Betfair Official Blog

Horse Racing betting a way of life

Horse racing betting is hugely popular throughout the country - not only do thousands of keen racing fans head to any one of Australia's hundreds of racetracks each weekend - they also bet just about all day, every day.

Such is the demand for horse racing betting that as an industry it has become Australia's third biggest employer.

Sydney's Gai Waterhouse breaks the boundaries into mainstream press - her effervescent personality teamed with her stellar big race record making her the darling of Australian racing.

She attracts plenty bets but does not dominate the Group One scene however - the beauty of Australian racing being that the big races are not strictly the domain of the few.

Some 37 horses won the first 49 elite level races contested this season at a variety of odds, and cheering them home were 28 different trainers.

Waterhouse, David Hayes, Mark Kavanagh, Danny O'Brien, Mick Price and Anthony Cummings were those fortunate enough to oversee the careers of more than one Group One winner this season.

And there have been a good number of smaller trainers landing the bets to win big races - and such is the case at the average Australian race meeting. Which makes for interesting betting.

Short odds favourites rarely dominate horse racing betting on any given day and the pools are large enough to ensure value bets.

There is also strength in the jockey ranks, our best riders considered strong enough to compete on the world stage - especially in Asia, mostly Hong Kong but also in Singapore and Macau.
Currently popular with bettors are Blake Shinn, Corey Brown, Craig Williams, Damien Oliver, Jeff Lloyd, Danny Nikolic, Glyn Schofield, Nash & Brad Rawiller, Hugh Bowman, Glen Boss and Darren Beadman.

Horses attracting the most betting attention at the moment include Weekend Hussler, Sebring and Apache Cat.

Weekend Hussler has won a record breaking six Group One races in a single season and the best is yet to come as he is only three.

Sebring, the year's best juvenile, is yet to disappoint those having a bet on him from five starts and he's on the way to taking out the third leg of the 2Y0 Triple Crown.

Apache Cat meanwhile has won three Group One sprints in a row and will soon be seen on the international stage with races in Japan and Hong Kong on his agenda.

Apache Cat was one horse whose spring campaign was set back by the EI outbreak. Being a Victorian he did not catch the disease (which spread only to New South Wales and Queensland) but he did react to the compulsory injection.

Several months of racing were lost to two states, the financial implications widespread. Luckily stallions were able to serve in the latter part of the season however and the annual foal crop was not severely down.

With Australian racing ensured annual income from the various totalizators, horse racing betting will continue to thrive.