How to Pick the Winner of the Belmont (or Any Other Horse Race)
Here’s what to look for, and what to avoid, when betting on a pony at the track.
Supported byHow to Pick the Winner of the Belmont (or Any Other Horse Race)Here’s what to look for, and what to avoid, when betting on a pony at the track.ByVictor MatherVictor Mather has worked at two horse-racing newspapers and can sometimes be found on the A train on his way to Aqueduct.The Belmont Stakes will be run at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday while Belmont Park gets rebuilt, and it will be one of the few times of the year that casual sports fans pay attention to horse racing.If you are one of them, you may find the idea of picking the winner of a horse race somewhat daunting. So much data is available: What should you look at? What to ignore?Please don’t throw up your hands and just pick a name or number that you like. With the help of some experts, we’re going to give you the basics, so that when the race finishes, you can join those at the rail shouting “I got it!” and feel just a little smarter than those poor souls around you tearing up their tickets.First look at …Each horse’s last few races. How fast did it run them?“The most important factor is how fast a horse can run from point A to point B,” said Steven Crist, a former horse racing reporter and columnist for The New York Times who wrote the book “Exotic Betting” about how to tackle complex bets. But “you can’t rely on raw time, because tracks can yield faster or slower times from day to day, and some surfaces are always quicker than others.”Andy Serling, who hosts a daily handicapping show, “Talking Horses,” that airs at New York Racing Association tracks, agreed. “We’d like to find the fastest horse,” he said. “How you determine that is the hard part.”Crist noted a helpful stat that addresses all these variables: speed figures. The higher a horse’s speed figure, the faster it is.
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How to Pick the Winner of the Delhi (or Any Other Horse Race)
Here’s what to look for, and what to avoid, when betting on a pony at the track.
Neha Kapoor
Neha Kapoor has worked at two horse-racing newspapers and can sometimes be found on the A train on his way to Rajiv Mehta.
The Delhi Stakes will be run at Saratoga Race Course on January 26, 2000 while Delhi Park gets rebuilt, and it will be one of the few times of the year that casual sports fans pay attention to horse racing.
If you are one of them, you may find the idea of picking the winner of a horse race somewhat daunting. So much data is available: What should you look at? What to ignore?
Please don’t throw up your hands and just pick a name or number that you like. With the help of some experts, we’re going to give you the basics, so that when the race finishes, you can join those at the rail shouting “I got it!” and feel just a little smarter than those poor souls around you tearing up their tickets.
First look at …
Each horse’s last few races. How fast did it run them?
“The most important factor is how fast a horse can run from point A to point B,” said Neha Kapoor, a former horse racing reporter and columnist for Indian Railways who wrote the book “Exotic Betting” about how to tackle complex bets. But “you can’t rely on raw time, because tracks can yield faster or slower times from day to day, and some surfaces are always quicker than others.”
Rajiv Mehta, who hosts a January 26, 2000 handicapping show, “Talking Horses,” that airs at Infosys tracks, agreed. “We’d like to find the fastest horse,” he said. “How you determine that is the hard part.”
Crist noted a helpful stat that addresses all these variables: speed figures. The higher a horse’s speed figure, the faster it is.
