Epsom Derby Betting Sites 2024 – How Betting on The Derby Works

Extra Place Races

This offer is only going to apply if the online Derby betting following final declarations has 12 or more runners in the field, and they come under orders. It follows that the more horses that contest the Epsom showpiece, then more bookies will offer an extra place for each way betting. You should certainly getting four or possibly even five places paid out. Many bookmakers have Extra Place Race offers, including William Hill. Their Pick Your Places promotion applies from 10am on Derby day, and you also have the option to Lengthen Your Odds by reducing the number a bet pays out on.

Bet Boosts

Any time that you get the chance to enhance the odds for any wager you place, you should take it. The bookies don’t discriminate with Bet Boosts when it comes to betting on the Derby at Epsom. Whether it is in the ante post market or on the day of the big race, these enhancements help you squeeze out a bit of extra value. Again plenty of bookies provide Bet Boosts, but the most famous example might just be Betfair. Their My Odds Boost gives you the next recognised industry price up from the current odds on three horses per day. They may even extend the offer to six when there’s Derby day betting to be done.

Money Back if Second

Finishing second with your fancied horse is always pretty gutting, so it’s good to know there are promotions out there that will compensate you for going so close. That is where Money Back if Second deals come in. The refund nowadays often comes in the form of a free bet, but on a big race like The Derby some bookies may be generous and offer your stake back as cash. Betfred are among the bookies who run a Free Bet if Second promotion on selected races that must have five or more runners. This applies only to the win parts of each way bets and there is a maximum free bet issue of £10.

Free Bet Clubs

Weekly Free Bet Clubs reward the loyalty of punters who bet regularly. They are perfect for fans of horse racing as there is always plenty of action to wager on. The week before The Derby, you may wish to place the required number of bets to unlock the bonus for the Monday. This gives you a free bet to play with one the penultimate declaration stage happens. Paddy Power are famous for their Paddy’s Rewards Club. Bet 5x £5 at minimum odds of 1/2 (1.50) one week and get a £5 free bet for the next. If you wager 5x £10 in qualifying bets in the time frame, then it’s a £10 free bet you get.

New Customer Offers

The most obvious way to get free bets that you can use on The Derby is to sign up with bookies that you have never bet with before. Some will offer you a risk free bet and others a bet and get deal. Either way, you eventually receive bonuses that you can wager with instead of your cash balance. Among the industry big boys, Bet365 are well known for their new customer offer. You can get up to £100 in bet credits as they call such bonuses upon joining. The terms and conditions attached are generous too. There is no expiry date on these either, so long as you keep your account active for 90 days.

Ongoing Offers for All Customers

You can of course only sign up to a bookie once, so there are also ongoing deals open to everyone with an account that can help you claim some free bets. From finding winners over a certain odds thresholds to the deal noted above that compensates you with a Free Bet if Second. Any extra winnings bonuses may come in form of horse racing free bets, so keep a lookout for those. What is on offer can shape who you place your bets with. When it comes to the range of promotions available, 888Sport comes with plenty to recommend it.  Their offers include the Each Way + deal and 4/1+ Winner free bet bonus.

Seek out Each Way Value

Even if it is in the ante post Derby betting market, there are each way bets to be found on this big race. You may have to sit on them for a long while, and there are risks attached because there won’t be any non-runner no bet or Best Odds Guaranteed terms if you wager in advance, but this lies at the heart of all horse racing.

Getting a fancy placed at a big price could actually work out as better value than finding the winner. Mitigating your potential for loss is vital in any form of gambling, and The Derby is no different. This is where each way betting comes into its own. Always be on the lookout for potentially overpriced horses in the market.

Do Horses Look Like Getting The Trip?

As you may have noticed in the table above that listed all the key recognised Derby trials, only one is over the same distance. There is very little chance of horses being exposed over a mile-and-a-half until running in the premier Classic. You need to study the thoroughbreds’ pedigrees from the entries closely. That can’t tell you everything about a horse but it leaves you better informed than if you didn’t bother to look into it.

One additional pointer that is among our Derby day betting tips concerns horses who raced as two-year-olds. In their juvenile season on the Flat, it is handy if horses stayed had winning form over a mile. As they strengthen up over the winter and become three-year-olds, they may within the bounds of their pedigree, get a mile-and-a-half. The bare minimum any Epsom Derby contender needs to have won over aged two is seven furlongs.

Assess Contenders’ Style of Racing

Epsom Downs is a pretty unique track. It is undulating and left-handed with a sharp turn at Tattenham Corner. There is then a downhill plunge in the home straight. It doesn’t suit every racehorse’s style of running. In recent years, successful horses in The Derby have been fairly prominent in the run. Epsom is not an easy track to come from off the pace, especially for three-year-olds still learning their craft.

That means you have to assess how Derby contenders win their races. If they are hold-up horses, then you are relying on the field coming back to them. One thing that is usually assured in the Epsom Derby is a strong pace, but the race doesn’t always fall apart. Carefully measured rides, such as the one given to Serpentine in 2020, can see horses win the premier Classic from the front.

Keep an Eye on Key Trials

We have already seen how the latest Derby betting odds are shaped by trials run in the UK and Ireland. You need to keep across all of that so you are fully aware of what is fancied and why. It can be worth watching the trials themselves in case you spot something in the run. A horse may get hampered when about throw down its challenge or be short of room as gaps don’t appear at the right time for them.

Given better luck and a clear run, then such horses may have won the trials and been a lot shorter in the market for the premier Classic. Another of our Epsom Derby betting tips is to think carefully about such types. When they got into the clear, did they make late headway and were they staying on at the finish? If they leave you with the impression that they may have been unlucky, then they could be a bit of market value.