Throughout the centuries, there has perhaps never been a sport as exciting for people all over the world than horse racing. All through historical accounts from Norse Mythology down to the Circus Maximus in Rome and finally to today’s modern-day racetracks, horse racing enthusiasts have felt the exhilaration and excitement of watching live horse races enough to keep them coming back for more. No doubt about it, wherever you are in the world, you cannot find anything that’s more entertaining than horse racing. Wagering in horses even adds more flavor to the excitement of horse racing today. However, even if you do not bet, Betfair horse racing can be exciting.

The earliest race horses were held in Greece. These races often involved both mounted horse races and chariot races. When the Roman Empire fell, horse breeding and horse racing in the West likewise died with it. 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. Horse racing is also a popular feature in most English fairs. Due to its roots, horse racing has been accorded the label the “Sport of Kings.”

In the United States, the first racetrack was built in Long Island, New York. The Newmarket, as this racetrack was named, was the site of the earliest horse races in the Northern American region. 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. Huge amounts of money were poured into the sport. Not a few people have also made money betting in the races. 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 Club eventually took charge of the American Stud Book containing the governing procedures of horse racing all over the United States. Later on, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States was established in Chicago.

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. Knowing how to bet adds to the fun of it all – why wouldn’t it if it could make you lots of money doing something you really enjoy. Before you start placing your bets, you have to understand the sport of horseracing first so that you can plan your bets properly.

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. Wagering in horse races involves pari-mutuel betting. This kind of betting pools together all the bets placed on a race, deducts the amount of taxes and racetrack expenses, and then divides the money among the winners. 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.

British mares with Arabian stallions, and were shipped 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 professional. 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 suspect 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 up and down ride throughout the twentieth century. It slowed around the time of the second world war, but increased towards the end 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 Mobile Insurance. Some electronic items are these days subject to high levels of insurance fraud such as iPhone 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.