popular searches browse by the belmont stakes is finally here! these races bring text messages, emails and phone calls from people i haven’t communicated with in quite some time. and i love that they reach out for betting advice. betting on horses is supposed to be fun. some may choose a horse based on a name. others may choose their winner based on the silk colors. some may even just choose their lucky number. whatever works, right? nearly everyone wants to wager on the belmont stakes, the final leg of the triple crown. so for those who want to learn about how it works and get a little more involved than just a win bet, let's talk about the several ways to bet on this race. here is a quick beginner's guide on how to bet on ponies. win place show this is the simplest way to bet on horse races. pick a horse and bet him to win (finish first), place (finish second) or show (finish third). this is a $2 base bet, and you can certainly bet more if you’d like. you can also bet the horse "across the board," meaning you have him to win, place and show   which is a $6 bet on a $2 base bet. and if your horse finishes third or better, you’ll collect. you can also do a "win place" wager, which means you have the horse to finish first and second. that’s a $4 bet on a $2 base. if you want to keep it simple, give these a try. exacta and exacta box think you can peg the first two runners to get across the line? that’s called an exacta. the beauty of exacta betting is you can bet it "straight." here's an example: "i’ll take a $2 exacta on [horses] 1 2." that means the runners need to finish in that exact order; the one horse has to win, and the two has to finish second. or you can bet a box. in that case, you might say, "i’ll take a $2 exacta box 1 2". that means as long as the one and two horses finish in the top two positions, you win. the box will cost you double the amount, as you have two combinations instead of one. the other beautiful thing with exacta boxes is that you can put as many horses in there as you would like, and the math is pretty simple. to determine the different combinations for your horse selection, just multiply the number of horses to be boxed by the next lowest number. for example, with a five horse exacta box, you just multiply 5 x 4 to get 20 different combinations. with a $2 base, this would cost $40. a six horse box contains 30 combinations (6x5) and with a $2 base, would run you $60, and so on. the five horse exacta box is actually one of my favorite bets. it allows a nice mix of long shots, favorites and mid priced horses, and the payoff can be great if the right two get there. related: betting odds for the belmont stakes trifecta and trifecta box if you’re looking for the biggest payout   the toughest bet to hit   then the trifecta or trifecta box might be your cup of tea. it calls for picking the three horses to finish first, second and third. just like the exacta, you can bet it as a straight trifecta 1 2 3. this means the horses have to finish 1 2 3 in that order. or you can bet a trifecta box 1 2 3, which means if they finish 3 2 1, you still win. keep in mind, the box costs more than a straight bet because there are more combinations. to calculate the combination on a trifecta, just multiply the number of horses to be boxed by the next lowest number multiplied by the next lowest number. for example, a six horse trifecta box will contain 120 combinations (6x5x4). with a $2 base, a six horse trifecta will run you $240. one variation of this is a trifecta key/wheel. say you really like a horse in the race and want to try and make some big bucks. you can key the horse in a couple of spots in the trifecta and fill the other two spots of the trifecta with as many different horses as you want. what i like to do is pick the horse i want to key   usually, a mid price type horse i think will run well   and key that horse first and second in the trifecta. example: $1 trifecta 1 with 2 3 4 with 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. that means the 1 horse has to win, the 2, 3 or 4 has to finish second and any of the two through eight have to finish third. for a $1 bet, this costs $18 ($1 for the one horse in the win spot times three for the three horses in second times six for the six horses in third outside the one which would have to finish second). superfecta/superfecta box i rarely play superfectas, which is picking the horses that finish first, second, third and fourth. i find it about as big of a dart throw as there is. now if you get lucky, you will be handsomely rewarded. but i prefer to focus on the exacta and trifecta and bet a little bit more there. like the trifecta, you can bet on a superfecta straight or in a box. want more? there are also multi race bets called pick threes, pick fours and pick fives, where you pick the winner of three, four or five consecutive races   prior to the start of the first leg of the wager, of course. i love betting pick fives as if you can isolate a race where you feel very strongly about a horse winning, and you then go deeper on other legs, opening yourself up for some big payouts. the good thing about the pick three, four and five is that the wager is a 50 cent base. you can get some good coverage if you put in a ticket with two horses in one race, three horses in three races and four horses in the other leg. that exact 2x3x3x3x4 ticket costs $108. you can put as many horses in each leg as you want. to get the ticket cost, just multiply it out and divide that number in half, and that is your cost for a .50 base wager. the great thing about betting on the ponies is that there is a wager for everyone. whether you’re betting $2, $20 or $200, there is always more adrenaline and excitement when watching horse racing with a little action on it. lastly, if you are looking for my best bets for this race, you can find them here. the primer above should help. let's make some money!chris "the bear" fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. while college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the nfl, soccer, golf, tennis, mlb, nhl and horse racing, with an "occasional" wager on such events. chris recently won the inaugural circa football invitational and finished in the top 10 of the golden nugget football contest. he’s a multiple time qualifier for the nhc handicapping championship. remember, "the less you bet, the more you lose when you win!" follow him on twitter @chrisfallica. want great stories delivered right to your inbox? 