Best Horse Racing Free Bets and Betting Offers UK for 2023

Horse racing has long been a sport that is intertwined with betting, and today it is one of the most popular sports to bet on worldwide. With the rise of online bookies, the majority of horse race betting is now done online rather than in person. Given the popularity of online betting on horses, it should come as no surprise that many sites offer promotions, especially for horse racing.

Horse racing is a year-round sport, which means there will usually be a race on which you can bet. The two kinds of race – Jump Racing and Flat Racing – are popular at different times of the year, flat racing in the summer and jump racing in the winter. When betting on a race, most punters know the key factor is the horse. After all, an inexperienced jockey can win on a good horse, but the best rider will still struggle on a bad one.

Horses can run at up to 60 km per hour, which makes the sport an adrenaline-fuelled spectacle. The predictability of the horse plus the many variables that can affect the race make horse racing as much about good research as it is about good luck

Reviews of the sites that offer the best horse racing free bets

Here are our picks for the top ten sites that offer free bets. It’s worth mentioning at this point that placing a free bet is not a guarantee of a win, and you will still have to deposit your own money to access these promotions. It’s easy to get carried away when you’re chasing “free” money, so never wager more than you are willing to lose, and always gamble responsibly.

Kwiff

Pros

Free horseracing bet welcome offer.

Free horseracing bets also available for regular customers

Cons

An accumulation of smaller horse racing bets won’t allow you to qualify for the welcome offer.

Kwiff currently has a great welcome offer that gives new customers a free horse racing bet worth £20. To qualify, you will need to sign up, make a deposit, and place a bet worth £10 or greater. This bet has to be placed on a selection with odds of 1.5 or greater and can’t be made up of several smaller stake bets. This promotion also doesn’t include each way. However, it is still a pretty generous offer. As with all free horse racing bets, the bet amount will be deducted from your winnings if the wager you placed using the free bet comes through.

Regular customers are also offered the chance to win more free horse racing bets. They are currently running a “Horse Racing Money Back” promotion in which if your selection comes in second to the favourite, they will refund your stake as a surprise bet. Stakes are only refunded up to £10, and this offer only applies to selected meetings (details are on the site), but it’s a great little bonus offer.

BetGoodwin

Pros

Lots of free bet horse racing offers for regular customers.

Generous welcome offer

Cons

Relatively new site

BetGoodwin only launched its online site in 2022, but they have been offering retail and telephone betting for around 25 years. Currently, their welcome offer is £30 in free bets when you place a £10 bet. To qualify for this offer, the first bet you place must be for £10 or over at odds of 2.0 or greater. It is important to note that this bet has to be the first one you place after signing up, as you won’t be able to claim the offer with subsequent bets.

BetGoodwin also has a range of free bet horse racing offers for regular punters. The first is “Nose Loser,” where they will refund your stake as a free bet should your horse lose by a nose. The conditions of this offer are that it only applies to UK and Irish horseraces and that your horse must come second by the official distance of a nose. The minimum stake needed to qualify for this offer is £10, and the maximum they will refund is a very generous £100. This offer is only for single bets and does not include multiples.

They have a similar refund scheme if your horse finished second by under half a length. This offer is extended to each way or single bet on any UK or Irish National Hunt Chase. Again, the minimum and maximum stakes are £10 and £100, respectively.

A third offer gives a refund in the form of a free bet if your horse falls at the last fence or hurdle when leading in any UK or Irish horserace, and a fourth gives you a free bet if your horse finishes second to a horse with an SP of 50/1 or bigger. This last offer excludes the UK Grand National but applies to any other UK or Irish horserace.

Bet365

Pros

Very generous welcome offer

A low minimum qualifying deposit

Cons

Only select free bet horse racing offers for regular customers

Bet365 will give you five times your deposit amount in free bets. To qualify for this offer, you must make a deposit between £5 and £10 and then place a bet on the value of your deposit. This means you can get £50 of free bets with an initial deposit and wager of £10. Your initial bet must place within 30 days for you to receive your free bet, and your initial bet must have a selection at odds of 1.20 or greater.

Bet365 do occasionally offer free bet promotions to regular customers, but they are only for select meetings. At the time of writing, they currently have an offer of a £5 free bet on a race at Down Royal, so it’s worth keeping an eye on their latest promotions.

