If you are still new to horse racing and one horse looks like every other horse, it’s about time for some serious lesson. Not all horses are alike, and not all horses are in optimum condition all the time. Like humans, they also get sick. If you don’t know how to ascertain the condition of a horse, it’s about time that you learn. Spotting what the problems are before they get worse will not only save you a lot of expenses in the long run, it will also protect the life of your equine. Any horse is a huge investment and if you want to spend a longer time with your horse or want to see it win at the races for a longer time, you should learn to spot the signs of sickness or injury in your equine.

In case you notice a wound pulsing blood, any unusual swelling or lumps that have suddenly grown out of nowhere, give your vet a call. Seizures, any unusual behavior such as shivering, unstable stance and a sudden drop in energy levels that signal much lethargy and depression also warrant a veterinarian’s look-see. A puncture wound that has been treated but continues to ooze foul secretions or has become inflamed and swollen should also be seen again and re-evaluated by a veterinarian.

You should also be on the lookout for changes in appetite– refusal or inability to eat or drink should tell you that something is wrong. A horse who is constipated (when he strains before he can defecate), or has diarrhea, who strains when urinating or has blood colored urine or who leaks urine is definitely not well.

Check that the vital signs are normal. A horse who is agitated, who rolls, kicks, bites at his flanks and sweats might be experiencing a stomachache and should be checked by a veterinarian.

A limp or cough that doesn’t get better is a sign of sickness and should be also be looked into by an animal doctor.

Train yourself to look for these signs, so you can get immediate help to nurse your horse back to health.

If you want to buy a horse, you will naturally want to make sure that you are getting a healthy one. Even if you’re no veterinarian, you can always make a check by following some simple guidelines on the signs to look for in a healthy horse. Possessing this knowledge will also enable you to look after your horse and quickly spot symptoms of sickness so you can give your vet a call and/or separate him from other animals to minimize the risk of passing a contagious disease to the other equines.

So what are the signs of a healthy horse?

The healthy horse eats well. If the animal has already been with you for some time and you have an idea as to the amount of feeds consumed in a day, then you’ll know something isn’t right when he consumes only half of what he normally eats. On the average, a healthy horse drinks anywhere between 5 to 10 gallons of water a day.

The healthy horse has well formed and firm manure, usually about 8 piles a day. Manure that’s soft could mean that a horse is sick.

The healthy horse has an average pulse rate of 27 to 43 beats per minute. You can check this by putting a stethoscope just behind the horse’s elbow. If you don’t have a stet with you, you can still check for the pulse rate by placing your fingers underneath his cheekbones. Using your watch, count the number of beats made in a minute.

Another vital sign that indicates whether a horse is healthy or not is the body temperature. It should be between 98 degrees Fahrenheit to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a livestock thermometer with a string attached to the end, you have to take a rectal temperature of the equine for two minutes. In case you’re wondering, a string is needed to pull the thermometer out of the horse’s rectum in case it gets “lost.” Another vital sign that indicates the health of the horse is its respirations. Watch his flanks and if he is breathing at 8 to 16 times per minute, he should be fine.

Lumps, bruises or puncture wounds or scrapes are signs of ill-health or injury. Runny nose or eyes are also signs of sickness. Unusually smelly hooves indicate infection as well.

By knowing how to look for these signs, you should be able to see if your horse or one you’re thinking of buying is well and healthy.

In handicapping, most of the punters now rely on statistics on computers or on paper. Because of the sophisticated computer software that now aids the most serious handicapper, plus the continued proliferation and success of online betting, inspecting the paddocks physically to determine a horse’s fitness to run is fast becoming rare. If you are at the racetrack, however, a visit to the paddock could become a very useful handicapping tool. Make sure that you are already at the paddock entrance as the horses are being led there.

What should you look for when you conduct a paddock inspection before making your bets?

