Make A Living Betting On Horses

Perhaps there has never been a sport which has captivated the human imagination for so long as betting on horse races. In any culture that had domesticated horses, it was a natural development that the speed and skill of those horses were pitted against each other. As races developed, people began to seek ways to profit off of their horse sense, and thus sports betting on horses began.

Today, horse betting is common on tracks all over the world. In fact, horse betting is a huge source of revenue for everyone involved in horse races, from jockeys and owners to the government s of the lands where the race is held. Let�s take a look at some of the basics of horse betting.

Types of bet:

Unlike other types of sports betting, there are really only three types of bets that can be made on horse races, and these are common all around the globe.

�Bet to win: As you may expect from the name, this type of bet means a wager is placed on a specific horse to come in first place. The payout for these bets is much higher than the other two.

�Bet to place: The bettor wins if the selected horse comes in either first or second in the race.

�Bet to show: A horse coming in first, second, or third will win money for those who selected it.

Obviously, it is much easier to win when betting to show, so naturally the payout for that type of bet is the lowest amongst the three options.

It is legal almost everywhere:

Most types of sports betting are illegal in North America outside of the state of Nevada. Not so with horse betting! This type of wager is condoned by all states and provinces in both Canada and the United States.

In fact, betting on horse races accounts for a lot of revenue brought into the coffers of the governments of both states and provinces. This is the result of what is termed �pari-mutuel gambling�. Under this system, all bets are placed in a pool before the race is on. A certain amount of money, typically around 17%, is deducted from this overall pool. The money is split between the track holding the race, the state or provincial government, and the professionals involved in the race.

Making your bets:

Unlike other types of sports betting, winning a horse bet wager requires some very specific knowledge by the individual placing the bet. This knowledge is usually hard to come by for the lay person, so many gamblers rely on information passed to them by tipsters.

Tipsters in the horse betting industry purport to have a knowledge both of races and of the individual horses within those races. As with any other type of professional, however, the veracity of the claims of these individuals has to be determined by the person using their services before it can be relied upon.

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