888sport

Pros

Generous welcome offer

Some free horse racing offers for regular punters.

Cons

Few offers that target horse racing specifically

888Sport has a great welcome offer, which gives you £30 of free bet tokens when you make a bet of £10. This offer is only available for new customers, and if you are outside of UK and Ireland, you will have to remember to enter a promo code when you deposit (UK and Irish customers have automatic access to the offer.) To qualify, you must place your first bet within 30 days of signing up, you must bet on a selection that has odds of 1.5 or higher, and your stake must be at least £10.

They currently also have a free bet offer for regular customers. To qualify for this offer, you must place a minimum of a £10 bet at odds of 5 (4/1), but you can make up the odds with multiple bets. The bets must be settled on the same day, and if you win the bet, you will also get a £5 free bet token credited to your account. To claim your free bet, you must click the “claim now” button in the email that is sent to you or on the pop-up message that appears when you log in.

BetVictor

Pros

Generous welcome offer

Multiple new customer offers for horse racing

Cons

No free bet horse racing offers for regular customers

BetVictor’s current welcome offer is you get £40 when you bet £10, but they also offer this welcome bonus especially tailored for horse racing punters. The horse racing version of the offer will give you a £10 free bet on any market, a £10 free bet on any Lengthen the Odds market that will be credited one day after the settlement of the qualifying bet, and a £10 free bet on any daily racing specials that is credited two days after the settlement qualifying bet. To qualify for this offer, you will need to sign up to the site, opt into the promotion via the Offers tab, make a deposit, and place your first bet on a horse at 2.00 odds with a stake of £10 or higher. This offer expires within seven days of creating your account, so if your first bet is placed after a week, you won’t be able to claim the free bets.

They are also currently running an alternative welcome offer that gets you £50 worth of free bets; however, new customers are only eligible for one welcome offer, so make sure you choose wisely! This offer is only available until 16:45 GMT on Sunday, 18.12.22, but it may still be worth checking out all the options before you decide which welcome offer to go with. You can choose your welcome offer after you make a deposit but before you place your first bet by opting in via the Offers tab. To claim the £50 free bet offer, you must place your first bet on a horse with odds of 2.0 or more with a stake of £10. In return, you will receive the same free horse racing bet offers as above, plus a £10 free slots bonus and a £10 bet on the world cup.

Unfortunately, BetVictor does not currently have any free bets available to regular customers, but they do still have plenty of other promotions on offer.

William Hill

Pros

Generous welcome offer

Well known brand

Cons

No free bet horse racing offers for regular punters.

It’s fair to say that William Hill is a pretty well-known bookie. They are currently running a welcome offer that gives you 3x £10 free bets when you place a bet of £10 or higher. To access this promotion, you will have to enter the promo code R30 when you sign up. To qualify, you need to sign up using the promo code, make a deposit, and then place a £10 stake on odds of 1.5 or greater and once the bet is settled, William Hill will credit you with £30 worth of free bets in the form of three £10 credits.

At the time of writing William Hill is not offering any free bet promotions for regular customers.

BetFred

Pros

Generous welcome offer

Regular free horse racing bet promotions for existing customers

Cons

The welcome offer is only available in the UK and Northern Ireland

BetFred’s current welcome offer is for £30 worth of free horse racing bets when you make an initial bet of £10. In order to qualify for the offer, you must be a new customer, and your first bet has to be placed and settled within one week. Any bet with a total stake of at least £10 will qualify, but it must have a stake of 2.0 or greater. The good thing is that cumulative odds will count.

BetFred also gives their regular customers a weekly chance to win a free horse racing bet. Every week they nominate a race on a specific day and will allow punters to win their stake back as a free bet if their selection comes in second. The maximum bet refund is £10, and the minimum is 50p. This offer is only available on singles and the win part of each-way bets.

BoyleSports

Pros

Free horse racing bet welcome offer.

Free horse racing bet promotions for regular customers

Cons

The welcome offer is not as generous as some other sites.

BoyleSports are currently giving a welcome offer of £20 worth of free horse racing bets when you make an initial bet of £10. To qualify, you must sign up and make your first bet at odds of 2.0 or higher with a stake of £10. After your bet has been settled, a £20 free bet will be placed in your account. In addition, you will receive a £10 casino bonus.

