What is in-play?
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Opportunity to bet while a race is taking place
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In-play betting is now an accepted way of betting on all sports
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In-play expands the choice for a bettor
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In-play extends the lifecycle of a race
Sportsbook operators who bet in-play
There are currently ten bookmakers who offer in-play betting on horse racing:
How does in-play betting work?
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Prices are created by GPS trackers for our betting partners
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Each horse in every race run at a UK RMG track (excluding Fakenham and Chelmsford) carries two GPS trackers in their saddle-cloth
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These trackers are sending back multiple data points every second
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These points are then fed into a pricing model to create an in-play price for every horse
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Betting takes place as soon as the stalls open on the flat, or from when the starter drops their flag on the jumps, up to either the finishing line or the 1f pole, depending on the operator you're betting with
What about TV pictures delay?
Betting on in-play races from RMG tracks, using your bookmaker of choice, means you are betting whilst watching the lowest latency pictures available. Streaming on RMG tracks is around 0.4ms behind live, meaning there are no slow picture delays.
Why should I bet in-play?
There are greater opportunities to find value, for example:
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If your horse has exited the race early
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If your horse is slowly away
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If you were between two horses before the start, the one you backed may not be travelling as well as you hoped. You could still back your other selection
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If the pace of the race is slow and the leader has got an easy lead
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Conversely, if the pace is frantic and it looks likely to favour a hold-up horse
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If the hot favourite exists the race early or slowly away
Markets are constantly fluctuating based on the above scenarios which presents opportunities for in-play bettors. It means bettors can use their skills to react to what they are seeing in real time, changing their opinions based on what is unfolding and the prices available.
How many times have you watched a race and thought, 'that horse is going nicely!'? Well, now you can get involved in the race and back that horse.
Examples
Here's three examples below from last season of horses who hit big in-play prices before going on to win their respective races:
Iroko is the most eye-catching. He hit a huge 66/1 in-play on his way to victory in the Martin Pipe Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival earlier this year!
Shishkin is another great example. He went off favourite and was a bit awkward in the early stages at Aintree. Ahoy Senor was going very well in the lead and would take some catching. Shishkin, however, did indeed catch him after rallying late in the race in impressive fashion. In-play punters were able to get double-figures if they backed the winner in-play!
Check out the closing stages of the race:
Cash out
Some operators now let you cash out in-play. It allows you to make a judgement call during a race as to whether your horse is going well or not.
If you have a multiple that is reliant on the final leg, you don't have to make the decision to cash or or not pre-race, you could wait until during the race to make that choice.
Or maybe you have backed a horse that is a front runner in a race lacking pace, you might be confident your horse will get an easy lead and therefore your selection could trade shorter in-play, allowing you the opportunity to lock-in a profit.