How Has AI Disrupted Horse Race Betting

Finding the winner of one of the biggest horse races on the calendar is always one of the most thrilling feelings for bettors.

However, the need for tipsters and the knack of research could be made redundant over the coming years due to the growing force of Artificial Intelligence. The high-tech tool has helped transform the fortunes of a number of sectors already, with industries within finance and healthcare both enjoying success.

Therefore, it will be no surprise to see AI adapted to sports betting, such as the 2024 Breeders’ Cup betting odds, in the near future, but how likely is it to have a damning role in the art of finding a winner on track?

What Is AI?

AI is a useful tool that has been adapted to a number of other sectors already, with the technology able to take a huge magnitude of data and work out patterns in lightning fast time.

This has seen humans become obsolete in certain sectors, as AI can complete jobs much quicker than us, reducing the risk of error in the process. Given that numbers and data play such a key role in horse racing, it is little surprise that AI is already enjoying some success within the sport.

How Is AI Used In Horse Racing?

Horse racing is a sport that uses data more than most, as the numbers could have a direct impact on the performances of runners on track. AI is already used by a number of the top trainers across the world.

Data analytics are easier than ever with the use of AI, as the tech can quickly go through the stats and past performances of runners to identify the most likely path that a runner will need to take in their training.

The analytics can also help trainers pinpoint the ground conditions that suit each of their runners in training, and identify where on the track the runner can excel in each race.

How Is It Used In Betting?

With the sheer number of data available, it is little surprise that AI can be used to predict outcomes in races. The technology can take aboard all the relevant information that tipsters would typically examine, including past performances, trainer/jockey form, and ground conditions, before producing the most likely runners that will finish in the top three places.

Each horse will get a probability rating surrounding their chances of victory, which could help identify the best betting angle for gamblers on a certain race. Not only is AI popular in this regard to bettors, but it is also very useful knowledge for trainers and owners when it comes to deliberating whether to run their horses in a certain race or not.

Positives Of AI In Horse Racing Betting

The biggest advantage that comes with AI in terms of betting on the horse racing action is the fact that it can quickly analyse vast amounts of data, which could save punters hours of their time.

This will give bettors all the information that they require in order to make an in-depth bet on the race they are studying. Furthermore, pattern recognition is a positive when it comes to AI and betting.

The technology can find patters and trends after studying that data that would be near impossible for bettors if they were simply carrying out their own research on a race. Therefore, AI could take into account variables that bettors haven’t considered when completing their own research.

Negatives Of AI In Horse Racing Betting

It should be argued that the perfect partnership between AI and betting does still include human interference, as only we will know exactly what could happen should certain unpredictable events take place.

Horse racing is one of the most unpredictable sports on the planet, meaning that a slow start from the stalls may not be taken into account when AI studies the data. Meanwhile, in jumps races, there are hurdles or fences that must be navigated, which creates another unknown when assessing the most likely outcome of a race. Jumps racing has achieved limited success in terms of AI betting results, with the unpredictability being the big reason for that.

The sudden changes in form could also not be taken aboard by AI, meaning that it struggles with dynamic variables that could have a direct impact on the likely result. As part of this AI also struggles to comprehend weather conditions and track bias that could play a direct role in the likely outcome of a race.

Therefore, while AI can help bettors narrow down the likely list of winners in a race, it also isn’t a sure-fire method of finding regular winners. For that reason, it can be a helpful tool for bettors, but results shouldn’t be taken as gospel and research should still be completed.