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HORSE RACING

Horse Racing tracks and courses in the United States that offer all types of horse racing, including thoroughbred, quarter horse, arabian and harness racing. Search the HorseandTravel.com directory for Horse Racing across the country. You'll find hundreds of race tracks that offer live horse racing and simulcasting.

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HORSE RACING - RACE TRACKS

Horse Racing Fans, Welcome! Horse racing is not only one of America's favorite pastimes, it runs deep in our culture from the days of the Roman chariot races. However, today instead of chariots we have harness racing.

In case you're not familiar with harness racing, there is a jockey who rides in a two-wheeled cart behind the horse. Instead of putting them in a gate and starting with the shot of a gun, like thoroughbred racing, harness racing begins with a rolling gate. A driver in a car with a gate attached begins rolling around the track, -which may vary in length depending on the race usually measured in relation to miles- and then opens the attached gate. It is subsequently the jockey's job to get the horse up to their position by the time the gate reaches the starting point which is usually defined by two green poles which are lit up about one full turn around the track. If they don't reach the gate in time, it may be considered a false start. Once the race has begun properly, it is anything goes. In harness racing, there can be anywhere between 4 horses up to 14 horses however the gate only has ten open spots so if there are more than 10 horses, the rest get double stacked starting behind the #1 horse, the next behind the #2 horse, and so on. The winners are determined by those horses that finish first, second, third, and sometimes fourth if there is superfecta betting.

In thoroughbred horse racing, you just have a jockey on a horse in a starting gate that begins with a gunshot. There are several different lengths defined in furlongs. Furlong from the Old English fuhrlang, means "the length of a furrow"; it represents the distance a team of oxen could plow without needing a rest. A furlong is equal to 220 yards, 660 feet, or 1/8 of a mile. Usually starting at 6 furlongs or more, the winners are determined by crossing the line - or wire as it is most often referred to. Thoroughbred racing, unlike harness racing, is sometimes done on grass so make sure to find out which surface the horses are running on before placing any bets as some horses may run better or worse in the mud or on the grass.

Betting on the horse races can be a very entertaining and sometimes profitable experience. Knowing how to bet can make the difference between winning and losing. The betting is slightly different between harness racing and thoroughbred. Here is a description of the types of horse racing bets with an explanation.

To start, on all races you will get paid the final odds that are posted just after the start of the race. If there is a dead heat - when two or more horses tie - then the odds are spit between the two or more horses as if they came in both or all three places.
Win Bet - If you bet the win in harness or thoroughbred, your horse must come in first place.
Place Bet - Your horse must come in 1st or 2nd place to win respective odds. However, if you horse comes in 1st, you get paid the odds as if they came in 2nd.
Show Bet - Your horse must come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in order to win respective odds. However, if your horse comes in 1st or 2nd, you will still only win the odds as if they came in 3rd place.
Exacta Bet - Also known as the Perfecta Bet, you are picking the top two horses. If you think the #7 horse is going to come in 1st and the 4 horse is going to come in second, you would bet "Exacta #7 with the #4" If felt that the #4 horse could beat the #7, you may want to do an Exacta Box. This bet will cost you twice as much as it is actually two bets. You can put more horses on an Exact Bet if you wish here are some examples and costs.
- $2.00 #7 with a #4 - horse #7 must come in 1st and #4 must come in second. Cost = $2.00
- $2.00 #7 with #4 box - horses can come in either order, you would want the horse with the best odds to come in 1st and second best odds to come in second. Cost = $4.00
- $2.00 #7 #4 with the #7, #4, #5. In this bet you need the #7 or #4 to come in 1st or second. However, you would win if the #7 or #4 came in 1st and the #5 came in second. This bet would cost you $6.00
note: you can add as many horses as you wish, but each time you do it will cost you more and more. Some horse racing enthusiasts bet the "All/All bet" and depending on the number of horses, this could get expensive. If you make this bet, you will often need the underdogs or high odds horses to come in first, second or both.
Quenelle Bet - This is the same as the exact bet but just a different terminology for thoroughbred racing.
Trifecta Bet - Like the Exacta bet, only involving 3 horses coming in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Some examples follow.
- $2.00 #10, #2, #5 straight. The horses would have to come in the precise order of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in order to win. This bet would cost $200.
- $2.00 #10 with the #2,#5 would mean horse #10 would have to win but it wouldn't matter who came in 2nd or 3rd between the #2 and #5 horse as you would still win. This ticket would cost you $4.00
- $2.00 #10 and #2 with the #2, #10, #5. This would mean the 10 or 2 could take first or second but the #5 must come in 3rd. This ticket would cost you $4.00
Superfecta Bet - Same as the Exacta and Trifecta only involving 4 horses coming in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. There are too many combinations to discuss here but when you add more to your bet, it is called keying or wheeling. An extreme superfecta bet ticket would look like the following on your ticket:
10,2 / 4,5,7 / 7,8 / 10,4,2,1. Note the "/" means with divides the positions. Usually if you win a bet like this one it will be for a really good payback.

There are other types of horse racing bets as well called the pick 2, pick 3, and pick 7. This is where you have to pick the winners of consecutive races. The good news is that you are allowed to wheel these bets as well. An example would be as follows.
Race: #1: 10,2
Race: #2: 3,4,5
Race: #3: 1
In the above scenario, you are placing a pick 3 bet. In race #1, the 10, or 2 must win, Race #2, the 3,4,or,5 must win, and Race #3, the #1 must win. If you win, you win your share of the total prize pool for the pick 3. It works the same way for Pick 7 only obviously it is a lot more difficult.

The best way to learn how to bet the horse races is to give it a try. There are now places where you can make bets in the comfort of your very own home. Horse racing is something that can be fun for the whole family so take the kids on a nice sunny day to the track for some hot dogs and fun. Please feel free to search our site for the most complete listing of horse racing tracks and facilities.

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