BoyleSports do also offer regular free bet horse racing offers for existing customers. At the time of writing, they were offering your stake refunded if your selection came in second to the SP favourite at Fairyhouse on 4/12/22. If you are already a BoyleSports customer, it’s worth checking out their promotions to see what’s on offer.

Coral

Pros

Free horse racing bet welcome offer.

Qualifying stake lower than other sites

Cons

No free bet horse racing offers for regular customers.

Coral’s welcome offer gives new customers £20 free bets, which, while not as much as some other places, is pretty generous as the initial stake only has to be at least £5. To qualify, register with Coral, make a £5 bet with minimum odds of 1.5, and once your bet is placed, you will receive one £20 bet. The free bet must be used within one week and must be wagered in full. While Coral doesn’t currently offer any free bet bonuses for regular customers, they still have other horse racing-related promotions that you can take advantage of.

Ladbrokes

Pros

Free horse racing bet welcome offer.

Low minimum stake

Cons

A welcome bonus is ending at the end of 2022.

At the time of writing, Ladbroke’s welcome bonus gives £20 worth of free bets when you get at least £5. To qualify, you must sign up and place a £5 bet with odds of 1.5 or greater. This offer is only available on singles or the win part of each-way bets, and your initial bet must be made within two weeks of registration. This offer is set to expire on 31/12/2022, but I’m sure it will be replaced by another welcome offer.

Regular customers also have a daily chance to win a free bet. Ladbrokes have a daily free spin available that offers the chance to win a free sports bet, among other prizes.

What Is a Horse Racing Free Bet?

Given the popularity of betting on horse racing, why would a site offer a free bet for horse racing? The simplest answer is to encourage punters to use their site. There are so many betting sites that competition is rife, and sites will try and win your custom with a combination of promotions and trustworthiness.

Horse racing free bets are not only used to win new customers but also to encourage loyalty. They are usually given as a welcome offer after an initial deposit has been made, but many sites offer regular free bets on horseracing to their customers. Horse racing free bets for existing customers usually require the punter to place a stake between a minimum and maximum amount in order to qualify for the free bet. These offers are usually accompanied by further offers, such as another free bet given as credit should your horse come in second to the favorite or by less than a head. The bets are credited to the punter’s account and will sometimes be given as a matched stake of the first bet made.

While horse racing free bets can usually be offered at any time, they are usually more prevalent during famous racing events like Cheltenham Festival and the Royal Ascot. You should also remember that the “free” bet will come with some conditions, so it’s always worth checking out the T&Cs, and any winnings from a free bet will not include the stake meaning that a 3/1 win with a £20 free bet will get you £30 rather than £40.

Types of Free Horse Racing Bets

Welcome offer free bet	The site will credit your account with free bets that are worth the specified amount once you have signed up, made a deposit, and placed a bet. The total amount usually must be used on one bet.
Fail to Finish / Fallers Insurance	Usually offered to regular customers, you can obtain a free bet if you lose under certain circumstances, like if your horse comes in a close second. Sometimes this is a set amount, although some sites will return your initial stake as a free bet
Matched Bet	A common way free bets are distributed is as a matched bet, meaning you’re losses are covered for every eventuality.
Free Bet Club	Essentially a loyalty reward for placing bets through the site.

Tips on Choosing a Horse Racing Betting Site

When it comes to free bet horseracing, some sites will offer them more often than others. At the end of this article, we’ve listed ten of our top picks for the best sites that offer free bets on horse racing. However, you may want to consider more than just the free bet promotions if you’re looking to sign up for a horse racing betting site, so here are some things to look out for.

Check the promotions and bonuses.

Every site will offer a welcome bonus as well as regular promotions, and free bets that you can use on horseracing are a particularly popular way to attract new customers. While the site will usually advertise its welcome bonus on the home page, to find out about the regular promotions, you may have to dig a little deeper. It is important to check out the regular offers to find out how likely it is that you will be able to get free horse racing bets once you are a regular customer. Pretty much all sites will have a promotions page where you can look at the range of offers. Of course, these will change, but it will give you an indication of the sorts of promotions you will have access to after you’ve signed up.

Check the Expiry Date of the Offers

All free horse racing bet offers have an expiry timeframe which must be adhered to for you to take advantage of the offer. Check these timeframes out before you sign up, and sign up at a time when you can put the free bet to good use.