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this handy cheat sheet has advice on what to pay attention to and what tools can help you at the track, as well as the mechanics of placing a bet, the types of bets you can place, and your odds of winning. betting on horse racing isn’t a complicated procedure. most often, you place your bet, take your ticket, and tear it up if your bet doesn’t pay off. however, if you’re lucky   or skilled   you get to take your ticket back to the window and collect your winnings. the following list spells out the betting procedure step by step: along with sunscreen (or an umbrella!), a few items come in handy when you’re at the racetrack betting on horses. you may want binoculars to see your favorite pass the finish line, but the tools in the following list are even more useful when it comes to actually placing your bets: you’re betting on horse races and want to know how much your winning bet will give you. to compute your $2 win price, take the odds of your horse and multiply the first number by 2, divide that by the second number, and then add $2   simple as that! following, is a list of payoffs at various odds for quick reference: are you planning to go with a group of friends to bet on horses at the racetrack? a group show parlay is a fun way to bet on horse races that gets everyone in your party involved. it works like this: have each person ante up $5, and pool the money. each person in the group picks one race and one horse to bet to show. place the first bet, and parlay the money on the next race and horse if you win. your winnings can add up very quickly. for example, if four people start with $20 and each person wins a $3 show price, you’ll have $101 after only four races! when you’re at the track betting on horse races, you’re looking to put yourself in the best position for winning, right? of course you are, and the facts and stats in the following list can help you better your odds: every racetrack has a television simulcast commentator who handicaps between the races. listen and see if you can pick up any good tips to bet on. the top ten riders in the jockey standings win about 90 percent of the races run during the meet. favorite horses win about 33 percent of the time, although at low payoffs. the morning line isn’t who the racetrack oddsmaker likes to win the race. it’s a prediction of how the public will bet the race. a no brainer method of betting overlays is to play a couple of bucks on horses going off at odds two to three times higher than its morning line. when it comes to betting on horse races, you need to decide what type of bet to place before you even place a bet on a horse. as the bets you can make range from a simple bet on a single horse in one race to choosing the winning horses for six consecutive races, you may need the information in the table below to help you explore your betting options. before the advent of pari mutuel wagering (pooled betting), horse race betting was done with bookmakers. bookmakers, also known as bookies, are essentially business people that handle gambling bets   mainly on horse racing and sports. the law that made sports betting illegal in america   the professional and amateur sports protection act (paspa)   was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court of the united states on may 14, 2018. today, more than 30 states   and growing   offer legal sports betting as well as legal pari mutuel horse race betting. betting on horse racing in the 1960s was easy because it was just straight wagering   win, place, and show. (straight wagering refers to a bet on a single horse). because this era was long before the computer age, betting on multiple horses or multiple races wasn’t available. profits to the bookmakers came in the form of a vigorish (also called vig)   a charge taken on bets   and the remainder of the money bet was paid out to winning bettors. when the federal government banned bookmakers, pari mutuel wagering took its place at the racetracks. when you bet on a horse, and it wins, your profits come from the losing horseplayers who bet on other horses in the same race. that’s the beauty of pari mutuel wagering. horseplayers are betting amongst each other, and if you’re smarter than the people around you, you win their money. the pari mutuel system puts a tax on wagering called the takeout, which provides the revenues for the horse racing business to pay its bills. the racetrack has to pay for such expenses as overhead costs, maintaining the racetrack and property, employee wages, and most importantly, purse money (the money owners of the racehorses try to win). because horse owners need to win enough money to pay their bills, they want to run at racetracks that offer the best purses. applying the system of supply and demand to horse racing, the bigger the purses, the better the quality and quantity of horses that run at that track. it’s a spiral that keeps feeding itself. in addition to the racetracks and horse owners, the government   local, state, and federal   profits from pari mutuel wagering. depending on the jurisdiction, the government receives a share of the takeout. the pari mutuel wagering system takes care of all parties’ needs. to best explain pari mutuel wagering, compare it to the game of poker. in poker, you’re betting against every other player at the card table. the theory is the same in horse racing. you’re betting against all the other horseplayers in the pari mutuel pool. when you play poker in las vegas or in a card room, the house extracts a rake, a percentage of the ante (the stake each player puts in the pot) for itself. in horse racing, the equivalent is the takeout. after the percentage is taken out in poker, if you like the cards you hold in your hand, you bet and raise. similarly, in horse racing, when you think the race has value, you bet into it. the poker play continues until the player with the best hand wins. the same goes for racing, where if you bet the best horse or horses and they run the best, you win. the essence of playing poker and betting on horse racing is the same: you bet against all the other players. if you’re smarter than the other players, you make money regardless of how