5 Horseracing Bankroll Management Tips to Keep You Betting

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5 Horseracing Bankroll Management Tips to Keep You Betting

A lot of people subscribe to horse racing because of the entertainment factor. However, funnily as it is, most of the people you see in the stadium are not just there to watch the horses race. Most of them are bettors and are there hoping to become a few hundred dollars more prosperous by the time they go home.

If you’re one of them looking to be richer by betting on horse racing, you know it’s not easy. There are a lot of factors you should consider and many things you need to do to keep betting. One of them is to manage your bankroll correctly. Your bankroll is the lifeblood of your career as a punter; without it, you wouldn’t be able to bet, or if you persist, you’ll probably be bankrupt soon.

What is a Bankroll?

Your bankroll is the money you set aside for betting. It’s your main lifeline in betting, so prolonging as long as you can be your priority. However, simply keeping it alive should not be your main goal; you should also consider making it bigger throughout your career. This can be done through discipline, strategy, and a little bit of luck.

If you don’t know how to manage it properly, then you’re in luck because, in this article, we will be talking about some tips on how to manage your horse racing bankroll properly. Let’s start.

Create Budget

The most crucial thing when managing your bankroll is to make a budgeting plan. It’s a considerable part of your bankroll; if you have one, you should try your best to stick with it. Even though it might seem basic, you’ll be surprised how many people lose tons of money because they didn’t make a budgeting plan beforehand. So how do you exactly make a budget?

Simply establishing a bankroll and bet sizing is already enough as a plan. Also, you can make a budget for every event in the horse racing schedule you want to join. For example, you might want to spread $150 for the Triple Crown event, which will be $50 each for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.

Bet Sizing

The most common thing people often ask when betting is the size of the bets they should make. This might be complicated if you’re using complicated formulas as the pros do, but you can use simple techniques. The most common is putting 5% of your bankroll in a single race. 

Then, you can either put all of the 5% on a single horse or spread them into different types of bets like the place, show, and win bets. For example, let’s say your bankroll is $100. You can then put $5 in a single race. You can then put all $5 in a single horse that you think will or put $2 for the win bet, $2 for a place, and a dollar for the show bet.

Don’t Bet on Everything

Not all races are created equal, and some aren’t even playable. That said, you should only make bets based on value. Now, some races have false favorites where the bookmakers back a horse without the potential to win. 

However, if a race has a false favorite, that doesn’t mean that there are no value horses in that race. We’re trying to say that you should only bet on horses with value. If you keep on betting on every race, that will not be healthy for your bankroll.

Keep Detailed Records of Your Bets

Your biggest enemy is yourself, which even applies to horse racing betting. If you go on and bet without taking notes of how you spend your bankroll, you won’t be able to study your betting patterns and how you approach each race. However, with a detailed record, you will learn your weaknesses and strengths in betting, which is important if you want to grow your bankroll. 

You can also learn the things that you should reinforce. For example, you might look into your records and see that you’re bad with trifecta. Upon seeing that, you can set it up to learn how to wager on that type of bet for the future.

Leave Your Credit Card at Home

This is to say that you should separate your bankroll and your finances. This is to avoid you being tempted to dip your hands into your bank accounts, which is bad for your bankroll and financial status. Only play how your bankroll is worth; nothing more than that.

Final Words

Talking about your bankroll may be the most boring aspect of betting, but it’s one of the most important in your punting career. Without it, you won’t be able to bet, and you might also lead yourself to financial ruin. Keeping your bankroll alive as long as possible should be the first of your priorities.