Harness Racing Betting Sites in Australia
Australians’ favourite go-to activity to fill up their free time is watching sports and races but also betting on them. While sports betting is widely spread among punters, the majority of them prefer racing betting, whether it is a horse, greyhound or harness racing. Nowadays, nearly 75% of the Australian betting market is dominated by betting on races.
Even though not as popular as horse racing, betting on harness racing is especially practised in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, and other territories.
This is why our team at OnlineBettingAUS has prepared an overview of the main aspects related to harness betting.
Australian Harness Racing
Harness race betting is hugely popular in Australia, and punters keep wagering their money on their chosen trotters or pacers, and the annual market pool can reach up to millions of Australian dollars.
Even though the main competitors are still horses, harness racing is quite different from horse racing. In these races, standardbred horses pull a cart with a rider sitting in it instead of riding in at the top as the jockey does in horse racing.
There are two kinds of horses that pull the carts – trotters and pacers, the main difference being in their training procedure and the running technique. The rule is that totters can enter a pacing race, while pacers aren’t allowed to compete in a trotting race. Even so, the pacing races are much more present throughout the racecourses in Australia.
It might seem that the biggest challenge for these standardbreds is the weight they are pulling, but it’s actually the distance they need to run. So, handicaps here aren’t founded on the weight but rather on the distance, which means that a handicapped runner will start the race further away than the other participants. The length of the racetrack in Aussie harness races can start at 1600 metres and be as long as 2650 metres.
Aussie bettors are keen on harness racing betting, and there are quite a few races on a daily basis that they can place bets on. They can place single wagers like win or place but also go for exotics like exacta, trifecta, quinella, and others.
Instead of driving to get to one of the 110+ race tracks throughout the territory of Australia, punters can bet online. Nowadays, many betting sites offer to wager on harness competitions, and most of them offer high and competitive odds.
How do we rank Harness Betting Sites?
Choosing one out of the vast selection of online 2024 betting sites requires research, patience, and reviewing several aspects of the bookmaker.
We at OnlineBettingAUS have made the process easier for you and will share a list of the criteria you need to look out for when you choose an online bookie to start harness racing betting.
- Odds – The odds determine your potential payout after the bet, so look for a bookie that offers high odds, but also various options. You should have the option to choose between betting on fixed odds or deciding on the pool betting via the country Tote odds.
- Bet Types and Markets – You can start with the single Win or Place bets, but after getting familiar with harness racing, you might want to place exotic bets. The online site should offer the possibility to place exactas, trifectas, quaddies, and others on many races in Australia.
- Features – Additional betting features like viewing the calendar, betting with mates, live streams, or statistics are always welcome on an online bookmaker’s site.
- Mobile betting app – The bookie should offer a free betting app that includes the same features as the site for all Aussie punters who wager on the go.
- The legality of the site – Always check whether the site you are visiting is licensed and regulated by an Australian governing body.
Harness Racing Bet Types
Here’s a list of the most popular harness race bet types that Aussie punters can place at most of the online bookmakers’ sites.
- Single – The standard Win, Place, or Each-way bets are placed under the single category, and with this, you wager on one horse that will finish first or second.
- Quinella – An exotic type of bet, where the bettor has to correctly guess two horses that will finish the race either first or second, without specifying the order.
- Exacta – This exotic bet functions the same as the quinella, the difference being that the punter has to predict the correct order of the first and the second horse.
- Trifecta – The same prediction method works for the Trifecta exotic bet, and this one can be placed only if the race consists of at least three runners. Bettors should wager on the horses that finish first, second, and third place by also guessing the order.
- First Four – Same as the Trifecta, but including one more place to predict. Bettors wager on the horses that will finish first, second, third or fourth in a single race.
- Mystery Trifecta – Instead of you as a punter choosing the first three horses that end up as the best, you let a machine generate the horses which will be randomly picked. If the machine’s election turns out correct, you win the Trifecta.
- Quaddie – This type of exotic, also known as Quadrella, involves combining multiple races in one slip. With this bet, punters should predict the winners of four nominated races.
- Multibet – This type of bet is actually a combination of any previously mentioned bets on one slip. This kind of wagering increases the odds, thus also increasing the payout potential.
- Patent Bet – This is another combining type of bet which is most similar to a three-legged multibet. The difference is that in the Patent Bet, only one winning leg can secure a return, while for a multibet to turn out profitable, all legs have to be won.
- All-In Betting – This type of bet can be placed even 12 months before the ultimate field of a race is determined. This is the riskiest of all since your wagers will drown in case a horse doesn’t make it to the final field.
What is important in harness racing betting?
Before indulging in harness race betting, there are some aspects to consider. Our team has made a useful list of the most important harness racing betting tips to study before starting to bet.
- Study the race situation – It’s important to get familiar with the upcoming race you decided to bet on. Acquire knowledge of the type and class of race, the track the horses will compete on, whether it is age-limited, and also the distance that’s about to be run.
- Starting positions on speed maps – Examine where your preferred standardbred horse will start the race. This plays a huge role in the overall performance since horses that are close or behind the leader stand a better chance of winning.
- Current form – Study whether the horse will be competent enough to run this race based on recent performances. Check whether it has won before, the type of race it has won, whether the age is its strong or weak point during this particular race, and other form-related information.
- Racetrack distance – Study the distance and what it involves for a particular standardbred since the most interesting part of harness racing is that all horses are trained to run distinctive distances. Check whether your horse is a sprinter or a stayer and whether that’s an advantage or a drawback at the given distance.
- Rider and Trainer – When you study the form of a race, always pay attention to the people involved in the race. The trainer is the one who makes the horse able to win, while the driver is the one who knows the horse the best and is able to push its limits in a race.
How to Start Betting on Harness Racing?
After you thoroughly go through the aspects we mentioned above and finally select the betting site you prefer, it’s time to explore the harness markets.
These are the following steps you need to take in order to start betting on harness racing.
- Choose a bookie and open its official online website.
- Click on a button that says ‘Sign up’, ‘Join’, or ‘Register’, usually placed in the top right corner.
- Find the Cashier and deposit some funds to your online wagering account.
- Locate the ‘Harness betting’ section and explore the tracks and markets.
- Find your preferred race, examine the odds, and decide on the type of bet.
- Click on the selected odds and fill in the bet slip with the amount you wish to stake.
- Place the bet and wait for the outcome.
