Horse Racing consists of two or more jockeys on horseback in a race with a predetermined distance. Horse Racing has been around for over 2 thousand years and goes all the way back to the ancient civilizations. Because of the many cultures and their influence on racing, many present day countries have traditional races that go back to ancient times.
Races can be based on many variables such as age of horse, breed of horse, types of tracks and distances. As with the United States and the Triple Crown of Thorough Breed Racing (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes) many other countries have their premier events which can consist of many races or just one. In the U.S. the Kentucky Derby is considered the premiere of all the single race events.
How to Bet on Horse Racing
Betting on Horse Racing might seem complicated at first but once you get involved and start making some bets with the help of others, you will start getting the gist of the bets. Let’s first deal with Straight Wagers which means betting on one horse.
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Win – You are betting for your horse to win. Any other finish means that you lose.
Place – You are betting on your horse to come in first or second. Remember, the more opportunities for a “win”, the less return on your bet.
Show – You are betting on your horse to come in first, second OR third. This drops your return on your bet much more.
Across the Board – You are betting on your horse to win, place AND show. This is actually 3 bets in 1 and is more expensive than your “show” bet.
Pick 3 – You are betting on winners for the next 3 races.
Pick 6 – You are betting on winners for the next 6 races.
There are also some “exotic” bets which require a lot more knowledge on the horses and many other variables. It’s for the more experienced gamblers and although it might seem exciting, it can quickly get very expensive. These bets include, exacta, trifecta, quinella and superfecta.
Rules and Strategy
To make a profession of betting on the horses there has to be a lot of time, research and knowledge involved, which is far from going to the track and throwing a few dollars on win, place or show. Because of the so many variables involved in a horse race, it might take years before you become even a novice gambler. With this being said, sometimes there is too much information to process and there is information overload.
These are some things to consider when betting on a horse and the variables which influence the outcome of the race. These include but are not limited to weather, temperature, humidity, track condition, track surface, handicap, health of the horse and jockey.
Terms
Without getting into their long and laborious definitions, I will just stick with the terminology itself and you are more than welcome to find their meanings.
Also-ran, Apprentice, At the post, Bleeders, Blinds, Blowout, Chute, Claimer, Classic, Colt, Course Specialist, Backstretch, Blue Hen, Breeze, Closer, Dead Heat, Derby, Handicap and Furlong.
Types of Horse Racing
Horse Racing can be divided in 2 broad categories with a variety of sub-categories for each of these two. The 2 main categories are flat races and jump races. Somewhat self-explanatory these races include flat tracks where horses run a specified distance such as the Kentucky Derby. The Steeple Chase type races are where there are fixed jumps and a somewhat more dangerous element than the flat tracks.
History of Horse Racing
It is probably too difficult to trace the origin of Horse Racing, but we do know that it was part of the Olympics in Ancient Greece during the period around 700 B.C. The Roman Empire was also associated with horse racing where this consisted of both mounted racing and chariot racing. Who can forget the exciting and brutal scene from Ben-Hur and the chariot races?
The advent of what we would call organized races first began during the 16th century with the spring carnival in Rome as well as the organized races by Charles the II in England. At the same time Louis XIV of France was a patron of the races where gambling was part of the ritual.
Despite the long history of Horse Racing there hasn’t been much change since the early days. The horses haven’t “evolved” and the equipment such as the saddle and bridle are based on the same concept with close to the same material being used. Probably the biggest evolution in the sport is that they no longer have the deadly chariot races. I highly doubt that a charioteer wielding his whip while trying to flip other competitor’s chariots would garner much support in this day and age. On the other hand, it just might.
Popular Culture
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Horse Racing is a sport that crosses the boundaries of cultures, class and nationalities. Because of this it is a popular subject for films and entertainment. There are many films strictly about Horse Racing as well as many other films that incorporate scenes in their plot and movies based on horses themselves. I will list some films both memorable and not so memorable. The Black Stallion, National Velvet, Seabiscuit, Phar Lap, Dreamers, War Horse and of course who could forget Charlie Chan at the Race Track.
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Other mediums such as TV have incorporated Horse Racing into their plots as well as showing the relationship between men and their horses. One memorable scene of a Sopranos episode is where Tony becomes “involved” with a horse named Pie-O-My who is owned by Ralph Cifaretto. The horse wins because of some of Tony’s strategies, Ralph feels obligated to give Tony part of his winnings. Tony grows fond of the horse, but when the horse becomes ill and is no longer a money winner, Ralph sees to it that the horse has seen its last race. This created the climatic scene where Tony confronts Ralph and……………the rest is history.
Sometimes it’s more of the event itself than the actual race that becomes focal point. As the United States has the Kentucky Derby with its fancy dress and Mint Juleps, nothing can top the pomp and circumstance of The Royal Ascot in the U.K. With the Queen in attendance along with every other blue blood from the British Monarchy, this is the event of the year where men don their top hats and women try to outdo each other with their over the top hats and colors. Being the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, it’s no wonder that an event such as this brings such attention and participation.
Horse Racing has even become part of the online gambling culture. While offering some interesting graphics, themes and colors, I just find it somewhat unfulfilling and humorous when trying to play these online video games.