Horse Racing Betting

Horse Racing is the only sport in the world that exists solely for the massive amount of gamblers who love to get action on the speedy races. The sport was actually close to disappearing when parimutuel betting was introduced in the early 19th century. Now that betting has opened up online the sport is thriving like it never has before.

Bodog is one place to bet online, but there are other sites that are trusted to be safe and secure with your wagers, like Sportsbook.com and BetUS.com. Each place offers a bonus for new sign-ups and each site offers up to the second odds of every race. Each site has a great reputation for paying out winnings fast and for having secure betting platforms.

Most people who bet on horses understand that if they win, for example, a race that pays 4-1 odds, they will win four times what they wagered. Most people do not realize, however, that the winning money comes from the other bettors, not the house. This form of betting, where the prize money is pooled from all the bets placed and winners are paid from the pool, is called pari mutuel betting. The house makes its money by taking between 15-20% of the total money pooled.

A player usually puts their money on a specific horse to either Win, Place, or Show. These are the three most common types of horse racing bets. Other, slightly more complicated, but still quite common types of bets are perfectas, quinellas, trifectas, and superfectas. The most complicated types of bets are box bets, duets, doubles, triples, quadrellas and sweeps. The payout odds for each type of bet differs with each race and with every combination of picks. The more unlikely the bet is to hit, the higher the payout odds, thus, the more money that can be won if hit. Below is a list of the most common types of bets placed on horse races.

• Win - Picking a horse to come in 1st place.
• Place - Picking a horse to come in either 1st or 2nd place.
• Show - Picking a horse to come in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.
• Perfecta - Picking 2 horses that come in 1st and 2nd place in exact order.
• Quinella - Picking 2 horses that come in 1st and 2nd place in any order.
• Trifecta - Picking 3 horses that come in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in exact order.
• Superfecta - Picking 4 horses that come in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place in exact order.
• Boxing - Bettors can put a 'box' around their bet so the horses picked can finish in any order. Ex = A Trifecta Box.

The most popular horse races in the United States are those that make up the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The first race of the year that kicks off the Triple Crown season is the Kentucky Derby, which takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Derby is a 1 and 1/4 mile long dirt track and takes place on the first Saturday in May.

On the third Saturday in May the second race of the Triple Crown takes place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. That race is 1 and 3/16 miles long and is known as, The Preakness. The final race that makes up the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing is the Belmont Stakes. This is a mile and half long dirt track and the race takes place at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York on the first Saturday after June fifth.

One horse taking all three races, and thus winning The Triple Crown, is extremely rare and considered to be the most monumental achievement possible in the horse racing world.

Everything discussed so far revolves around thoroughbred racing, but there are other forms of racing that are popular in the equestrian world. Thoroughbred races are typically short races that take place on dirt or synthetic tracks. They are typically run on flat oval shaped tracks and are separated into two different types of races, condition and handicap. Races depend greatly on the weight the horse carries and 'jockeying' for position.

Then there are endurance races and quarter horse races. Endurance races are typically very long races where the horses must have stamina and strength, as well as speed, in order to win the race. Distances vary greatly from ten miles to over a hundred miles.

Quarter horse races are run on straight tracks and depend almost solely on the horses' speed. These races are typically a quarter mile long and many races come down to a 'photo' finish because all the horses usually end up grouped together at the finish line.

For most people the fun of betting on horses is going to the track, looking through the tote boards and the horse names, and picking the names that sound cool. Some people love to always take the long shot because they can really win big by betting just a little. That really is a perfectly acceptable way of choosing your pick for each race, but there are some much better strategies. Here are few tips if you want to actually try to win through intelligence and not with your gut.

Things to consider are the fitness level of the horse, who the jockey is, who the trainer is, the competition the horse is up against, the post position of the horse, the consistency of placing, the horse's weight, and a few other details. Studying all of these factors before betting will put you in a much more strategically sound position and it will give your money a better chance of winning.

We get a lot of our horse track news from Online Casino Advisory. They report on what is going on all over the world as it relates to the world of horse betting. There's a great deal of information on Wiki's page about horse racing, but it is not known to be the most reliable source so don't depend too much on the details you find there. And of course, we support places like Gamblers Anonymous and their role in providing bettors with an outlet if they run into gambling problems like addiction.