Over the centuries, the allure of horse racing has always captured the interest of a great number of the populace. All through historical accounts from Norse Mythology down to the Circus Maximus in Rome and finally to today’s modern-day racetracks, horse racing enthusiasts have felt the exhilaration and excitement of watching live horse races enough to keep them coming back for more. No doubt about it, wherever you are in the world, you cannot find anything that’s more entertaining than horse racing. Part of the fun is the wagering involved in most horse races today. However, even if you do not bet, live horse racing can be exciting.
Horse racing traces its roots down to Greece. In these races, mounted horses and chariots often participated. When the Roman Empire fell, horse breeding and horse racing in the West likewise died with it. Eventually, horse racing was revived in the 1100s when English king Henry I took an interest in breeding and training horses from an Arabian stallion line. Purebred mounts soon raced at the Smithfield Track in London, the first racetrack ever to be built after the fall of the Roman Empire. Horse racing is also a popular feature in most English fairs. It is because of the royalty’s support of the sport of horse racing that it was dubbed the “Sport of Kings.”
In the United States, the first racetrack was built in Long Island, New York. The Newmarket, as this racetrack was named, was the site of the earliest horse races in the Northern American region. More and more purebred British mares and stallions were sought after by Americans for breeding and training horseracing steeds. The horse racing enthusiasts soon organized themselves and formed clubs to standardize horse breeding, training, and racing practices. Huge amounts of money were poured into the sport. Patrons have likewise made money out of the sport through betting. The need for ethical standards in horse racing to be standardized gave rise to the formation of the American Jockey Club in the late 19th century. The Club eventually took charge of the American Stud Book containing the governing procedures of horse racing all over the United States. Later on, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States was established in Chicago.
Watching live horse races, fans claim, cannot be paralleled in entertainment value. Being one with other fellow horse racing fans standing along the racetracks’ sidelines to feel the horses rush by is a feeling that cannot be equaled. Knowing how to bet adds to the fun of it all – why wouldn’t it if it could make you lots of money doing something you really enjoy. Understanding the game first before you go on betting on your choice of horses could help you plan out your bets.
The types of races that you can bet on vary. Depending on the amount of money you want to gamble and the kind of odds you want to take on, you can choose to bet in any one of them. There are also differing horse race gambling rules depending on where you are located. Horse race betting involves what is called as parimutuel betting. This basically entails pooling the bets together and then dividing the money among the winners after the appropriate taxes and racetrack expenses have been deducted from it. Such betting in thoroughbred horse racing made the sport flourish. The most popular US horse races that people bet in are the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, and the Preakness – otherwise known as the Triple Crown.
