Horse Racing Odds 2025

Written by: Kira Keir Fact checked by: Jaclyn Hurst

Last Updated: June 30, 2025

Grade One horse racing odds come flying out of the gate on the daily—and we’re here to cut through the noise and steer you toward the best bets, sharpest picks, and hottest longshots we’d bet the barn on. And if you’re new to the track, don’t worry; we’ll trot you through how to read horse racing betting odds, cover the biggest upcoming races, and teach you how to win big with the best value bets around.

Latest Horse Racing Betting Odds

If you want to bet on horse racing odds today, bet365 offers superior odds and coverage of daily races. But if you’re looking for top odds across major upcoming events, it’s time to saddle up with the latest King’s Plate odds (formerly known as “Queen’s Plate”)—and would you look at that, we’ve got you covered from gate to wire. These odds were last updated on Jul 02, 2025:

King’s Plate (G1) at Woodbine Racetrack: August 16, 2025

*Please note the official post position draw is on August 12, 2025. Until then, all horses, jockeys, and trainers are subject to change based on the horse’s condition and team strategy; however, these are the most likely contenders. Odds are subject to change at any time.

Upcoming Horse Racing Odds

Trust us, this year’s horse racing calendar is jam-packed. To help keep Canadian bettors on track, we’ve rounded up the biggest races with the best betting options in the country so you can hit the ground running. Check out the top upcoming races, and stay tuned for our expert betting guides and the latest info on the betting favourites:

Past Horse Racing Odds

Although the Kentucky Derby is in the rearview, and Sovereignty bowed out of the Preakness (meaning there won’t be a Triple Crown winner this year), there are tons of exciting races and betting lines yet to come. You can always learn from the bets you missed out on (or messed up on) by reviewing past performances, track conditions, the latest odds, and our expert guides. Here’s a recap of major races so far this year:

How to Bet on Horse Racing Odds

Alrighty, are you ready to see if you’ve got what it takes at the track? Let’s trot through the basics, from selecting a sportsbook to how to bet on horse racing odds, for bettors fresh out of the gate. Here’s how to bet on horse racing in four easy steps:

1. Choose a sportsbook. Check out the best horse betting sites to compare books and find your prize pony! Whether you’re after high limits or diverse markets, assess your betting style and habits to find the best bookmaker for you. Pro tip: you can sign up with more than one betting site!
2. Create an account. Register with your chosen sportsbook by using our exclusive links to streamline the sign-up process. Be ready to deal out some deets like your email and home address, and create a unique username and secure password. You’ll need to verify your identity with your government-issued ID.
3. Make a deposit. This initial deposit will fund the bets you make. Select your preferred payment method (banking options are another key consideration when choosing your favourite bookie), enter your payment details and desired deposit amount, and click to confirm. Voila!
4. Place a bet. Navigate to the horse racing section, browse the odds and markets across races. Once you’ve found something that strikes your fancy, lock in odds by clicking on them, entering your bet amount, and confirming your bet slip. That’s it!

Need a few laps around the track to get the hang of how to bet on horses? No worries—check out our in-depth guide to learn the ins and outs!

Horse Racing Odds Explained

If you’re still wondering “how do horse racing odds work”, you’re not alone—even seasoned sports bettors can get stuck on horse racing odds. But we’re here to get you up to speed in time for the next race.

Race tracks usually have massive tote screens (short for “totalisator”—AKA a big ‘ol board with all the odds) that display the latest betting information, including the horse’s name and number, current odds, win pool totals, probable payouts, and race information. To help you know what you’re reading, let’s get you saddled up with the basics!

How to Read Horse Racing Odds

If you’re a sports bettor, you’re likely used to American odds. The favourite is usually shown with a minus (-) sign and underdogs with a plus (+) sign. The number following the minus sign indicates how much you need to bet to win $100, and the number following the plus sign shows what you will profit if you bet $100.

For example, -120 means you’d have to bet $120 to make $100 in profit, and +120 means that if you bet $100, you’d make $120 in profit.

