It’s estimated that horses were domesticated some six millennia ago by nomads living in Central Asia. As soon as they turned wild horses into their humble servants, nomadic tribesmen wanted to test who’s got the fastest horse. And that’s how the story of horse betting starts!
Rewind a few thousand years to the future and horse racing is a crucial part of the Ancient Greek Olympics. And in the Roman era, it’s considered a nobleman’s sport, with horse riders and charioteers being superstars of their times. Actually, Roman chariot rider Gaius Appuleius Diocles is thought to be the highest-paid athlete in history. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are no match to this guy, whose worth in today’s money would be more than $15 billion.
Even in modern times, horse racing is a pretty lucrative sport, with some racehorses costing tens of millions of dollars. For example, an American Thoroughbred named Fusaichi Pegasus was sold to his current owner for whopping $70M. All this money talk has probably made you crave for it. If so, we’re now going to teach you how to win some by betting on horse racing.
Basics of Horse Race Betting
When there’s some kind of competition involved, there are always some people who are ready to bet on it. There are literally tens of thousands of horse racing events around the world every year. And each of them has dozens of races. With a simple calculation, you get to realize that at almost any moment, you can find an event where to bet on.
That’s why it’s not surprising that the estimated horse race betting market has an estimated worth of over 115 billion dollars, which is higher than the GDP of countries like Ukraine or Venezuela. With the rise of online gambling, that number is expected to grow even higher.
There’s nothing stopping bettors from getting involved. In the modern-day, horse racing is one of not too many forms of gambling that’s legal almost anywhere on the planet, United States included. Another reason to give it a try is convenience. Thanks to the internet, you no longer have to go to a racetrack to place a bet. You can do it via your computer or smartphone.
Types of Bets in Horse Race Betting
There are many different types of bets you can wager your money on in horse racing, the simplest being the winner. Basically, you just put your money on a horse and if it finishes the race first, you get the money.
Being the simples, it’s also the most popular type of bet in horse racing betting. But this doesn’t mean other types should be ignored. On the contrary! Some of those are not only really entertaining but can also result in big wins. Let’s talk about some of them!
Place & Show
In the horse race betting world, the word ‘place’ means ‘top 2 finish’. If the horse you bet on finishes on one of the top two spots, you win! Similarly, you can bet that your horse will finish on one of the top three spots with the type of bet called ‘show’.
Exacta
Exacta is basically a 2-in-1 bet; you’re betting on one horse to win the race and on one to finish second. If you get the exact order of the top two, you can expect big winnings coming your way. Of course, it’s not easy to correctly predict which two horses will finish the race before others. This is why many bettors use an alternative to the exacta bet called quinella.
Quinella
It’s similar to exacta in the sense that you bet on two horses that should finish before the rest. But you don’t have to guess the exact order. All that matters is that the two horses you’ve picked are the ones that cross the finish line before anyone else.
Tricast
If you thought exacta and quinella aren’t too exciting types of bets, tricast (a.k.a. trifecta) might be perfect for you. In this bet, you’re putting your money on three top horses, which need to finish the race in the exact order as you’ve predicted. An even more exciting version of this bet is superfecta, which involves guessing the top four horses in exact order.
Tips on Winning on Horse Race Betting
An important thing to remember is that for the best horse racing betting tips & strategy, as well as legal online horse race betting sites, you can visit OffshoreSportsbooks.com. That’s where you can find all the info you need, but if you’re a DIY person, here’s a couple of tips for you to figure out your own horse race betting tactic.
We’ll start our horse racing betting tips and suggestions by reminding you that information is power. As experienced bettors would tell you, picking the race winner doesn’t have so much to do with luck, but with knowledge. The more info you collect, the easier it is to predict the winning horse.
The most important factor to take into consideration is the form of the horse. Even if a horse has set a fantastic record before, it doesn’t mean it’ll perform equally well this time. Horse’s form is a good indicator of what you can expect but is not the only one. You got to take into account other factors, like the distance of the track, for example. Some horses (and jockeys) make better results on larger tracks, others do better at shorter distances.
One final horse betting advice we got for you is to mind the odds. If the odds on a horse are really short, they’re short for a reason – it means that horse is a huge favorite to win the race. Likewise, a horse with very long odds is very unlikely to do well in the race. And if you notice that the odds on a horse are rapidly dropping/rising, it’s a certain sign that something important is going on.
At that point you got to do your best to find out what the reason is for the change. Consult your friend Google, look for horse racing news, and check out the chat on betting forums. But, if you still can’t find the info, it’s best to stay away from that race. After all, there are plenty of other events you can bet on.