- A lay bet is betting against a horse to win. So if you don’t think a horse is going to win, you can lay said horse, ie bet against it.
- Laying means you have the rest of the field running for you against the horse you’ve laid. As long as that horse doesn’t win, you win!
- If there is a favourite, or at least a horse at a reasonably short price that you want to bet against, you can lay it. It’s like backing the rest of the field but in one bet.
- If laying a horse, you take on the liability for a bet. If you lay a horse for £10 at 3.0 (2/1) and it wins, it will cost you £20. If it loses, you take the £10.
- If you take on an odds on favourite at say 1.5, you can lay a £10 bet and if it wins it will only cost you £5. If it loses you win £10.
So should we be looking to lay Stradivarius today?
You might argue he was winning races in a weaker than normal staying division last year. This year’s division is already looking strong and the form of last year could be overestimated.
