Basic Guide to the Types of Race Horses and Horse Racing Betting Formats
Horse racing has grown in popularity over the years and is now firmly established as a sport in many countries, including the UK. There has always been a strong association between horse racing and gambling in the mind of the general public. Thanks to this some people are prepared to pay huge fees for a horse which they think can make them loads of cash. Together with football, online betting on horse racing accounts for a sizeable percentage of turf accountancy business such as Totesport.com.
When it comes to placing a bet on a horse there are different ways to go about it. Some of the more commonplace ways to back a horse are standard betting and spread betting. A standard bet is the least complex and involves selecting a particular horse to back for which the odds appear appealing. A more complex form of betting is called spread betting which has grown in popularity recently; this is similar to purchasing and selling shares on the stock market. The object of the exercise is to acquire a certain number of points which are assigned a fixed value by the spread betting company, this is usually a popular choice of more accomplished gamblers. Punters have diverse options for spread betting, these include gambling on the favourites index where you can wager on the amount of favourites which will win at a certain meeting; or the jockey index which works the same way, letting punters to gamble on jockeys instead of the horses. Thoroughbred racing is popular globally, and this is the form which is most prevalent in the UK. What distinguishes one particular type of horse racing from another is the breed of horse involved; generally these can be split in to four distinct groups; Thoroughbreds, Standardbred, The Quarter Horse and last but by no means least the Arabian. Thoroughbred horses are bred to be able to traverse medium distances at a very fast rate and can be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Make no mistake the breeding and racing of thoroughbreds can be a lucrative business. The distance of Thoroughbred races can differ quite a bit, but they are frequently between five and 12 furlongs; a furlong is approximately equal to about an eighth of a mile.
Something which sets horse racing in the UK apart from racing in other places is the rigorous limitation on whipping the horse to make it go quicker; in the UK jockeys are not allowed to raise their whip higher than their shoulder to prevent them hitting the creature too hard.
For those new to race horse betting it is wise to remember that bookmakers may try and lure you into placing bets on horses which are less likely to win by giving you odds which, if successful, would result in huge payouts, as they are certain that these horses or series of outcomes are not going to occur.
