odds Guaranteed on horse racing from 08:00 UK time on race day, plus Racing Value and, for the Grand National, Position Payout. Selected racing streams need a qualifying bet.
Best for: Best Odds Guaranteed
Learn more from our bet365 reviewBet £10 Get £30 in Bet Credits
Promo Code 365GMBLRVisit18+ | GambleAware.org. New Bet365 Customers Only. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration Required. The bonus code 365GMBLR can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way. Time limits and T&Cs apply. #AD
- UUnibet
Best Odds Guaranteed, Extra Places and Money Back specials, and a Racing Bet Builder for UK and Irish races from 11am on race day. Unibet TV streams UK and Irish racing.
Best for: Racing Bet Builder
Learn more from our Unibet reviewBet £20 Get £40 in Free Bets
18+ | GambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Opt in, deposit and Bet £20+ on sports at min odds of 2.0+ (1/1) for £40 in Free Bets within 7 days of registration. Debit cards or instant bank transfers only. Free bets expire within 7 days of issue. Geographical restrictions and T&C’s apply.
- SSBK
Prices come from the Smarkets exchange, and the app streams UK, Irish and French racing.
Best for: Exchange-priced racing
Learn more from our SBK reviewBet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets
18+ | GambleAware.org. New UK customers. Min £10 first deposit. Place a bet of £10 at min odds of 3.0 and get £40 in free bets within 48 hours. Restrictions apply. Full T&Cs apply.
- VBVirgin Bet
Racing streams need only a funded account, with no stake restriction, and there’s a boosted-prices page with its own horse racing tab.
Best for: Free racing streams
Learn more from our Virgin Bet reviewBet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
18+ | GambleAware.org. New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accepted in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly.
- 110bet
Extra Place Races on selected races, for each-way singles and multiples, plus opt-in Odds Boost tokens on racing.
Best for: Extra places
Learn more from our 10bet reviewBet £10 Get up to £50 in Free Bets
18+ | GambleAware.org. New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.
- EeasyBet
The easyBet Exchange app streams UK, Irish, US and South African racing, and you can lay a horse as well as back it.
Best for: Laying horses
Learn more from our easyBet reviewBet £20 Get £30 in Free Bets
Promo Code YES30Visit18+ | GambleAware.org. New EasyBet customers only. 18+. UK residents only. easyBet's Predictions Offer requires signing up with bonus code YES30. To qualify, you must deposit and place a first bet of £20 exclusively on a Predictions market. The qualifying wager must be placed at maximum odds of 80% (1.25) and must fully settle. Once settled, £30 in free bets is credited within 24 hours. Free bet stakes are not returned with winnings. First deposits via Skrill, Neteller, or PaySafe card are excluded. T&Cs Apply.
- WHWilliam Hill
A traditional racing bookie with cash out, price boosts, in-play betting and streaming.
Best for: High-street favourite
Learn more from our William Hill reviewBet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets
Promo Code FBB40Visit18+ | GambleAware.org. New UK customers only, registering with promo code FBB40. Make your first deposit of £10+, then place a £10 single bet from main balance at odds of EVS+ (2.00+) on any sports market (excluding Virtuals). Get £40 in Free Bets (4x£10) after settlement. Each £10 Free Bet is valid on any Bet Builder, expires in 7 days, non-withdrawable and must be used in full (£10 each). Deposits via PayPal, Neosurf, Paysafe, Apple Pay, NETELLER, Skrill, ecoPayz, Kalibra/Postpay and WH PLUS Card excluded. One per customer. Play Safe. Online only. Full T&Cs apply. #ad
- BBetfred
The bookie founded by the Done brothers, with a big network of betting shops alongside the app.
Best for: Shop and online
Learn more from our Betfred reviewBet £10 Get £50
18+ | GambleAware.org. New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.
What Makes a Good Horse Racing Bookie?
A good racing bookie isn’t the one with the biggest sign-up offer. It’s the one that pays you the most when you win. Here’s what we look for.
Best Odds Guaranteed
With Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG), if you take a price and the horse’s starting price (SP) is bigger, you’re paid at the SP. Back a horse at 5/1, see it go off at 8/1 and win, and you’re paid at 8/1. bet365 and Unibet both offer it on UK and Irish racing. Always check the start time: bet365’s BOG applies from 08:00 on race day.
Extra places
Each-way bets pay a fraction of the win odds if your horse finishes in the places. Bookies that add an extra place, paying on fifth in a big handicap instead of fourth, give you another way to collect. 10bet runs Extra Place Races, and Unibet has Extra Places too.
Racing streams
Watching the race in the app is worth having, but the rules differ. Virgin Bet only needs a funded account. bet365 and Unibet stream if you have money in your account or have bet in the last 24 hours, and some bet365 racing streams need a bet on that race. SBK streams UK, Irish and French racing.