Unfortunately, with horse racing, things can get confusing fast as bookmakers use fractional odds to place bets and decimal odds to announce payouts. Fractional odds are “how much money you will win” / “how much money you wager”. Or in other words, the first number (the numerator) represents your potential profit, while the second number (the denominator) is the amount you must bet to win said profit. For example, if you wager $1 at 10/1 odds, you will win $10, which includes your original stake.

Here’s what these odds look like in their different forms:

You can always use our betting odds calculator to convert easily between American, decimal, and fractional odds. But keep in mind that bookmakers don’t follow all the rules of mathematics, opting to round down when displaying fractional odds. A horse with 5/2 odds might actually pay closer to +275 or even +280 in American odds rather than the +250 you’d expect from a direct conversion.

Of course, you won’t know for sure (unless you do the math) until you check the decimal payout, which is often listed in $1 increments on select sites like BetVictor and Sports Interaction before the race. After the race, payouts are typically listed in $2 decimal form, which aligns nicely with the standard minimum horse racing bet of $2.

How Pari-Mutuel Betting Shapes Horse Racing Odds

Unlike traditional fixed-odds sports bets, horse racing bets are pooled, and the odds shift based on the amount of money wagered on each horse. The winnings are then divided among the lucky sons of guns who banked on the right horse after the house takes its cut. This is called the pari-mutuel betting system. The bigger the original bet, the bigger the winner’s slice. Of course, odds are initially set by bookies to handicap the race to help assign fair value to each horse and balance the field—but once the betting opens, the flow of cash starts calling the shots, and the odds will always follow!

Note: When it comes to horse racing in Canada, the Criminal Code of Canada only permits pari-mutuel betting—not fixed-odds wagering—to protect the integrity and financial model of the domestic racing industry.

Here’s a look at how horse racing pools work. First, let’s get a visual going with some fictitious race info:

In our imaginary race, Horse #3 is the clear favourite, pulling in $500 in bets—half of all the money wagered ($1,000). Don’t forget, the bookmaker takes a cut of the total pool; major tracks like Belmont Park and Woodbine typically apply a standard takeout percentage of 15%, leaving an $850 cash pool to be split among the winning bettors. Betting sites will also take a small percentage from the horse racing betting prize pool (and adjust their vig on sports bets) to ensure they still get paid.

How Money Wagers Affect Horse Racing Odds

Now let’s break down what really counts: your share of the cash winnings in relation to your horse’s win odds! Here’s the formula: you divide the remaining total pool by the amount of money wagered on each horse to find the potential payout per dollar wagered:

(Total pool – House’s take) ÷ Amount wagered on the horse = Payout per $1 wagered

Let’s throw up some more numbers to help you determine your potential cash winnings:

Horse #1 Win Odds & Profit Breakdown

Let’s imagine you bet on horse #1 —who definitely isn’t the favourite, but his 6/1 odds aren’t half bad—and he wins! After celebrating, fist-pumping, hyperventilating, or whatever you do when you win big, you’ll get to cash in your winnings. Using our formula, $850/$110 works out to $7.72, which includes the $1 wagered. So, for every $1 wagered, the profit is $6.72. But keep in mind the minimum bet for horse racing is typically $2. If you can’t be bothered to do the math, you can always use our horse racing odds calculator to convert odds and determine profits with ease!

Since tracks use fractional odds, we can determine that Horse #1 has 6/1 odds fairly easily ($6.72 profit for a $1 wager = 6/1 odds). Keep in mind bookies ditch the decimals and round down when displaying fractional odds, so if you’re only watching the odds and skipping your calculations, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with a bonus $0.72 per dollar wagered.

Horse #3 Win Odds & Profit Breakdown

Although betting on the favourite won’t land you a massive cash payout, there’s a solid chance you’ll walk away with some money. A reminder for the rookies: the higher the chance of winning, the lower the potential profit. Okay, class—time to whip out your calculators and use the formula above: $850/$500 equals $1.70 (which includes the original $1 stake), meaning for every $1 wagered, the profit is $0.70. Unfortunately, the odds don’t line up nicely this time since we don’t have a whole number to work with, meaning we’ll have to do a bit more math.

