Sports Finals

It’s a measure of the success of thoroughbred horse racing that it feels like it’s had a very long history. Its most prestigious races, such as the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes (known as the Triple Crown), are deeply steeped in tradition. But you don’t have to delve into horse racing information for very long before you discover that even the breed of thoroughbred horses is only slightly older than the United States. And the races in which they excel were established not much more than 150 years ago.

The thoroughbred horses were bred in England, crossing English mares with Arabian stallions, and were brought to North America in the early eighteenth century. But organized thoroughbred horse races didn’t start for another 150 years or so, even though the first racetrack was constructed as early as 1665, on Long Island. It wasn’t until the American Stud Book was created in 1868 that things really got organized. Harness racing, too, developed a sort of parallel history, when a new breed known as standard-bred horses branched off from the thoroughbreds.

It still took another three or four decades for the future of thoroughbred horse racing to become really secure, however. This was because there was betting at these horse races, but much of the American public frowned on such things. But in 1908, the system changed so that bettors were no longer betting against “the house” (i.e. the race track itself), but all bets were put into a common pool, and were divided among winners when the race was done. Now people could bet the horse racing odds to their heart’s content, and the number of races increased.

The future of thoroughbred horse racing wasn’t universally rosy, though, even after betting was allowed. There were continued rises and falls in popularity throughout the twentieth century, but since the 1980s the interest in this type of racing has risen fairly steadily. The internet has been an important tool in furthering these races in the past decade or so, as people can gather horse racing news and information by this means, and can now even use it to place bets. With its history and prestige now firmly established, it doesn’t look as though thoroughbred racing is likely to fade from popularity any time soon.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed treating panic disorder as well as tips on the various anxiety disorder medications available at www.anxietydisordercure.com.

By far the most popular type of race in North America is the thoroughbred horse race. It’s one of the two types of races on flat tracks, which is in fact the preferred sort of track for racing in the United States. The other kind of race on a flat track is run by quarter horses, on a track which, unsurprisingly, is a quarter mile in length. The thoroughbred races have the most prestige, but when you read the horse racing news sites, it becomes clear that quarter horse races are gradually gaining in popularity.

Horse racing analysis immediately demonstrates significant differences between thoroughbreds and quarter horses and the races they run. One of the reasons the track for quarter horses is straight is that these horses run at full speed for the whole length. Thoroughbreds are known as the fastest horses in the world, yet during a thoroughbred horse race the horses vary their speeds at different times; they are more like long distance runners, while quarter horses are the sprinters.

While you can find thoroughbred horse racing proliferating all over the world, the quarter horse race is not yet quite as prevalent. There are efforts being made, though, to increase its popularity in several other countries. For example, in early March of 2008, the first Australian Quarter Horse Racing National Conference was held in southwestern Victoria, with five members of the corresponding American association attending along with the Australian delegates. The stated goal of this conference was to discuss ways to try to expand Australian horse racing to increase the interest in and number of quarter horse races in that country.

Quarter horse racing has been around for quite a while, but it has taken longer to become popular, especially outside North America. The thoroughbred horse race is still the darling of the racing world, having taken root in Europe as well as in Japan, which one might consider rather an unlikely place for it to become so popular. But the Quarter horse is making itself known, and this very powerful, very swift runner will no doubt stay hot on the heels of its thoroughbred cousins.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed help for panic attacks as well as tips on the various panic disorder medications available at www.anxietydisordercure.com.

You may feel overwhelmed, arriving for the first time at the race track, trying to figure out how to make a bet. Even if you’ve placed bets online before, the hustle and bustle atmosphere of the track can make everything seem strange. But if you’re completely new to everything, then the process can be daunting. The key is to get as much horse racing information as possible before you step up to the betting window. Start by looking through the forms available at the track itself, which tell you about past performances of the horses, jockey bios and stats, and so on.

Horse racing odds become important here. Remember that the top ten jockeys usually win ninety percent of the races. And even if a horse is a favorite, it’s not likely to win more than thirty three percent of the time; when it does, the payoff will probably be low because many people placed a bet on that horse. However, the race track will always have a display screen that shows the current odds, which regularly change as bets come in. A good strategy is to place at least one or two wagers on horses whose odds are now two or three times what they were at the beginning of the day.

Make your horse racing betting picks with these factors in mind. It might help if you’ve learned about the types of bet before you come to the race track. Essentially, you’re betting on whether a horse will “win” the race, “place” in second, or “show” somewhere in the top three. Picking a horse to “show” has the best chance of success, even if your winnings are moderate. You shouldn’t bet a “trifecta,” which is wagering that you’ll get the first, second and third place winners exactly correct, until you are more experienced and know the horses much better.

So now you’ve made all your decisions, and it’s time to go to the betting window. This will be the busiest place at the race track, the closer to race time it is. Everyone will rush to get their bets made before the race starts, so be sure to know exactly which track, race, and horse you’re betting on, and which type of bet you want to make, so you can place the bet and make way for the next person. When you’ve got your ticket, all the horse racing analysis is done, and it’s finally time just to watch and enjoy the race.

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