How To Bet on Horse Racing

After betting on horses for a good part of the last 5 years, it has become my obsession.  There is no better feeling than putting your money down on the long shot and having the horse coming through with a nice payout.  Once you get the hang of betting on horses you are going to find out that it is fun; and if you bet carefully, you may even make a little bit of cash!

To understand how to bet on horses, the first thing you to have to know is the lingo.  There are various types of bets that you can make.  A Win, Place, Show bet is self explanatory.  In this type of wager you are simply placing money on a horse to either win (come in first), place (come in second), or show (come in third).  At the track a minimum of $2 is required to bet.  Odds are placed for win, place, or show.

An Exacta bet is when you pick which horse is going to finish first or second.  A trifecta bet is when you wager on who is going to place in the top three.  Superfecta is when you select the top four.  These bets can also be boxed, just like in your state lotteries.  In other words if you bet a superfecta box, the four horses you select can finish in the top four, regardless of the order.  Another type of bet that is popular at various tracks is Pick 4, Pick 5, and Pick 6.  In this type of bet, you select 4, 5, or 6 races in succession on a race card and select who you think is going to win each race.  If you pick the winners in each race, you win the bet.  Pick 6 wagers are the most lucrative at the track as they are known to pay out high amounts.  Tracks will have Pick 6 promotions where in some cases the payout can be as high as $1,000,000.

The main thing about betting on horses is that you want to follow the sport.  You want to know which jockeys and trainers are doing well.  There are tons of online and print publications that offer detailed inside information on the horses and jockeys, including past performances, records, and breeding information.  This information is vital because if you know that a horse was bred by a champion, then in most cases the offspring will be a champion.

There are plenty of primer courses online about horse betting.  If you are new to the sport, the best thing is do is a little learning before you jump right into it.  Believe you me, once you get the hang of it you are going to want to be at the track and it will be a 24/7 obsession.