Guide To Horse Racing Betting

The Sport of Kings can trace its roots as far back as 4500 B.C., with modern racing tracing it lineage to the 12th century, when knights of the British Empire brought back Arabic stallions that were crossbred with English mares producing a class of horse with a remarkable combination of speed and endurance, known today as the thoroughbred.

As the sport evolved to being more professional during the reign of Queen Anne in the early 18th century, racetracks were constructed and offered purses, or prize money to the winner of the events. All along being inextricably associated with gambling.

Today the activity generates a worldwide market worth of around $115 billion - with a lot of the action being bet on the Kentucky Derby.

So how do you get your hands on just a little of that money?

Well, for starters horse betting is a bit different from other gambling types. Horse betting has different bets, has entirely different odds and a unique way of displaying them. Even if you are a pro at gambling, you will need to read some basics of horse betting to be successful, as even the best professional handicappers pick winners only about 30 percent of the time.

So you're probably asking, how can I win? You can, and big if you follow some simple rules and guidelines.

First, you'll need to get your hands on a racing program. You can pick one of these up at the track for a couple of bucks, or, if you wagering from home, you may want to subscribe to the Daily Racing Form or check out the tracks official web site for free daily programs.

Reading a program for the first time may seem mystifying, but once you find out what all the numbers and symbols mean, you'll be handicapping with the best of them.

The race description and purse is shown just before the individual past performances, so you can get an idea of how this race compares to the past. The past performances begin with name, post and their morning odds. Below this is the owner, followed by the silk color of the jockey, and the name of the jockey along with their record. This record is at the current meeting, followed by statistics for the entire year.

To the right of jockey's name, you will find the age of the horse, breeding information, sire's stud fee, trainer's name and statistics, weight of the horse, lifetime record, monies won lifetime, and running lines, which goes over the horses last ten starts.

Below that, you will find any recent workout activity, trainer statistics that apply to the race and the trainer's record with the jockey.

If it sounds like a lot of information and it is. Personally, I tend to look at comparable conditions and see how they have fared. Sure, someone could be a loser on paper, but the few flashes of greatness might have similar conditions as the race I am betting that particular day. Are they switching surface conditions? Is the jockey who rode the horse on other wins the same jockey riding him/her today? The variables are endless, so my advice in the beginning is to focus on a few things you feel are important and use that as a starting point.

Once you've digested all of your reading material and have decided on your pick, you will need to determine the type of wager you want to throw down.

First, there is the straight bet that allows bettors to choose the horse they think will win (finish first), place (come in first or second), show (a place bet plus the third position), or across the board wagers (to bet on that a horse will take any of the first three places). These are pretty straightforward.

Next, there are the exotic betting wagers. These are the exacta, quinella, trifecta, and superfecta.

With an exacta, bettors bet the two horses to finish first and second in exact order. Exacta betting is a favorite among skilled handicappers and can provide some very lucrative payoffs for as little a $2 wager.

The quinella allows you to bet two horses to finish first and second in either order. As long as your two horses finish in the top two positions, you win. Quinellas generally, but not always, pay less than exactas, but give the bettor a little more leeway.

My personal favorite is the trifecta. Trifectas can produce huge payoffs on occasion and allows the bettor to wager on three horses to finish first, second and third in exact order. A $2 straight trifecta pays off only if the final order of finish is the same as you have predicted. However, a popular wager among many horse racing fans is a $1 trifecta box of three or more horses. A $1 trifecta box of three horses costs $6 but includes six possible winning $1 combinations. The box pays off if your three selections finish in the top three positions in any order. The superfecta is a trifecta plus the fourth horse to come to the finish.

Finally, the daily double bet requires a bettor to predict horses to finish first in two races. It's kind of like a two-game parlay. These types of wagers can, and do produce excellent payoffs, particularly when favorites fail to win.

Keep in mind it's perfectly safe to make your wagers early and lock in your odds. In horse betting, it's forbidden to make bets on scratches, the horses that have been withdrawn from races. When you bet on a late scratch, your wager will be given back to you in most cases.

So are you ready to start making money?

Exacta and trifecta boxes are offered at most online betting sites like the partners on our web site and racetracks as $1 wagers. The minimum bet for a quinella is $2. Superfectas are offered at some racetracks for as little as .10 per combination. For example, a .10 superfecta box including four horses would cost you $2.40. Of course, a lower wagering amount normally means a lower payout. If a $1 superfecta box pays off at $100, a $0.10 Superfecta Box would pay $10.

Betting on horseracing is much more than just slapping down your hard-earned cash and hoping for the best. It's one of those rare sports in which if you spend the time to understand you can reap financial benefit. You're not betting against the house, you're matching wits with fellow horseplayers just like yourself.

So what are you waiting for?

Now that you have read through our horserace betting basics, incorporate a few of our handicapping tips, pick a horse and place your bet.