How to Bet on the Horses

By eHow Hobbies, Games & Toys Editor

The more you understand a horse racing form, the more you will understand betting.

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Betting on the horses can be as complicated or as easy as you would like it to be. The more you understand the racing form, the more you will know about the horses and the races they are running.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Cash

Step1

Go to race track, off-track betting facility or casino sports book. You can bet on the horses at all of these locations, but it's more fun to bet at the track so you can watch the race.

Step2

Know that thoroughbred racing is the most popular and the most common kind of horse race in America, with standardbred and quarter horse racing next. These distinctions refer to the various horse breeds.

Step3

Buy and study the racing form (see related eHow).

Step4

Make sure you know the length of the race on which you are interested in betting and how your horse does in races of this length.

Step5

Go to the betting window.

Step6

Place your bet. Usually the smallest bet allowes is one dollar.

Step7

Remember how much you bet, and do not lose your betting ticket or receipt.

Step8

Remember the odds when you placed the bet.

Step9

Return to the window after the race has been run and collect your winnings.

Step10

Throw your ticket on the floor if you lost.

Tips & Warnings

Races are measured in furlongs or eighths of a mile.
Betting on a horse to win, means you are betting it will come in first, betting on a horse to place means you are betting it will come in first or second, and betting on a horse to show means you are betting it will come in first, second or third. Betting on the exacta or perfecta means you are betting on the first two horses to win in the correct order of finish. Betting on the quinella or quiniela means you are betting on two horses to come in first and second, but those two horses don't have to finish in any particular order. Betting on the daily double is betting on the winners of two races. You must be correct in both races to win the bet.
Gambling can be addictive. If you think you have a problem, get help immediately.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 5/22/2007 If you are having a bet and looking at the form, be careful of picking horses that won last time up. After they win a race, the rating of the horse goes up and it will be taking on much better horses next time. Now if it is a genuine good horse, then it might keep winning race after race. But I think that most of the horses don't keep winning races constantly.
The most important thing of all is the ground, you have to take a good look at all the horses forms to make sure they are able to run a good race on the ground.

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