When you place a bet on a horse race, there are few things as annoying as when your chosen horse comes second. If you’ve placed an each-way bet then you might end up getting a little bit of your bankroll back, but for win bets it just feels a bit mean that you came so close to getting a payout but missed out. That might well be the thinking behind Betfred’s latest promotion, which sees people whose horse came second in selected races could receive a free bet to make up for it. The free bet will be to the amount of your stake, up to a total of £10, and can then be used on any horse racing market offered by Betfred.
The Promotion Explained
In many ways, this is a relatively simple promotion to understand. It starts by you choosing to place a win single or an each-way single bet on a horse with Betfred on one of the races that is being covered by the promotion. If your selection then fails to win but does come in second, you will receive your stake back as a free bet, up to the maximum value of £10. That free bet can then be placed on any horse racing market being covered by the company.
It is obviously important to check on the website in order to see which races are being covered by the promotion. If you bet on a race that isn’t part of it and your horse comes second, you won’t get your stake back as a free bet but will instead just feel a bit disappointed about the whole thing.
Checking the Small Print
Unsurprisingly, there are some terms and conditions for this promotion that you’ll need to keep an eye out for if you’re hoping to take advantage of it. The small print says that new and existing customers with verified accounts are eligible for the offer, with the most important thing being that you place either a win or an each-way single bet on one of the qualifying races. You won’t get your stake refunded to you if you choose to cash out your bet, nor if you place your wager on special markets or boosted odds. The bet also can’t be placed antepost and it won’t apply to bets on unnamed favourites or 2nd favourites. As with most offers, free bet stakes won’t qualify.
If your horse finishes second then you’ll get your stake back up to the value of £10. The free bet that you receive as a result will be valid for seven days and should be credited to your account within 24 hours. This can then be used on any horse race, but can’t be used on any other sport. You can split it up into different bets with a minimum of 10p per bet. If there is a dead heat for second, only half of the stake will be refunded up to a maximum of £5. If the horses in first finish in a dead heat then the offer is cancelled. There must be at least five runners in the race.
Is it a Good Value Offer?
The obvious question that a lot of punters will ask is whether or not this offer is actually one with decent value. The obvious answer is that you don’t need to pay anything to take advantage of the offer, so you’re not going to lose anything by doing so on the assumption that you were going to be place a bet on the races in question anyway. Next, let’s imagine that you’ve placed a £5 win single on a race and your horse comes second. Obviously in that instance the value is there because otherwise you’d just have lost your money, but instead you get £5 back as a free bet. What about if you’ve opted for an each-way wager?
In this scenario, imagine that you’ve placed a £5 each-way bet on a horse with odds of 10/1, with place odds of 1/5. Your bet is £10 in total because it’s made up of two bets of £5, resulting in a return of £15. With this promotion, though, you’ll get your return of £15 plus a £5 free bet for use on another horse race, meaning that it’s excellent value if you were going to bet on the race anyway.
Offer Terms and Conditions
Selected races only, minimum of 5 runners. Free bet refund applies to stakes on win singles and the win part of each way singles. Minimum free bet refund of £0.50, maximum free bet refund of £10. Free bets will be credited within 24 hours of bet settlement and will be valid for 7 days on horse racing. Cashed out bets, specials, boosted markets, ante post bets, bets on unnamed favourites or unnamed 2nd favourites and bets place with free bets will not count. If there is a dead heat for first, this promotion will not apply. Where there is a dead heat for second, half the win stake will be refunded as a free bet. Terms and conditions apply, 18+.