Horse racing

Horse racing has a long history in many different cultures and geographical regions, and there are for instance evidence of horse racing taking place in ancient Egypt and Babylon. In ancient Greek, chariot racing as well as mounted horse racing was a part of the Olympics from at least 648 BC.

Today, there are three main types of horse racing: flat racing, steeplechasing and harness racing. In flat racing, the horse runs over a level track for a predetermined distance. In steeplechasing, the horse must jump obstacles such as fences and ditches and successfully traverse the countryside in which the race takes place. In harness racing, the horse race at a specific gait (tro or pace). Normally, the horse will be pulling a driver in a sulky, but racing under saddle do occur as well.

Betting at horse races

Betting is today an integral part of horse racing in virtually any country where horse racing is common. Estimates from 2008 show a world-wide betting market for horse racing worth about 115 billion USD per year.

At the race track, there will usually be a gambling station where punters can wager their money. There are however a few race tracks where betting is not permitted, such as the famous Colonial Cup Steeplechase in Camded, South Carolina, USA where betting on horse races has been illegal since 1951.

In jurisdictions where betting on horse races is legal, the race track will typically offer so called parimutuel betting. In some countries, including the UK, Ireland and Australia, there are also bookmakers offering odds for horse races.

Different types of horse racing bets

• In the United States and Canada, the three most common bets on horse racing are “to win”, “to place” and “to show”. A bet to win, also known as a straight bet, means betting on a horse to win the race. If you bet on a horse to place, it needs to finish first or second for you to win any money. If you bet on a horse to show, you will win if it comes first, second or third in the race. Of course, the payoffs vary greatly between these three types of bets.

• In Europe, Oceania and Asia, the two most common bets are “two win” and “to place”. The “to show” bet doesn't exist in the North American sense of the term.

  To place doesn't necessarily mean to finish first or second here because the number of “places” vary from race to race depending on how many horses that are participating in the race. A horse participating in a race with at least eight runners will only need to finish first, second or third for you to win on your “to place” bet, and if there are 16 runners or more even fourth place will be considered payout place. For races with seven horses or less, only first and second place are payout places.

• Everywhere except for North America, you can encounter the the term “each-way” when betting on horses. It is important to realize that it means different things depending on where you are. Generally speaking, an each-way bet (E/W) is a bet split in two. One half is placed on “to win” while the other is placed on “to place”. With some bookmakers, everything up to 6^th place is payout place for this type of bet.