The Spring carnival is around the corner and you're ready to dive into the horse racing form to try and find a winner.
You've watched replays, done your speed maps, assessed the form, read some horse racing betting tips and have formed an opinion on all the runners in the race.
You're now ready to back the horse you think is the 'value'...but before you do, you've still got some choices to make.
Will it be Fixed Odds or Best Tote, Best Of The Best or Top Fluc? Seems a bit daunting for the novice.
There is no easy answer to the best way to back the horse you like, although we will say, you need to be aware that with Fixed Odds betting the margin is firmly in the bookmakers favour.
If you are not super confident in your assessment and prices, we'd actually recommend backing Best of the Best or Best Tote, as the margins are tighter and more in your favour as a bettor.
However, if you are very confident a horses current price is too high, obviously you should lock that price in and bet it 'Fixed Odds' so when the money arrives and the horse shortens on the totes your price is safe and secure.
Let us explain some of the popular win betting options below.
Fixed Odds
Fixed odds is are high margin product because the Bookmaker is protecting itself against price fluctuations and getting there price wrong. When you bet the fixed price option then you are locking in that price for the horse. It will never move (shorten or rise) after your bet has been struck like a Tote or Top Fluc bet can that is dependent on other money coming into the system.
Best of 4 / Best Tote or SP
The rock solid product that is readily available at almost all online Australian bookmakers. You'll get the best price of the three totes (STAB, NSW and UNI) or the starting price that is determined by the Australian Price Network (APN). That APN is reflective of the bookmakers betting on track and only comes into effect in the last twenty minutes of betting. That starting price is the official APN price when the race starts, it rarely is a price greater than the best of the three totes but occasionally you'll get one that is overs. This product has a bookmaker margin of around 106-109% depending on the varying tote and on course prices it's a good bang for your buck product for punters.
Best Of The Best
The holy grail of racing products. You get all of the above plus most importantly you'll get the top fluctuation (see below), whatever price is best! At times this product can leave the punter betting into markets below 100% if the fluctuations on course are substantial enough. For that reason normally betting on this option often has a limit like a maximum bet of $200. There are a handful of bookmakers in Australia including Top Sport, Ladbrokes, Luxbet and Palmerbet that carry this product and if you can take it, especially on race day, it is highly recommended.
Top Fluc
Remember the on course fluctuations (APN) we spoke about above? Well when you back a horse Top Fluc it means you'll get the best price out of all the official on course fluctuations on that runner. This product is a solid option and it will protect your price against that late money that can destroy the value when betting a tote option. Many bookmakers offer this product on metropolitan racing but most of them will have a limit on the amount you can bet to protect their potential liability and against strong fluctuations in the market.
- - -
Stay tuned for more great horse racing and betting articles coming up on Before You Bet to help you become a better punter! Also make sure to check out all our horse racing betting tips!
Always Gamble Responsibly.