1. Observe for signs of lameness or smell of liniment on each horse. Note  high-strung equines and strike them out of your prospective bets.
2. Check for excessive sweating overall and especially between the hind legs, drooling at the mouth or too much whinnying. These are not good signs for any horse about to run.
3. You should also discard any horse with open sores, runny nose or eyes, dull coats, excessive tail popping and front wraps as this could indicate tendon problems.
4. Include in your prospective bets horses with positive dispositions. They prance, have a focused and ready look and have shiny coats. Trainers also know that their horses are armed and ready and usually groom these well for race day. They could have braids or have patterns on their hindquarters.
5. The horse should be ready to get saddled.
6. Don’t just look at the horse. Often, you can also check the condition of the horse by looking at the groom. He should have no problems leading the horse to the paddock. The groom leading an equine who is unwilling to race usually has to strain just to lead the horse to where he wants it to go. Often, the horse will fight the groom every step of the way, and the groom might have to eventually use forceful means to control it.
7. Observe the jockey, too. When he knows that he is going to lead a ready horse, his strides are sure and confident. He walks up to it readily, inspects to see if the saddle is secure and mounts his horse with ease.

Now that you have seen the actual conditions of the horses and have chosen your picks, it’s time to go to windows and place your bets.

What’s the big deal with making show bets? It’s been receiving such bad publicity that even the most uninformed recreational bettor know of the warnings made against it. Punters who have been betting the tracks long enough will tell you that show bets are not worthwhile to make. They generally win much less than win or place bets and if you can’t bet on the top two, you might as well not bet on show. You rarely make money from it. And more often than not, this is a very valid observation.

However, certain situations can and do make handsome payouts possible with show bets. They key is to learn to recognize the conditions that make it ideal to place show bets that will earn you profits.

For starters, you need to pick races with only a small number of entries, say not more than 8 horses running, where a clear favorite exists. This latter condition must be present so you can make winning show bets that give you a huge payout. Note that you are looking for an overwhelming favorite among the horses in the race not only in win but in place as show bets as well. Because the favorite has virtually almost hogged all the bets, then the remaining horses have little place or show bets to their credit.

After you’ve ascertained the above conditions, look for the possible horses that you could place your show bets on. It’s best if you place more than one show bets so you get more chances of cashing in winning tickets.

When the hands-down favorite won’t win the race, there will be a huge payout for those who placed win and show wagers. When you make many show wagers and the said situation occurs, there is a huge possibility that you can cash in two or more winning tickets.

So for as long as the conditions are right, you don’t have to be afraid of making show bets. In the end, they could be the wagers that will give the most money.

Good luck on your shows!

If you think the Epsom Derby or the Kentucky Derby have huge purses when they boast of over a million dollars in prize funds, think again. They’re not the richest horse race in the world. In fact, they can be ranked as “poor races” when compared against the world’s richest horse racing event. And this takes place, where else, in the land of the sheiks and oil magnates.

That’s right. Held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai World Cup, hang on to your seats, has a 10 million US dollar purse as of last year, easily making it the world’s richest Thoroughbred horse race. A creation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoumwho, ruler of Dubai and owner of Darley Stud & Godolphin Racing, one of the leading thoroughbred breeding and racing operations in the world, the Dubai World Cup has been run since 1996. Aside from the fact that it holds the richest purse in any horse race so far, the Dubai World Cup also holds the record of being the world’s richest race day, having over $26.25 million USD.

A Group 1 flat race, the competition is held on Tapeta Footings synthetic dirt surface and is part of the Dubai World Cup Night of Races. Four year old Thoroughbreds and older from the Northern Hemisphere and three year old Thoroughbreds and older from the Southern Hemisphere compete in a distance of 2,000 meters (about 10 furlongs). It is held annually in late March.

Based on its records, no horse has ever won the Dubai World Cup more than once. The first winner was a future United States Hall of Fame Thoroughbred named Cigar. Last year, Gloria de Campeao, a horse foaled in Brazil and trained in France won the prestigious horse racing event after a three-way photo finish. It was also the first time that the race was held at the luxurious and newly-developed Meydan Racecourse that can accommodate 60,000 spectators in its grandstand. It also serves as a business conference integrated facility when not used for the races.

