Horse races were held in the Olympic Games of Greece over the period 700-40 BCE, which means that we are talking about one of the oldest sports in history. There are a lot of things changed when it comes to modern horse racing, but the idea stays the same. The winning horse is the first one that crosses the finish line.
Over time the sport developed into an exciting event that brings a lot of people. British settlers brought horse racing to America back in 1665, and the first race was laid out on Long Island. This is where the sport developed in a competitive match where you can bet on your favorite horse.
If you still haven’t been to a horse race, you should take a bit of your free time to enjoy this event. Horse racing can bring out excitement, especially if you put some money on a horse.
Over the years, horse betting evolved into something spectacular and with a great winning chance. Nowadays, there are many horse betting websites like TwinSpires that offer horse betting with great odds.
For example, you can read in their website about the contenders of the race and get to know them months before the event starts. Visit twinspires.com/kentuckyderby/contenders to know more.
Horse betting might sound simple enough, but there are many things to know before you are ready to bet.
Understand Horse Betting
To increase your winning chance, you have to understand all betting principles when it comes to horse racing.
There are two wager categories to choose from when you want to bet on horses, such as straight wagers and exotic wagers. As a beginner, it is much better to stick with straight wagers since there are much simpler.
Straight Wagers
A straight wager is when you bet on only one horse.
Types of straight wagers:
WIN – This is when you place all your money on a single horse. If the horse finished first, you get to collect.
PLACE – When you bet on “place” you’re betting that the horse will finish first or second. Since there is a higher probability than a “win” bet, the payout for a place bet is less than a winning bet.
SHOW – Show is a wager that gives you additional chance. You’ll win your money if the horse finishes first, second, or third. Obviously, this bet has smaller odds since there is a higher chance that this could happen.
ACROSS THE BOARD – This is one of the combo bets in horse betting that allows you to increase your earnings. When you place an “Across the Board” bet you are betting your horse to win, place and show. Since this combines three bets into one, it will require more money for betting.
WIN/PLACE, PLACE/SHOW – This is a similar bet to the previous one. If you decided to place a bet on win/place bet, you are betting your horse to win and place. If he wins, you get to collect both winnings. The same goes for if you place a place/show bet, if your betting horse finishes second, you collect the price and show money.
If you are feeling lucky and want to dig deeper into horse betting, you can jump into exotic wagers. Exotic wagers allow you to bet on multiple horses in a single bet. However, as we mentioned above these are much more complicated bets and as a beginner, we strongly suggest that you stick to the simple bets until you know the sport.
EXACTA – This bet will allow you to bet on two horses that should come in first and second in exact order.
QUINELLA – This bet will allow you to put your money on two horses that will come first and second in any order.
TRIFECTA – This is a more complicated bet that allows you to place your money on three horses that will finish first, second, and third in exact order.
Final Words
Horse betting is exciting and you should go to a horse race to find out yourself. On top of that, we have great betting options that will bring out the excitement.
Remember, you have to understand all the rules of the sport to improve your winning chances.
