Horse racing is one of the most popular sports to bet on just because it allows you to win a lot of money in a short period of time. However, not all horse racing bettors end up winning money. In fact, less than 10% of bettors see a return on their investment, and that has a lot to do with how they manage their budget and what are their betting strategies.
The fundamentals in betting are based on stable long-term bankroll management. So, if you want to end up profitable and take horse racing betting seriously, here are some tips for creating the ultimate bankroll management plan.
Create a Logical Budget and Stick With it
Before you start your horse racing betting career you need to get a few things right from the start. The first and most important thing is creating your bankroll (budget) and sticking to it no matter what. Horse racing betting can be tempting, which is why it is important to create rules of engagement that should never be broken.
Most professional bettors create a starting budget, split in multiple ways. You can create a budget for every section of betting from, how much money you should spend per day, to the amount of money per bet.
The starting budget will help you stay on track and avoid unnecessary losses.
Bet Sizing
‘How much money should I bet on each race? is the most common question beginners ask in each when they start. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer to this question since it depends on many things.
Usually, horse racing betting professionals don’t go over 2-4% of their budget per bet. Of course, this depends on your strategy, goals, and the odds that you are betting on.
Projected Returns
One way to know how much money you need to place on a bet is to consider your desired projected returns. In other words, how much money you are willing to make from a winning bet? – For example, if you want a $50 return on a 20/1 bet, you should invest around $2.5.
Most professional bettors are looking for a 10% return of investment, or in other words, if you invest $100, you should win $110.
As the odds increase the amount of money placed on a bet should decrease.
Avoid Chasing Losses
As we mentioned before, betting, in general, can be tempting. Most people fall for the same trap of trying to get back their losses from the previous bet by betting more money on other bets. This is the most dangerous thing you can do when betting on horses and there are a few reasons for that.
Chasing losses can exhaust your budget leaving you with less money, which means less chance of making bigger profits. Additionally, chasing losses or betting based on emotion usually results in placing money on not-so-well researched races which means that the probability of winning is lower.
Avoid Betting on Everything
Once you create a budget it is really important to keep the budget growing. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they bet on every single horse racing event. This isn’t a profitable long-term strategy and will negatively affect your budget.
When you create your budget, you should plan to increase it with every bet. This is why you only need to choose races that you think have the best chance for picking the right bet, like the Kentucky Derby. Since there is plenty of information about this event, it’s easier to predict what are the best Kentucky Derby horses to bet on.
In other words, you should only bet on races that you have data on and made a prediction based on previous appearances.
Lock in the Profits
Another effective strategy that bettors use is locking the profits. By using this strategy you can create a profit goal (per day, week, month) and try to reach it by betting on horse races. Once you reach your daily goal, you can lock in your profits and stand down from betting.
This will ensure that you stick to your original strategy and limit yourself from blowing off all the profits made from previous bets.