It comes as no surprise that the Dubai World Cup also attracts the finest horses in the world.

If you want to make your handicapping even more effective, don’t just stop at the daily racing guides or the tip sheets. You can go further by closely observing the behavior of the horse who are about to race. Horse behavior and body movement just before a race can give a pretty good idea as to whether a horse will stand a chance of winning an event. Even when you are just watching a particular competition online and placing your bets there, it is possible to get a good look at a particular horse so you can further handicap a horse depending on its behavior.

As you become a more adept observer, you will eventually develop a discriminating eye where pre-race attitudes of equines are concerned. Look out for the following behaviors of horses and be sure not to bet on them.

1. Don’t bet on horses who are obviously lethargic. You’ll know them by their low heads and half-closed eyes. Their walking take every inch of effort, with their hooves barely lifted off the ground. Their tails are flat and they generally have poor muscle tone. Horses who are tired are either sick or in pain and are otherwise unfit to race.
2. You’d also do well to avoid those who are obviously high-strung. They are readily apparent because they are constantly jumping around. They can’t seem to concentrate on anything as their ears flicker continually. He tries to free himself of the bit and as such seems to strain his neck and head continuously. He moves every which way and you will see some amount of white foamy sweat running down the inside of their thighs. Their breathing is highly labored and they huff and puff all over the place. His groom will do all he can, even to the point of employing harsh methods, just to be able to handle the horse. His jockey will also find it hard to saddle him.

These horses are practically losers from the outset and even if they had winning records on paper, only by observing their attitudes shortly before the race will you be able to gauge their potential for that particular event. He could have been injured or drugged legally or illegally and the effect could cost you your bet.

So your boss decides to celebrate the success of a new business merger  by treating the whole company to a day at the races. Everyone seems to be abuzz with excitement except you. You’ve never placed a bet before, can’t tell a thoroughbred from wheat bread even if your life depended it and have decided that the word “furlong” on the invite is probably a typo for the words “for long.”

Before you get yourself alienated and miss out on all the fun and the chance to win some extra dough, it’s time to arm yourself with some knowledge on horse racing.

First off, get hold of a daily race form where all races for that particular day are listed. It will also show important information about the horses racing for that particular day. It will list the name of the horse and its corresponding number (this is important when you place your bets since numbers and not names are used when you make your wagers). You will also see statistics about each horse as well as other data on the race placed on the racing form. Study these so you can make your bets accordingly. You can also try to get hold of tip sheets prepared by professional bettors or handicappers that lists their favorite bets for a particular race. Since these individuals spend their time around horses and have analyzed bets long and hard, their tip sheets are good sources of information regarding the horse with greater possibilities of winning.

You must also get acquainted yourself with some horse betting terminology to enjoy your day at the races. The most basic wagers you can make are win, place and show. You collect payouts for win bets when your horse finishes first; place when your equine comes either first or second and show when it finishes first, second and third. You can also wager across the board, that is, you cash a winning ticket if your chosen contender finishes first, second or third. You can also place exotic wagers like exacta (where you’ll bet on the top two finishes of the race in exact order) or trifecta for the top three finishers.

Now that you know how to go about the basics of horse betting, you’re all set to enjoy a day at the races!

Pari-mutuel betting is the form of wagering used in the racetracks. In some countries, it is the only legalized form of betting the races. Unlike fixed-odds betting where bettors know how much winnings they stand to collect even before the event has begun, in a pari-mutuel style, the actual payout is calculated only after the betting pool has closed.  After the outcome of the race, the winners divide the pool among themselves depending on the odds they placed on a particular wager.

Pari-mutuel betting began when a perfume shop keeper named Pierre Oller of France sold tickets for a horse race, kept the proceeds in a common pool and divided the proceeds among the winners after taking out a five percent handling charge. He continued to introduce his wagering system in racing parks across the country until it became legal in 1887. It was only in the late 1920s when England and the United States also legalized the pari-mutuel system in racetracks in their respective countries.

