Horse racing is one of the most popular sports to bet on and gives brilliant opportunities for bettors to win using Timeform.

If you’re heading to the racetrack and want to increase your chances of winning big, here are some golden rules for placing a successful wager.

Price Up Every Race

Anyone who wants to profit from horse race betting should be pricing up each race possible – there’s no profit to be made from just betting on whatever you feel like. The only way to reduce the risk of a loss is to price up the races to 100 percent. For example, if you price up a three-horse race at evens, 3-1 and 3-1, but the prices are 6-4 2-1 5-2, the value sits in betting the 6-4 chance. This is a simplified version, but the concept applies to any race and is a great habit to get into.

Try to Find Each-Way Value

Skipping the odds-on bets in favour of each-way bets, where the terms are more in the punters’ favour, is a good option if you’re planning to win big.

A fine example of this is in place-only prices that operators provide which are often significantly less than what’s available through a traditional bookmaker.

Understand the Run Styles

One of the least considered but important factors in analysing a race is understanding the different run styles of the horses and what suits them. For example, two headstrong frontrunners are both likely to ruin the race for one another in the front and tee up the race for other contenders, which is an important factor to take into consideration when placing a bet.

Much of this understanding comes from experience and analysing races, but keeping notes and learning as you go will certainly pay off in the future and increase the chances of a bigger win at events further down the line.

Check the Racing Level of The Horse

Check the level of the prospective selection to see what its been racing at. A horse that has won many of its previous races may have just been bumped up to a higher class and could be out of its depth, which makes it a risky option for a wager. To avoid the risk, you should check to see if the horse has managed to show in the last three races it has competed in at a similar distance and surface, so that you can gauge how experienced it is in the conditions it will be racing in.

Don’t Forget the Jockey

Horse racing isn’t just about the horses – you should also research the jockey, too. A talented jockey can make the difference between a strong finish or ending the racing somewhere near the middle, so checking their history and experience is important.

If you can find a jockey-horse pairing that has consistently performed well in the past 12 months, there’s a fair chance they’ll be a safer bet than those who haven’t.