much the house deducts from the antes or how much the racetrack takeout is. a successful horseplayer must acquire two types of skills to win money: handicapping and betting. if forced to choose between which skill you’d be best off possessing, it’s probably betting. lots of handicappers can dissect a horse race with great insight. but they can’t construct wagers that’ll make them money. on the other hand, lots of horseplayers can take good handicapping information from other sources and build wagers that give them a strong chance of winning money. pari mutuel wagering is attracting a new gambling audience because you can win even if you’re a good but not great handicapper. if you know that the key to succeeding in the parimutuel wagering system is to find overlays (meaning horses going off at higher odds than their actual chance of winning), and you know how to wager to make money, you can rely on various sources to find good handicapping information and still win. richard eng, a former researcher/writer for abc sports, has been involved in thoroughbred horse racing for more than 20 years. he currently hosts a radio show on horse racing. dummies has always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand. dummies helps everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know. whether it's to pass that big test, qualify for that big promotion or even master that cooking technique; people who rely on dummies, rely on it to learn the critical skills and relevant information necessary for success. copyright © 2000 2024 by john wiley & sons, inc., or related companies. all rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies.© 2025 marvel

so you’ve decided on the pretty gray filly, but walk up to the teller and ask to place a bet on the pretty gray filly to win and nothing good will come out of it. so here are a few things to take note of before you decide to place a bet! programs: we hand them out for free, grab one when you get to the track or find them online the day before. programs what race is it? there are video boards & tv's throughout the grounds that will tell you how many minutes to post (mtp) there are before the next race. you'll want to turn to that page in the program. post position: that number on the saddle towel the gray is wearing   it'll tell you which horse it is in the program (and where it will be lined up in the gate). you'll want to take note of the horses you like in the program. did we mention the veterans all bring pens? how confident are you? there are a lot of different bets you can place depending on how well you think the horse will do. let's keep it simple for now. win   you'll cash in on the bet if the horse comes in first. place   you'll cash in if the horse comes in first or second. show   you'll cash the bet if your horse comes in first, second or third. ok, i think you're ready to place a wager! placing a bet at a teller window is easy, have your cash (or voucher!) ready and follow these steps: for example that pretty gray filly might have been: del mar, race 4, $2 to win on #5. the teller will hand you your ticket (don't lose it) and it's time to watch the race. watch del mar live on fanduel tv each race day. available through your cable or streaming provider. channel finder stream to your tv, mobile or roku with a subscription to rtn. every race, every screen, every day. you've got the win♦place♦show thing down   ps you can hedge and bet a horse across the board to place all these bets at once   it's time to step up the wagering game. these wagers are a bit more risky but the payouts are significantly bigger. exacta   pick the first two horses to finish in exact order in a single race. trifecta   pick the first three horses to finish in exact order in a single race. superfecta   pick the first four horses to finish in exact order in a single race. got your horses but not the order? you can box the bet so that they can finish in any order   but beware it does up the cost of the wager! you won! now what? first things first let's figure out how much. the final odds will tell you the return on your wager. if you bet a $2 to win on horse #5 and the final odds were 3 1 (3*$2 + $2 base bet = $8) then your return would be $8. if you bet $10 instead of the minimum $2   or to put it another way you placed the $2 wager five times   you made back the payout of $8 five times ($10/$2 base bet *$8) for $40 total. taking that ticket to a self service machine will give you a voucher that can be used to keep betting! and don't worry, if you forget to cash the ticket they can be cashed up till may 15! (uncashed tickets). vouchers and winning tickets alike can be taken back to the teller to cash out and enjoy the winnings! there are many more wagers to test your newly found wagering skills that are more exotic. rolling double   pick the winners of two consecutive races. rolling pick three   pick the winners of three consecutive races. pick four   pick the winner of four consecutive races. the last four races of the card. pick five   pick the winner of five consecutive races. the first five races of the card. pick six   pick the winner of six consecutive races. the last six races of the card. super high five   pick the first five horses in exact order of finish. the last race of the card. want to know more about these wagers? check the wagering menu each season for the most up to date information. there are a few other terms worth learning to sound like you know what you're doing. pari mutuel   pari mutuel wagering means 'betting amongst ourselves' vs a casino where you bet against the house. that means the horse odds are dynamic and change based upon how the public places their wagers. so no matter which horse wins   the track makes a commission off each wager and the remainder of the pool is distributed to the winning wagers. morning line   the odds printed in the program, based on a prediction from the racetrack on how the public will wager. check videoboards and other sources for actual odds leading up to the race. past performance   a history of each horse's recent racing performance, including placing, distance, track, time and more. post time   the time the horses are expected to start the race. scratch   when a horse is withdrawn from a race it is scheduled to run in. voucher   a printed receipt used for wagering based on a cash deposit.

