Are you looking for the best free horse racing bets in the UK? Your search is over. We reviewed prominent sportsbooks in the country and put together a list of the top free bets you can use on horse races. Consult this article for the best offers, advice on how to identify a good free bet, and common pitfalls that can void your free wager.
Bet £10, Get £40
Bet £10, Get £40
£35 Free Bet + 10 Free Spins
£35 Free Bet + 10 Free Spins
Double The Odds On Your 1st Bet
Double The Odds On Your 1st Bet
Bet £10, Get £30 In Free Bets +
Bet £10, Get £30 In Free Bets +
Up to £100 in Free Bets
Up to £100 in Free Bets
Bet £10 on Football Get £40
Bet £10 on Football Get £40
Bet £10 Get £20 In Free Bets
Bet £10 Get £20 In Free Bets
Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets
Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets
Bet £25 or more get a £5 free bet
Bet £25 or more get a £5 free bet
Consider the following factors before you choose a horse racing free bet:
Sportsbook | Free Bet | Min Deposit | Min Odds |
Min Stake | Expiry (days) | Wager Requirement |
SpreadEx | Up to £300 | £0 | 1/2 | £25 | 28 | None |
Quinnbet | Up to £25 | £10 | 1/1 | None | 7 | None |
Betfred | £30 | £10 | 1/2 | £10 | 7 | None |
Grosvenor | £20 | £10 | 1/2 | £10 | 7 | 5 |
888Sport | £30 | £10 | 1/2 | £10 | 30 | None |
Betfair | £100 | £10 | 1/2 | £10 (per £10 bet) | 30 | None |
BetVictor | £20 | £5 | 1/2 | £5 | 7 | None |
VirginBet | £20 | £10 | 1/2 | £10 | 7 | None |
BoyleSports | £10 | £10 | 1/1 | £10 | 7 | None |
MansionBet | £10 | £10 | 1/1 | £10 | 7 | None |
NetBet | £15 | £30 | None | £30 | 3 | None |
A no-deposit free bet is the holy grail of online sports betting bonuses. Unfortunately, free horse racing bets that require no deposit are exceedingly rare; you’re unlikely to run into them outside of special events. At this time, a receiving a free bet from any of our recommended bookies requires you to make a deposit and place a qualifying wager.
To attract and retain customers, sportsbooks in the UK offer new customers free sports bets.
It’s important to note that bookmakers rarely offer free bets tailored specifically for horse races. Instead, you can usually use your free bet to wager on any sport – including horse races.
Typically, you must deposit a minimum amount and place a wager at qualifying odds to become eligible for a free bet offer. In other words, free horse racing bets aren’t really “free” in the literal sense because you must risk your own money to claim the bonus. That’s why free bets usually attract punters who are already serious about sports betting.
Once you receive your free bet, you’ll have between seven and 30 days to stake it on a horse race or other sports market. If your bet wins, you receive profits minus the original free stake.
If you’re new to online sports betting, claiming a free horse racing betting offer can seem intimidating, even overwhelming. Luckily, the opposite is true. Take a look below to see just how easy the process is. We’ll use Betfair as an example.
Using a computer or mobile device, create a free account with your sportsbook of choice. To do so, navigate to the Betfair website and click the “Join” hyperlink. Or you can download the Betfair horse betting app from the app store of your device.
Next, Input your name, a valid email address, a username, password, date of birth, address, account currency, and a few security and responsible-gambling-related details.
Importantly, make sure to enter our sign-up bonus code to claim the best horse racing bonus available. You’ll find the betting promo codes at the top of this page.
A quick tangent: we encourage you to read the bookie’s free bet terms and conditions before signing up. Of course, you can also consult our reviews and this guide for valuable information.
UK Gambling laws require Betfair to verify your identity. The company will attempt to confirm your details automatically as soon as you hit the “Join Now” button. If the procedure fails, you’ll have to manually verify your identity by submitting pictures of a government-issued document through a secure internet connection.
Note: some bookies postpone ID verification until you request your first withdrawal. In fact, Betfair belonged to the same camp until just recently.
Log into your account and choose a deposit method. For example, if you decide to deposit using a credit card, enter your name, credit card number, and card expiry date to add your card.
Betfair will confirm your card’s validity, after which you must enter your preferred deposit amount.
Please keep the following in mind:
Head over to Betfair’s sports market and place a pre-match or in-play wager.
Ensure your bet meets the bookmaker’s stake and minimum odds requirements; consult our comparison table above for details.
After Betfair settles your wager, they’ll credit your account with the free bet. Note that some sportsbooks may require you to manually accept the bonus, which you can perform in your cashier.
Congratulations! You can now use your free bet on any horse race represented in Betfair’s assortment of sports. To do so, make sure to check the “Use free bet” option on your slip before you confirm your stake.