Exchange prices
On an exchange you bet against other punters, not the bookie, and the prices are often bigger, especially on outsiders. SBK uses Smarkets exchange prices in a normal bookie format, and easyBet runs its own exchange where you can also lay a horse to lose.
Horse Racing Free Bets: Read the Small Print
Most welcome offers can be used on racing, but not all. Unibet’s welcome free bets can’t go on racing, greyhounds or trotting, and Virgin Bet’s free bet tokens can’t be used each-way. If you mainly bet on horses, check the terms before you sign up.
Compare the current offers from the racing bookies here:
Bet £10 Get £30 in Bet Credits
Promo Code 365GMBLRVisit18+ | GambleAware.org. New Bet365 Customers Only. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration Required. The bonus code 365GMBLR can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way. Time limits and T&Cs apply. #AD
Bet £20 Get £40 in Free Bets
Visit18+ | GambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Opt in, deposit and Bet £20+ on sports at min odds of 2.0+ (1/1) for £40 in Free Bets within 7 days of registration. Debit cards or instant bank transfers only. Free bets expire within 7 days of issue. Geographical restrictions and T&C’s apply.
Bet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets
Visit18+ | GambleAware.org. New UK customers. Min £10 first deposit. Place a bet of £10 at min odds of 3.0 and get £40 in free bets within 48 hours. Restrictions apply. Full T&Cs apply.
See all the latest sign-up offers on our free bets page, or our full list of UK bookmakers.
The Big Meetings to Bet On, 2026 to 2027
These are the meetings where bookies refresh their offers, add extra places and boost prices.
| Meeting | Course | When |
|---|---|---|
| King George VI Chase | Kempton | Boxing Day, 26 December 2026 |
| Cheltenham Festival | Cheltenham | 16–19 March 2027 |
| Grand National Festival | Aintree | 8–10 April 2027 (the National on the Saturday) |
| The Derby | Epsom | Early June 2027 |
| Royal Ascot | Ascot | 15–19 June 2027 |
Cheltenham Festival
Four days of the best jump racing, with the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday and the Gold Cup on Friday. Expect every bookie to run Festival specials: money back as a free bet if your horse is second, extra places on the handicaps, and boosted prices.
The Grand National
The most-bet race of the year in Britain, with up to 34 runners over the big Aintree fences. Each-way and extra places matter more here than anywhere, and bet365 runs Position Payout, its Grand National special.
Types of Horse Racing Bets
Win and each-way
A win bet pays if your horse wins. An each-way bet is two bets in one: half your stake on the win, half on a place, paid at a fraction of the odds (usually 1/4 or 1/5, depending on the number of runners).
Forecasts and tricasts
Pick the first two (forecast) or first three (tricast) in the right order. Big payouts, but hard to land.
Accumulators, Lucky 15s and Yankees
Lucky 15s (15 bets on four horses) and Yankees (11 bets, with no singles) are popular racing multiples because one or two winners can still return something. Check whether your bookie pays a bonus for a single winner.
Tote and placepots
Pool bets on the Tote, where the dividend depends on how much is in the pool. A Placepot asks you to find a placed horse in each of the first six races at a meeting.
Racing and the 2027 Betting Tax
From 1 April 2027 a new 25% remote betting rate replaces the 15% duty on most online bets, but bets on UK horse racing stay at 15%. That gives bookies a reason to keep pushing racing offers, so racing punters may see the best of the promotions over the next year.
“When the tax changes, the bookies will want our racing bets more than our football ones. I’d expect sharper racing prices and more extra places, and I’ll be taking them.”
Danny Price
Bet on Racing Responsibly
Racing runs almost every day of the year, so it’s easy to bet more than you meant to. Set a deposit limit in your account before you start, and use time-outs if a bad day is getting away from you. If betting stops being fun, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, 24 hours a day, or see our responsible gambling page.
Horse Racing Betting FAQs
Which bookies offer Best Odds Guaranteed?
Among the bookies we review, bet365 and Unibet both offer Best Odds Guaranteed on UK and Irish horse racing. Check the start time and any maximum payout in the terms.
Can I watch horse racing on a betting app?
Yes. SBK, Unibet, bet365 and Virgin Bet all stream racing in their apps, and the easyBet Exchange app streams UK, Irish, US and South African races. Most need a funded account or a recent bet.
Can I use a free bet on horse racing?
It depends on the bookie. Some welcome free bets work on racing, but Unibet’s can’t be used on racing, and Virgin Bet’s can’t go each-way.
What is an extra place?
The bookie pays each-way bets on one more place than normal, so a horse finishing fifth in a big handicap can still return a place payout.
When is the Cheltenham Festival 2027?
From Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027.
When is the Grand National 2027?
The Grand National Festival at Aintree runs from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 April 2027, with the Grand National itself on the Saturday.