Check the Market Restrictions

Most free horse racing bets will have market restrictions, including only being redeemable in certain races and only the win part of the bet counting towards some offers. In order to take full advantage of the offers, do a thorough check of the restrictions and stick to the rules.

Check the Minimums

Free horse racing bets come with plenty of terms and conditions. They often have restrictions on the minimum deposit, number of runners, odds, and stakes that are covered by the free bet. It’s worth taking a good look through the terms and conditions before signing up.

Check the Qualifiers

Every site has different rules that you need to follow in order to qualify for your free horse racing bets. Give these a good look-through before you sign up, as many sites have rules on your first deposit and first bet. If you get these wrong, you could miss out on the welcome offer altogether.

How To Claim Your Free Horse Racing Bet

There are many different conditions to claim free bets, and they will depend on the site’s current promotions. For this example, I’ve used 888Sport. While the terms may be different on other sites, the process is pretty much the same.

888Sport actually has a couple of promotions that offer free bets. The first is the New Customer Offer. This gives a new customer £30 in free bets once they make their first £10 bet. To access this offer, you just need to sign up, make a deposit, and place a bet.

To sign up, first go to the site and locate the Join Now button. Like most online sportsbooks, it is found in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Next, you’ll have to fill out the required information found on the pop-up. Initially, you’ll need to enter your first name, last name, country of residence, email address, and date of birth.

In stage two of the sign-up, you will need to pick a username and set some security measures by creating a password and selecting a security question.

Finally, you’ll enter your address and mobile number and choose the currency you want to use. You will not be able to change the currency later, so stick to one that you want to use for both deposits and withdrawals.

To qualify for your free horse racing bets, you will now have to make a deposit. Once you have signed in, the deposit button is found in the top right corner where the Join Now button appeared previously. Once you’ve made your deposit and placed your first £10 bet at odds of 1.5 or greater, £30 worth of free bets will be credited to your account in the form of three £10 tokens. Any players outside of the UK and Ireland will have to enter a code – 30FB – in the promo code box when depositing. To access this promotion, you have to make your first £10 bet within 30 days of signing up, and your free bets also have to be used within seven days of receiving them.

But on 888Sport, the free bets don’t stop at the welcome offer. Regulars get a chance to win a £5 free horseracing bet every day.

This regular offer is given to any player who places a bet on a 5 (4/1) odd horse and wins.

To place a bet, you can browse races that are imminent, or you can look for specific upcoming meets.

To qualify for this offer, you must place a minimum of a £10 bet at odds of 4/1 or multiple bets with cumulative odds of 4/1. The bets must be placed and settled on the same day, and if you win, a £5 free bet token will be credited to your account. To claim your free bet, you must click the “claim now” button in the email that is sent to you or on the pop-up message that appears when you log in.

Once your free bet tokens are in your account, you simply need to place a bet. To select, click on the box displaying the odds, and your selection will appear in the right-hand column.

How to find free bets

Welcome offers	Many sites offer free horse racing bets as part of their welcome bonus
Regular promotions	You should check a site’s frequent promotions to see how likely it is that you will be able to get free horse racing bets regularly.
Bonus codes	Third-party sites will often advertise bonus codes that can get you free bets. However, sometimes these codes only work if you sign up using a link on the website. It’s always worth checking the site first, though, as occasionally, the site will give you the same offer when you sign up directly.

 

How to Use Your Free Bet

Certain bets appear to be more popular when using free funds on horse racing. Below are the top 5 ways to use your free horse racing bet

Win	Bet on a horse to win outright
Place	Choose a horse to “place” up to fourth place
Each Way	Combine a Win and a Place bet
Ante Post	Bet on a horse to win before final declarations are made
Accumulator	Multiple horses on the same bet. This may be more of a long shot, but it’s probably the most exciting use of a free bet!

 

Conclusion

If you are looking to place a free horse racing bet online, there are plenty of offers and options out there. Your only issue is finding the right site for you. Of course, you can sign up to as many sites as you like, so it’s perfectly feasible to access many horse racing free bet offers. However, you should keep in mind that many horse racing free bets are limited to welcome offers, so it’s a good idea to keep your eye on different sites and sign up when a particularly good horse racing free bet offer comes up. Keep reading to find out our top picks of sites currently offering free horse racing bets.