UK sportsbooks impose terms and conditions (T&C) on their free horse racing bets. The details vary across providers and are subject to frequent changes. We made every effort to extract the most relevant information from bookies’ T&Cs and present them here for your benefit. However, we strongly recommend that you double-check the data on this page with the bookie’s official T&C before you fund your account.
We already introduced the most important terms and conditions in the “What to look for” section earlier in this article. Let us delve a bit deeper into each one.
We’ve broadly divided free bets restrictions into two categories:
To trigger your free bet bonus, you must make a deposit and place a qualifying wager. Below are some common restrictions related to this part of the process:
Restrictions Related to The Free Horse Racing Bet Itself
Types of Horse Racing Free Bets in The UK
The online sports betting landscape is cut-throat. Bookies compete with each other by offering several types of bonuses that you can use to place horse racing bets for free.
Let’s take a brief look at each of the most common types of bonuses.
This is the type of bonus most commonly associated with the term “free horse racing bets;” it’s also the main topic of this article. Simply put, you place a qualifying real-money wager on a sport of your choice and receive a free bet in exchange regardless of the outcome. You can use “Bet and Get” bonuses to wager on any sport, including horse racing.
One of the best bet-and-get offers is available at Betfred: by depositing £10 and staking a minimum of £10 at even odds or higher, you’ll receive a £30 free wager. From then, you have seven days to use your bonus, and importantly – you can withdraw any winnings generated from your free bet immediately; there are no turnover requirements at all.
Some bookies offer bonuses that can only be used on horse racing. For example, at BoyleSports you can wager on any horse at the 2024 Royal Ascot Festival, and if your pick finishes 3rd or 2nd to the starting price favorite, you’ll receive a free bet equal to your original stake – up to £20.
If your first wager at a sportsbook loses, you’ll receive a refund up to a certain amount – usually around £20. A representative example is Quinnbet’ s cashback, which returns 25% of your losses in a given week as a free bet – up to a maximum of £50. Any winnings you generate from this bonus are subject to a 25x playthrough requirement.
You receive a bonus equal to a percentage of your deposit. Typically, that percentage is around 100%, and the bonus amount is capped between £100 and £250. Unfortunately, first-deposit bonuses are scarce in the mature UK online sports betting economy.
As the name implies, a no-deposit bonus requires no deposit; you receive free betting money just for signing up with a sportsbook. As with first-deposit bonuses, no-deposit rewards are rarely available to UK punters.
The bonuses we mentioned previously are available only to new customers. On the other hand, recurring bonuses are accessible to new and existing players. A recurrent bonus usually takes the form of cashback and free bets on specific horse racing events, such as the Cheltenham Festival, the Randox Health Grand National, or the All-Weather Championships.
Football might get most of the attention for online betting nowadays, but horse racing is still enormously popular. As with football, bookies have catered for this huge audience with a wide selection of betting website offers.
We covered the most popular pair in detail earlier in this article. Best Odds Guaranteed is probably the most common of all horse racing betting offers, and provides plenty of help in making sure you’re getting a good price on your wagers. Extra Places is also extremely helpful, and significantly improves your chances of winning the ‘place’ part of your each way bets.
There are plenty of other horse racing promotions out there, though. Money Back if 2nd refunds your stake on a race winner bet, if your chosen runner finishes second behind the SP favourite. Non Runner, No Bet is another cashback offer, returning your stake in this case if your horse doesn’t even start the race.
As the unofficial start of the horse racing season, it’s no surprise to see that all these offers – and more – will typically be available for Cheltenham. Kicking off in March each year, this four-day racing extravaganza sees an enormous amount of action. Every major sportsbook will not only provide every race to bet on, but will also often cover all those races with the betting offers listed above.
Some will create special welcome offers to tie-in to Cheltenham. Others simply take their existing offers and crank them up to a whole new level. During Cheltenham 2020, for example, Paddy Power offered a refund on your race winner bets if your runner finished second, third, or fourth.
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365
Best Odds Guaranteed on All UK & Irish Horse Races
Best Odds Guaranteed on All UK & Irish Horse Races
Betting on horse races is an integral part of UK culture. Many sportsbooks capitalize on this by offering free bets that enable you to wager on your favorite horse race without risking your own money.
To get the most out of these bonuses, it’s essential to understand how they work and what their limits are; we hope that our guide helped you achieve precisely that.
Sign up with one of our recommended bookies to place free bets today.
Bet £10, Get £40
Bet £10, Get £40
Yes. A free bet at most bookmakers expires after seven days, counting from the day you received it.
No, but you can cash out any winnings generated from that bet. However, depending on the sportsbook, you may need to complete a wagering requirement before your winnings become eligible for withdrawal.
Free bets are available at most UK sportsbooks. Please take a look at the list near the top of this page for our recommendations.
In most cases, yes - you can place a regular free bet on horse racing markets. However, some sportsbooks offer free bets exclusive to horse race events.