Throughout the centuries, there has perhaps never been a sport as exciting for people all over the world than horse racing. The locale might have gone from the Norse mythology to Rome’s Circus Maximus, and to modern-day racetracks, but the blood rush that people watching live horse races feel always gives way to an exhilarating feeling that keeps them going back to watch more races. No doubt about it, wherever you are in the world, you cannot find anything that’s more entertaining than horse racing. Part of the fun is the wagering involved in most horse races today. However, even if you do not bet, Betfair horse racing can be exciting.

Horse racing traces its roots down to Greece. In these races, mounted horses and chariots often participated. Horse breeding and racing in this part of the world died down with the fall of the Roman Empire. Eventually, horse racing was revived in the 1100s when English king Henry I took an interest in breeding and training horses from an Arabian stallion line. Purebred mounts soon raced at the Smithfield Track in London, the first racetrack ever to be built after the fall of the Roman Empire. Even English fairs took interest in featuring horse races. Due to its roots, horse racing has been accorded the label the “Sport of Kings.”

In the mid-1600s, the first American racetrack was built in Long Island, New York. The new racetrack, the Newmarket, was where the earliest North American horse races were held. More and more purebred British mares and stallions were sought after by Americans for breeding and training horseracing steeds. The horse racing enthusiasts soon organized themselves and formed clubs to standardize horse breeding, training, and racing practices. The sport of horse racing enjoyed great funding from various sources. Patrons have likewise made money out of the sport through betting. The need for ethical standards in horse racing to be standardized gave rise to the formation of the American Jockey Club in the late 19th century. The responsibility for maintaining the American Stud Book, the rule book for horse racing all over the United States, was soon taken over by the American Jockey Club. The Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States in Chicago was later on established.

There is nothing more entertaining for horse racing enthusiasts than watching live horse races. Being one with other fellow horse racing fans standing along the racetracks’ sidelines to feel the horses rush by is a feeling that cannot be equaled. Add betting successfully and you have something that is even more enjoyable. Understanding the game first before you go on betting on your choice of horses could help you plan out your bets.

There are different types of races you can bet on. Your choice of races and horses to bet on would differ depending on how much money you would like to bet and what kind of odds you are willing to risk. Horse race gambling rules are also varied from state to state. Horse race betting involves what is called as parimutuel betting. This basically entails pooling the bets together and then dividing the money among the winners after the appropriate taxes and racetrack expenses have been deducted from it. Such betting in thoroughbred horse racing made the sport flourish. In the United States, horse racing enthusiasts get all fired up in betting in the Triple Crown races composed of the three top horse races – the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, and the Preakness.

Thoroughbred horse racing, despite its seemingly long traditions and prestige, is not an ancient type of race. Thoroughbred horses themselves, as a breed, don’t actually go back much farther than 300 years, while the races that bear their name were only formally established late in the nineteenth century. That means these types of races have only been run for perhaps 150 years, with harness races coming in a close second for longevity.

The thoroughbred horses were bred in England, crossing English mares with Arabian shipped to North America in the early 18th century. But organized thoroughbred horse races didn’t start for another 150 years or so, even though the first racetrack was constructed as early as 1665, on Long Island. It wasn’t until the American Stud Book was created in 1868 that things really got organized. Harness racing, too, made a sort of parallel history, when a new breed known as standard-bred horses branched off from the thoroughbreds.

Thoroughbred horse racing was still rather precarious as an organized sport, even after it became formally systematized. The reason was that until 1908, betting was seriously frowned upon among the American populace. This meant there wasn’t much incentive for the races to proliferate, when the disapproval was so strong. However, in 1908 the new pari-mutuel form of betting was established, in which all bets made were collected into a common pot and divided equally among the winners after each race. People could now bet on their horse racing selections, and the races began to multiply.

When pari-mutuel betting came into the sport of thoroughbred horse racing, it helped this racing to become more popular, yet this popularity continued on a roller-coaster throughout the twentieth century. It lagged somewhat, during and after the Second World War, then rose in the latter part of the century. What began the most recent rise was the fame of certain horses like Seattle Slew or Secretariat, and in more recent years it has been perpetuated through the internet, both via online betting sites and the many horse racing analysis and information websites. The beginnings of these races and the breed itself were relatively modest, but now they have risen to fame and have achieved an assured place in North American history.|It’s a measure of the success of thoroughbred horse racing that it feels like it’s had a very long history. Its most prestigious races, such as the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes (known as the Triple Crown), are deeply steeped in tradition. But you don’t have to delve into horse racing information for very long before you discover that even the breed of thoroughbred horses is only slightly older than the United States. And the races in which they excel were established not much more than 150 years ago.

It still took another three or four decades for the future of thoroughbred horse racing to become really secure, however. This was because there was betting at these horse races, but much of the American public frowned on such things. But in 1908, the system changed so that bettors were no longer betting against “the house” (i.e. the race track itself), but all bets were put into a common pool, and were divided among winners when the race was done. Now people could bet the horse racing odds to their heart’s content, and the number of races increased.

When pari-mutuel betting came into the sport of thoroughbred horse racing, it helped this racing to become more popular, yet this popularity continued on a roller-coaster throughout the twentieth century. It lagged somewhat, during and after the Second World War, then rose in the latter part of the century. What began the most recent rise was the fame of certain horses like Seattle Slew or Secretariat, and in more recent years it has been perpetuated through the internet, both via online betting sites and the many horse racing analysis and information websites. The beginnings of these races and the breed itself were relatively modest, but now they have risen to fame and have achieved an assured place in North American history.|Thoroughbred horse racing, despite its seemingly long traditions and prestige, is not an ancient type of race. Thoroughbred horses themselves, as a breed, don’t actually go back much farther than 300 years, while the races that bear their name were only formally established late in the nineteenth century. That means these types of races have only been run for perhaps 150 years, with harness races coming in a close second for longevity.

