If you’ve never been to a horse race, then are you in for a treat! There are so many different kinds of races that you can go to that you might find yourself very busy if you really become interested. Of course the most well known type is thoroughbred racing, which is what you saw if, for example, you’ve ever watched any of the Triple Crown races on television. This is a race run on a flat, usually oval track, and the horses are ridden by jockeys.

The type of horse race run in the Triple Crown or other events involving thoroughbreds is known as a flat race, since it’s run on a flat track. Quarter horses, too, run at full speed on a flat track which, instead of being oval in shape like the one for thoroughbreds, is a straight track a quarter mile in length. Harness races, on the other hand, take place on an oval track that is not flat, but banked on the turns. These races involve standard-bred horses that pull lightweight carts manned with a driver.  Read more...

The Kentucky Derby takes place every year on the first Saturday in May, and its a race that many horse racing novices like to follow. Along with the Breeders’ Cup and the other ‘Triple Crown’ races, the Derby attracts the most mainstream attention. Understanding the intricacies of horse racing is a very involved study.

While understanding and predicting horse races is a very complex discipline, here are some basics that can help the amateur understand the Kentucky Derby. Back during the seventies, it was a race dominated by the favorite including three great Triple Crown winners”Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed”and a great horse that came close, Spectacular Bid. Since Spectacular Bid won the Derby in 1979, however, you can count the favorites who’ve won the race on one hand with fingers left over. If I was a serious horseplayer, I might not advise you to do this but since I’m just worried about predicting the outcome of this one race Im going to suggest that you forget about the favorite altogether. Not only will you not be flying in the face of recent history, but also it allows you to concentrate on the horses offering greater value.  Read more...

Southern California’s Del Mar Racetrack has been somewhat forgotten by the general public in recent years, overshadowed by East Coast venues like Churchill Downs and Belmont Park. The reality is that the 72 year old track has a history to rival their better known counterparts. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and located 20 miles North of San Diego, its perhaps most famous for its iconic slogan “Where The Surf Meets the Turf” but that only scratches the surface of its star studded history.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was founded in the mid’30s, and they immediately turned their attention to building a world class horse racing venue. The names that were instrumental in the creation of Del Mar include a whos who of American entertainment–most notably Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) and Jimmy Durante. At the time the facility opened thoroughbred horse racing was the second most popular sport in America behind major league baseball, and Del Mar’s show biz roots further helped secure its place as an important stop on the racing circuit.  Read more...

Seattle Slew–the last living Triple Crown winner–died on May 7, 2002 at the age of 28. As one of only 11 Triple Crown winners in history, he is by default one of the greatest horses in the history of thoroughbred racing. Of those 11 legendary animals, Seattle Slew was the only one to complete the Triple Crown with an undefeated record, as well as the only one to have been purchased at a public auction. After retiring in 1978, Slew became one of the most important and successful stud horses in the history of the sport. He sired 1,066 foals including 102 stakes race winners. Among this impressive group of offspring was the 1984 Kentucky Derby winner, Swale. All told, Slew’s offspring have won an amazing $76 million dollars at the race track. Slew’s stud fee of $300,000 made him a very profitable horse even after his racing career was over. Slew wasn’t a particularly attractive horse, but he had the toughness of a championship boxer and the sort of intestinal fortitude and desire that can only be given by The Creator.  Read more...

Horse racing is a kind of sport that is now popularly known as a betting game. But you have to take into account that the horse racing betting does not only refer to laying a bet on the horse with the most beautiful name or the one with the best odds. In fact some people have this perception that one has to be a horse racing expert to be a winner.

Here are some of the important things you must consider in making an effective horse racing betting system:

Distance
The distance that will be run by the horse to reach the finishing point is a very important factor that you have to weigh up before you pick out the horse that you will lay a bet on. If the distance is short, the horse has only little time to show its best performance. Conversely if the distance of the race is too long, there are several possibilities like the horse might get tired or the horse rider might drop off. Keep in mind that the safest distance of the horse race is in the range of 5 furlongs and not more than 3 miles.  Read more...