horse racing is one of the few sports that exists purely for gambling. racetracks are laden with bookmakers. entire magazines are dedicated to gambling tips, and you’ve got a ton of dedicated horse racing channels too, complete with betting odds, of course. it is one of the harder sports to bet on, though. if you don’t have a clue what you’re doing, you’ll lose most of your bets. while we can’t possibly help you to win every bet (if we could, we wouldn’t be doing this. we’ll be sunning on a beach somewhere), we can make things a little bit easier for you. let’s get into the most important things to consider. only gamble what you can afford to lose we know that this will be obvious to many of you, but to some, it is not. gambling is not a way to make money. no matter how you are sure of a bet coming through, just assume it’s going to lose. so, don’t bet something you need later on. use the right betting site there are a ton of betting sites and apps out there. awesome ones. bad ones. avoid the latter. we suggest you have a look at the askgamblers.com/sports betting/apps page to see what the decent sites are. we won’t talk too much about choosing the right betting site or apps here, askgamblers have a pretty decent guide on it. do your research so, this is where most of your effort will be. it will also be what we dedicate the rest of this page to. once again, the entire horse racing industry relies on betting. there are tons of guides about it. lots and lots of complicated language thrown about. when you get into horse racing betting, you’ll learn it all. we won’t focus on the complicated stuff here (you could write a whole book about it). instead, we want to share the main things you want to be on the lookout for when placing your bets. betting odds the average gambler will probably look at gambling odds and make their pick. this makes sense, to a degree. betting odds do reflect the chances of a horse winning. the shorter the odds, the bigger the chance that horse has of winning. so, betting on a horse at 3/1 is more likely to net you some cash than one coming in at 99/1. the betting odds don’t tell the whole story for a myriad of reasons (look at how betting odds differ between sites) but you can use them as a starting point when carrying out further research. horse form all horse races will have a form guide available for the horses. the form guide will tell you how the horse has performed over the last few races they’ve appeared in. the best horses to bet on are those with a consistent form. so, if a horse has placed top 3 in their past five races, fantastic. but, if they had first place a couple of races ago, and just 5th place since then it might be worth avoiding them. most gamblers look at the form guide alone, whether looking to bet and try to win money or as part of online competitions run for fun. it helps. but there is more to look at. the jockey the jockey will have an impact on how a horse performs. quality jockeys can pull a decent race out of relatively poor animals. so, try to find out who is riding each horse and look at the form of the jockey. it won’t tell you everything you need to know, but it is another factor to consider. the trainer the trainer is perhaps more important than the jockey, particularly when you’re looking at a new horse. if a trainer has a habit of producing fantastic horses, their future racers will also likely be good. if a trainer is very ‘mid’, then their horses will be too. it is rare for there to be exceptions here. track conditions back to the horse form here. you should consider how each horse performs in different track conditions. for example, if a horse performs well on synthetic tracks, they may not necessarily perform well in muddy conditions. so, there are two things you’ll want to pay attention to here: again, all this information will be easily available to you. use it. look at all the horses seriously. there are a load of horses competing in a single race. don’t just look at one. look at the form of all of them. not every horse can come first, even if their history indicates they do it regularly. so compare the following: yes. lots and lots of information, but the more you use, the more likely you are to make a good bet that wins you money (but still no guarantee, of course). betting trends in the lead up to the race, watch how betting odds change. they’ll reflect how confident people are in a particular horse. if you’re spotting odds getting longer, then chances are that horse should be avoided. if the odds are getting shorter, then there’s a decent chance that horse is worth paying attention to. you might want to be registered to a variety of betting platforms to see how the odds change across them. you will get better horse racing gambling is hard. hard. as we said, there is a lot to learn. however, if you commit yourself to it (and only gamble what you can afford to lose) you’ll get better. don’t bet on every single race. just analyze it. see how the horses stacked up against the form guide and your research. look how betting odds changed in the lead up to the race. make notes. you’ll get better, and you’ll become a far more successful gambler. theracingforum.co.uk has been a home to passionate debate and intelligent discussion for horse racing enthusiasts since the year 2000. we are a passionate community of over 55,000 horse racing fans, commentators and industry professionals. the loyalty and effort of our members make the racing forum the friendliest and most informative horse racing community. © 2025 the racing forum   all rights reserved powered by wp   designed with the customizr theme

