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Horse racing betting can be complicated for the beginner, but once you learn the procedure, it’s not that hard. Unlike casinos, you aren’t betting against “the house.” What happens is that the wagers are put into a common pot as bettors pick among all possible horse racing selections. All bets for a particular horse to win are pooled. If that horse wins, then the race track takes a percent of the total, each bettor receives their original wager back, and what’s left in the pool is then divided equally among the winners.

That sounds easy, but it gets complicated when the race entries chosen are in more than just the “win” category. Bettors can choose not just one horse, but also combinations of first, second or third place winners. For example, if someone bets on a first-second-third combination, then this bet is called a trifecta. They will only win if all three horses place in the order the person bet on. The simplest betting involves choosing a horse either to win the race, to “place,” meaning it finishes first or second, or to “show,” where it must be somewhere among the top three finishers.

You can get some help with your horse racing betting from various sources, such as the race program published by the track itself, along with the racing form that describes the previous statistics for all horses in the current race. Once you’ve made your pick, you go to the window and quickly state which track, race number and horse number you’re betting, and whether you’re choosing that horse to win, place or show, or some other type of bet.

When placing a bet, the amount you win will not be a predetermined, fixed number; it depends how many others made the same bet. If you check the odds and make your horse racing picks based on a real long shot, then your chances of winning a large amount are good, especially if the favorite doesn’t even place in the first three. By the same token, if you and a thousand others all bet on the big favorite, then you might get as little as $2.10 back on a $2 bet. Part of the excitement of horse racing betting is not just the challenge of choosing a winning horse, but choosing the right type of bet to begin with.

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Filed under: Hobbies on January 16th, 2010