The thoroughbred horses were bred in England, crossing English mares with Arabian stallions, and were brought to North America in the early eighteenth century. But organized thoroughbred horse races didn’t start for another 150 years or so, even though the first racetrack was constructed as early as 1665, on Long Island. It wasn’t until the American Stud Book was created in 1868 that things really got organized. Harness racing, too, developed a sort of parallel history, when a new breed known as standard-bred horses branched off from the thoroughbreds.

Thoroughbred horse racing was still rather precarious as an organized sport, even after it became formally systematized. The reason was that until 1908, betting was seriously frowned upon among the American populace. This meant there wasn’t much incentive for the races to proliferate, when the disapproval was so strong. However, in 1908 the new pari-mutuel form of betting was established, in which all bets made were collected into a common pot and divided equally among the winners after each race. People could now bet on their horse racing selections, and the races began to multiply.

The future of thoroughbred horse racing wasn’t universally rosy, though, even after betting was allowed. There were continued rises and falls in popularity throughout the twentieth century, but since the 1980s the interest in this type of racing has risen fairly steadily. The internet has been an important tool in furthering these races in the past decade or so, as people can gather horse racing news and information by this means, and can now even use it to place bets. With its history and prestige now firmly established, it doesn’t look as though thoroughbred racing is likely to fade from popularity any time soon.

A little About the Author:

David Jones is keen in Horse racing events of all kinds and will travel the world to watch major events whenever possible. David enjoys a healthy bet on regular occasions, but always recommends one does not get carried away betting on horses!

For a living David also runs an Insurance business which provides specialized electronic gadget cover for standalone items such as Laptop Insurance and Cheap Mobile Phone Insurance. Some electronic items are these days subject to high levels of insurance fraud such as iPhone 3GS Insurance, so that takes up more of David’s time than other products.

The authors favourite event is in the UK and is well known around the world as The Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is internationally recognised as probably the most glamours horse racing events in the world.

Affirmed – 11th American Triple Crown Winner and deserves all the rewards of greatness. Has done exceptionally well in the breeding industry.

Alydar – Affirmed beat Alydar every time to win the Triple Crown.

Alysheba – Champion son of Alydar became and won the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Black Gold – Won the Kentucky Derby winner of 1924, failed at stud and came back at 6 & 7 to race again. Died during a race.

Buckpasser – Legendary son of the well-known Handicap Champion Tom Fool.

Cicada – Fantastic horse, and always caught the eye of the fillies.

Cigar – Impossible to write enough comments for this horse, exceptional, amazing, fantastic, the list goes on.

Colin – Two undefeated racing seasons on the track left people in awe, although made little mark in the breeding game.

Count Fleet – Won 10 out of 15 starts at 2, went undefeated through the Triple Crown at 3.

Da Hoss – Won the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) after just one race in two years, and still doing well at stud.

Desert Stormer – This horse is remembered for the tough battles during racing.

Duke of Magenta – Enjoyed greater success on the racetrack.

Easy Goer – 1986 Juvenile Champion.

Equipoise – Won 29 of 51 within 6 years of racing and was a champion 3 times including Horse of the Year twice.

Fourstardave – Not great on the racetrack, but still managed to get a massive following and make a name for himself.

Gallant Fox – Winner of the 1930 Triple Crown. The Preakness being the first of his 3 classics that year, and it was the first year a classic using the starting gates we know today.

Gloaming – Australian-bred and one of the Southern hemispheres most famous horses.

Hindoo – 18 consecutive wins are still remembered to this day by many.

Kincsem – Possibly one of the greatest racehorses of all time must. A Hungarian filly, that won all 54 of her races against the best in Europe.

Lady’s Secret – Daughter of Secretariat won or placed in 15 of 17 starts at 3, but excelled at 4, winning 10 of her 15 races.

Majestic Prince – Star of 1969 he won the Derby and then the Preakness, his run in the Belmont ended his career. *

Man o’ War – Probably the most well-known horse in the USA, a fantastic runner, and grade 1 when it came to breeding.

Meadow Star – Star of 1990

Miesque – Winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile in both ‘87 and ’88, and often won in style with some of the fastest time we have ever seen. Conquered Europe and America.

Mill Reef – Won the British Derby, Eclipse and King George, and finished off with a 3L victory in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris record time. Has made a hell of an impact to the breeding world.

Native Dancer – Winner of 21 of his 22 starts, and an unforgettable grey horse. Beaten only once in the 1953 Kentucky Derby, otherwise he would have been a Triple Crown winner.

Northern Dancer – A small horse, but is another that now appears in many blood lines of the breeding stock.

Omaha – Became America’s 3rd Triple Crown winner, and also won big races in Europe.

Preakness – At 8, he won two of his best races, and was so good ended up having one of the Triple Crowns named after him!

Regret – 1912 filly and never feared taking on the colts, beating them in the Kentucky Derby, the first filly to do so.

Seabiscuit – A battered racehorse and captured the heart of a nation. If you haven’t seen the film, add it to your ‘must see’ list.

Seattle Slew – Went into the Triple Crown series having not yet lost a race, and emerged undefeated with the Triple Crown title.

Secretariat – Won the ‘73 Belmont, and is a horse that is forever immortal.

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