Horse Racing
HORSE RACING
Astray to what you might think, watching horses gallop to the finish line has been around for millennia. In fact, this edge-of-the-seat action has been around ever since the nomadic tribesmen of Central Asia raced horses in 4,500BC!
Horse racing hasn’t seen too many changes over the years, and despite setting foot in today’s commerce-heavy world, its premise remains the same: whichever horse finishes first wins. Some major horse racing competitions are the Royal Ascot, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes and the Dubai World Cup. We’ll elaborate on some of the most exciting horse racing events later on.
With all that in mind, you might be wondering about the betting markets for horse racing. In this post, we’ll be discussing just that, and we’ll also shed some light on the best sportsbook you can try some horse betting on, LV BET!
WHAT IS HORSE RACING?
What better way to get you introduced to some horse racing betting markets than a quick rundown of what the sport is all about? If you’re new to horse racing, you might think that there’s not much to it — just a few horses racing around a track, right? Well, you’re not wrong, but you’re not right either!
There are two main components to horse racing: flat racing and jump racing (also called National Hunt or steeplechase). The former is where horses race on a flat surface, and the latter features horses running around an obstacle course. Different races have different age requirements for horses, and this is the perfect segue to have a look at this relevant aspect of horse racing.
Certain competitions have age restrictions that are imposed in order to avoid having young horses compete against older ones. Having said that, there isn’t a maximum age for racehorses, since history has shown that mature horses can hold their own pretty well when it comes to jump racing. Sadly, injuries can completely compromise a horse’s ability to race.
Also, here’s a fun fact: did you know that all racehorses have only two possible birthday dates? The birthday rule states that the birthday of all racehorses born in the Northern Hemisphere is the 1st of January, while those born in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate their birthday on the 1st of August.
Prepping a horse for racing is a very delicate process that requires an abundance of expertise and patience. The trainer — not to be confused with the jockey — rears and trains the horse and later identifies a jockey with the help of the owner. All in all, the trainer’s primary and most challenging goal is to develop the horse in peak condition for the day of the race.
Here’s a nugget of wisdom that new horse racing punters will want to know about: a good horse can usually win under an inexperienced jockey, but not the other way around. This is why the most experienced horse racing punters analyse a horse’s performance and fitness prior to betting on it. Although this practice won’t guarantee a successful bet, it might help you distinguish between a winning horse and a second-best one.
HORSE RACING HISTORY
Although horse racing started in different parts of the world, including China, Persia and Arabia, the sport really began taking shape in England. To this day, horse racing is Britain’s second-favourite sport after football! The sport contributes billions of pounds to the country’s economy, which goes to show how popular it is among Brits.
The first known racing purse — a sum of money paid to the owners of horses racing at a particular track — on British soil was offered during the reign of Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199), amounting to £40. In comparison, the first documented horse race in France occurred in 1651, when two noblemen decided to try a wager.
Fast-forwarding a hundred years, the Jockey Club of Britain established its own rules of horse racing, taking into account different contests that feature horses of various ages and breeds. In 2007, the British Horseracing Authority merged with the Horseracing Regulatory Authority to become the sport’s official regulatory body in England.
HORSE RACING LEAGUES AND MAJOR EVENTS
There are so many horse racing events happening everyday that it might be hard to keep up. However, the truth is that not all events garner the same amount of attention, and for the purpose of this text, we’ll go over the most major horse racing events in the world. These are the events you can expect to find at most horse racing online betting sites.
THE GRAND NATIONAL
This annual horse racing event was first run in 1839 and it is held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap horse race, where horses are allotted different weights depending on how much they can handle. The horses must jump over 30 fences over two circuits, all while carrying the weights allotted by the handicapper, as well as the jockey, of course. A total of 40 horses can compete in the Grand National, which means that there will be plenty of betting options available.
THE MELBOURNE CUP
Also held annually, the Melbourne Cup is a handicap race that was inaugurated in 1861. Back then, 17 horses competed for a purse of £710 and a gold watch — far from a bad prize at the time! The Melbourne Cup allows horses aged three or over to participate, and the maximum handicap weight is 50kg.
If there is one horse you should know about, it is the legendary Phar Lap! The New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse is famous for having won dozens of races during its three-year stint, one of which was precisely the Melbourne Cup back in 1930.
THE EVEREST
Still within Australian borders, the Everest was inaugurated as recently as 2017 but its purse of $15 million is enough to attract attention from around the globe. It is a Thoroughbred flat race that is held annually, where horses must run a distance of 1,200 metres.
THE KENTUCKY DERBY
Let’s hop from Australia to Louisville, USA, where this annual horse race is held. The Kentucky Derby is held on the first Saturday in May and it wraps up the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival that features many different activities. The purse awarded for the winner of this race stands at $3 million.
PEGASUS WORLD CUP INVITATIONAL STAKES
This is an American Thoroughbred flat race which, much like the Everest, was inaugurated in 2017 and is also held annually. Unlike other horse racing events, however, only horses aged four years old and over can compete in the Pegasus World Cup, which holds a purse of $3 million. The entry fee to this race has changed drastically over the years, starting off at $1 million in 2017 to becoming free in 2020.
HORSE RACING BETTING OPTIONS
If you’ve ever been around sports punters, you know that horse racing is the talk of the town. In fact, there is a pretty good reason why betting on horse races is so popular, and one look at its betting markets will suffice.
The sheer number of horse racing markets leaves sports punters spoiled for choice, but this shouldn’t discourage you from learning about the general ones that most sportsbooks offer!
WIN BET
As the name suggests, this bet looks to predict the winning horse.
PLACE BET
In order to win this bet, your selected horse must finish in first or second place.
SHOW BET
The show bet wraps up what are called the straight bets. In order to win this bet, your selected horse must finish in first, second or third place.
DAILY DOUBLE
This is a parlay bet — a bet that connects the outcomes of multiple sporting events in a single wager. To win this bet, you must guess the winning horse of two races in a row.
PICK 3 & PICK 5
In order to win this type of bet, you have to guess the winner of three consecutive races before the first one starts. You’ll also find a Pick 5 bet, which works exactly the same way, only that it concerns five consecutive races instead of three.
STRAIGHT EXACTA, TRIFECTA & SUPERFECTA
In order to win a straight exacta, you’ll have to guess which horse will finish first and second in a race. The straight trifecta and superfecta work just the same, only that you must guess the third and fourth-placed participants respectively.
ONLINE HORSE RACING BETTING — BET ON HORSE RACING AT LV BET!
The only real platform to get your horse racing online betting up and galloping is LV BET. Our Sportsbook offers an all-encompassing sports betting option that is very highly rated by punters around the world. We offer betting markets for all the major sporting events happening worldwide — including the Royal Ascot, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes and the Dubai World Cup. This is true for esports as well! Whether it is a lesser known sport such as biathlon, or a toe-to-toe encounter in League of Legends, your one-stop shop is none other than LV BET!
If some nuggets of betting wisdom is what you’re after, you don’t need to look any further than our very own LV BET Sportblog. Our sports betting connoisseurs constantly update it with the latest sporting news, event announcements as well as betting advice, so feel free to have a visit!