With pari-mutuel horse racing betting, tote boards typically round odds down to the nearest standard fractional odds bettors can quickly recognize (well, some of us), like 1/1, 3/5, 1/2, 8/5, etc. Meaning instead of using the beautiful and mathematically correct odds of 7/10, trackside bookmakers will round down, leaving Horse #3 with 3/5 odds (gross, right?). Meaning if your original bet is $5, you’d make a $3 profit—plus a bonus $0.50 in this case. Conversely, the longshot (AKA Horse #5) would return a whopping $17 profit for every dollar you bet (but what are the odds he’d win—oh wait!).

Horse Racing Odds Example

Ready for a real-world example? Let’s check out how Mystic Dan’s longshot horse racing odds (18/1) scored bettors massive payouts after he shocked the crowd at Churchill Downs by winning the Kentucky Derby in 2024.

The winner, Mystic Dan, went off at 18/1 odds “post time,” which would usually be +1800 in American odds. From his $39.22 win payout, inexperienced bettors might guess Mystic Dan started the race with slightly higher win odds than 18/1—but we both know that’s not the case when it comes to horse racing odds. Remember, these payouts are $2, so the first thing you’ll need to do is divide $39.22 by $2, which equals a $19.61 payout. Then you’ll need to subtract $1 to see the true “payout in profit”: $18.61, which we know will be listed as 18/1 because it gets rounded down.

Conversely, you can start by subtracting $2 from the payout and then divide that number by 2. Boom, you have your payout in decimal form. From there, it can easily be converted to American odds by moving the decimal back two spots and throwing a “+” sign in front of the number.

Note: There are a variety of different horse racing betting markets in the screenshot above—we’ve only touched on win odds so far (AKA the odds that your horse finishes first), so be sure to review our other horse racing betting resources to learn more!

Mastering Horse Racing Odds

Once you understand how horse racing betting odds work, the real challenge is finding odds with a fair betting value and knowing when to lock them in. Many seasoned bettors keep a close eye on the odds in the minutes leading up to post time (AKA the official start of the race) to spot where all the smart bets are going—or, at least, where the cash is flowing—as odds can shift dramatically moments before riders take their marks and the betting closes.

In some cases, even if a bookie pegs a horse as the favorite, the horse may open (i.e., the starting odds when betting begins) at much higher odds than the morning line (the odds predicted by the track handicapper). This usually trips up novice bettors who leap on the first wave of public bets—and end up watching the odds gradually drop as more money comes in on the morning line favorite. On the other hand, experienced bettors are often confident in their selections well in advance of the race and are not as easily influenced by the movement of the odds. Savvy bettors are also quite skilled at predicting the final odds based on their knowledge of how the public bets on certain tracks.

More Horse Racing Resources:

• Best Horse Racing Betting Sites
• Guide: How to Bet on Horse Racing

Major Horse Racing Events

• Triple Crown
• Kentucky Derby
• Preakness Stakes
• Belmont Stakes
• King’s Plate
• Breeders Cup

Recap: Horse Racing Odds

Now that you’ve got a rein on horse racing betting odds, what do you think—ready to hit the track, place bets, and calculate how much money you’ll win before the riders reach the finish line? Remember to pay attention to whether odds refer to every $1 or $2 wagered, and that trackside bookmakers like to keep you on your toes by rounding down fractional odds and mixing things up with decimal odds for payout announcements. Keep in mind that horse racing odds can change drastically at the drop of a hat, and seasoned bettors will watch how the odds shift in the minutes before the race begins.

Check back with us for the latest horse racing odds, upcoming events, and top picks, as well as expert betting guides, in-depth reviews, and our unbiased opinions. Please play responsibly, and only ever wager what you’re willing to lose!

Horse Racing Odds FAQs