Laying Horse Bets ~ A Quick Guide
Don't let the name fool you! Laying horses is nothing to do with some strange sexual practice, rather it is when you back a horse to lose a race! You might not be familiar with the concept but instead of betting on horses to win, you bet on them to lose!
Laying is what a traditional high street bookmaker does each time he takes a bet from a punter, he is laying the horse and the punter is backing it. If you think about it logically, there is a greater chance that a horse will lose than it will win. In a race only one horse can win, all the rest must lose.
If done correctly laying horses can be very profitable, how many broke bookmakers do you know compared to broke punters? I have yet to see a high street bookmakers go bust! So how do you fancy being a bookmaker and starting to lay bets? Or is it too much trouble to seting up a shop, hiring the staff and getting a license! You don't need to do bother with all that, just sign up online with Betfair and you can start laying bets instantly.
Betfair is the betting site which matches up people wanting to bet on a horse with people wanting to lay it. Both people can set the odds at a value they wish to deal at and wait for someone to snap them up.
How To Lay A Bet
If you fancy having a go at being a bookmaker and laying bets then you'll need to read our easy 6 step guide to laying your first bet below.
- Join Betfair - It's the best betting exchange website (click here).
- Follow the links to the 'Horse Racing' section and click on a race.
- You will now see a list of runners for that race.
- On the left is the horses name then a blue square with the word 'back' above it, inside the blue square are the odds for that horse winning.
- Now on the right is a pink square with the word 'Lay' above it, the pink square also contains odds.
- Click on the pink square, a box will now open on the far right of the screen, in this box you will be asked how much money you are willing to lay - This is where it gets scary! If you make a £2 lay bet on a horse priced at odds of 10 to 1 you're potential loses could be £20 if that horse wins, should he loses then you collect £2.
That's how lay bets work, to lay a bet you will always need plenty of cash in your betfair account to cover your potential loses. To be successful at laying bets in the long term you'll need to have enough cash to ride out the ups and downs of racing.