During this time, corruption was rampant at the racetrack since pari-mutuel bets and odds were calculated by hand. Errors were common (and deliberate in some cases). An engineer named Henry Straus got so incensed one day when he only got paid 4-1 on a winning ticket when he placed a bet on a horse placed at 12-1 odds. Together with fellow engineers, they developed an electro-mechanical device that would accurately calculate the odds of a race while displaying the results on an electronic board for all to see. This assures bettors of collecting the right payouts and was installed in Pimlico in 1930.

Now, advances in technology have paved the way for faster calculations at the racetrack and for more complicated wagers. However, the spirit remains. You don’t play against the house but are betting against all the other bettors who have placed their wagers for that particular race. And after the track gets its take, you, together with all other winners, share in the remaining pool depending on the odds of the wager you placed.

Pari-mutuel betting is the same as it was first introduced 1865.

All thanks to an enterprising perfume shop keeper named Pierre Oller.

Screen Activated Machines (SAMs) are a common feature in most horse racing tracks all over the United States and the rest of North America. With just a few screen touches, you can easily place your bets. They become especially convenient when you’re making a last minute bet and the queue at the teller windows are long and slow-moving.

SAMs are very simple to operate. Start by putting in money at the slot designated for cash. You can also insert a winning ticket on the slot for tickets. The SAM will then display your credit amount on the screen.

Then, choose the track you want to bet on by touching the screen with your fingers. The following race scheduled at that particular time will appear next. If this is the race you want to place your wager on, simply touch the amount on your screen that corresponds to your bet. After you’ve keyed in your amount, choose the type of wager you want to make. However, if you want to place a wager for a race that will happen later in the day, you will have to touch the race number first before you key in your amount and the type of wager you want to make. Win, place, show as well as other exotic bets available for that particular race will be shown on the screen.

After you’ve placed the type of bet you want to make, you can then choose the horse or horses you want to play. Make sure you know the corresponding number of the equine you want to bet on since only their numbers are placed on this screen, not their names.

Touch the finish button on the screen once you’re done placing your wager. If you want to discontinue making your bet while in the middle of operating the machine, you can also push finish so the SAM won’t register your bet.

Don’t forget to collect your ticket from the ticket slot.

Good luck!

Breakage in horse betting isn’t something that’s broken. It actually refers to the rounding down of the odds at the tote board in every racetrack in this country. In a pari-mutuel betting pool, breakage can affect how much payout you receive once you cash in on your winning bets at the window.

In the United States, a dime breakage is used. This means that the odds are rounded down to the nearest tenths. For example, if a fair odds on a particular horse are placed at 5.73/1, it would be rounded down to 5.7/1 before the payoffs are calculated. Following the usual computation, dime breakage would usually round down payouts to the nearest multiple of 20 cents. So instead of receiving a payout of $15.33, you will receive only $15.20 when you cash in your winning ticket.

How does breakage affect your bets?

Depending on the type of bet you place, breakage can either have no effect or take out a huge dent from your winnings. You won’t know ahead of time how much a breakage is going to cost you since in a pari-mutuel pool, the amount can’t be determined until the windows close. However, a safe assumption would be that your payout can reduce by as much as 19 cents and about 10 cents on the average depending on the odds

When you think about it, 10 cents isn’t much when you’re expecting a payout of say, $12. However, when you’re talking about winning minimum wagers such as $2.40, then a breakage of even 5 cents can be very steep.

One interesting thing to note about breakage is that it’s better to play a horse with odds placed at 1/9. This is because for win wagers, the minimum payout is $2.40 and even if the payout is supposed to be lower for a 1/9 odds, the track is required to give the minimum payout, so there’s no breakage to worry about here.

How do you get your wagers from getting affected by breakage?

There’s really no way you can avoid it. You can simply choose to bet in situations when breakage won’t figure in heavily, for example, in longshots or in exotic wagers like trifectas. Breakage is an issue in favorites and in place and show pools. But this approach would severely limit your betting. It’s much better to simply view breakage as part of the whole process and that while it could cost you heavily on certain days, it will also not matter much in others. Eventually, it will just even out.

Breakage shouldn’t take the fun out of betting.