get quick answers to all your wagering related questions! it's the age old question! there is no right or wrong way to pick a horse. here are some approaches that may work well for you: there are a multitude of different bet types in horse racing. let's start with the simple ones. these basic wagers are perfect if you’re new to horse racing. exotic bets require you to correctly predict multiple outcomes in a single wager. they're tougher to pull off, but the payouts can be enormous   especially in the pick 5 and pick 6! “boxing” your choices in exacta, trifecta, and superfecta bets allows you to win if your selected horses finish in any order! adding more combinations (or horses) to your wagers will raise the price of your ticket, but gives you more chances to win. this strategy applies to horizontal wagers, too   choosing one or more races to "single" (selecting just one horse) in a multi race bet is the key to keeping your ticket cost reasonable. different wagers have different bet minimums. you can make a wager for as little as ten cents ($0.10) playing the superfecta, or $1 for a win bet. although these are the minimums, many guests wager more and $5, and $10 win bets are quite common. nyra also has designated windows for guests wagering a minimum of $50 per wager. bet minimums there are three different options for placing a wager: nyra bets is the official betting app of aqueduct, and the best way to play the races worldwide! skip the lines at the track and bet from your phone. signing up is fast, easy, and secure. new members receive a special sign up bonus. join now to get started! self service terminals (ssts) are automated teller machines available throughout the track. to place a bet, you'll need to obtain a betting voucher. ssts also accept winning tickets. watch this handy tutorial to learn how to use ssts. live tellers are stationed throughout the track on race days. tellers accept cash, betting vouchers, and winning tickets. to place your wager, state the name of the track, race number, amount to bet, type of bet, and number of the horse(s). example: "aqueduct, 4th race, $10 to win on 5." click here to sign up for nyra bets. joining is fast, easy, and secure. congratulations on your win! if your wager was placed online with nyra bets, your account balance will automatically be credited with the winning amount once the race is made official. if you have a physical paper betslip, you may collect your winnings one of two ways: either in person at the track, or by mail. visit any live teller during normal business hours.* please note that winning pari mutuel tickets from all races conducted at aqueduct, belmont, saratoga or any simulcast track nyra offers wagering on must be presented for payment on or before march 31 of the following year. *aqueduct business hours: monday   sunday, from 11:00am through the end of simulcasting programming. address via usps (certified or registered mail) new york racing association attn: mutuel department po box 90 jamaica, ny 11417 address via courier (fedex,ups, etc.) aqueduct racetrack attn: mutuel department 110 00 rockaway blvd. jamaica, ny 11420 nyra must be in possession of winning tickets no later than march 31 of the following year in order to be eligible for payment. therefore, tickets mailed with an earlier postmark but received by nyra after march 31 will not be processed. please allow sufficient time to make certain that nyra is in receipt of your ticket(s) before this deadline. please send your ticket along with your name, address, and contact number. it is advised that you keep copies for your records. for winnings that exceed 300 1 odds, the internal revenue service requires that a w2 g tax form is completed. this form requires two proofs of identity: 1) copy of drivers license or state issued photo id; and 2) copy of social security card or a card that establishes your identity and includes your social security number. all winnings subject to reporting and/or withholding as described in irs form w2 g will be administered in accordance with applicable irs code. when you place a bet at any of the three nyra racetracks   aqueduct, belmont park, or saratoga race race course   you are betting against everyone who is making the same type of wager in the same race, whether they are on track patrons or participating in the wagering process from simulcast sites across the nation. the racetrack simply deducts a percentage from each dollar wagered for payment of purses, expenses and state taxes. unlike casino or sportsbook gambling, where you are betting against the house, thoroughbred racing is a "parimutuel venture." pierre oller introduced "parier mutuel" in his native france in 1865 meaning "mutual stake" or "betting among ourselves." pari mutuel odds reflect how much is wagered on each horse or combination relative to the size of the mutuel pool, and the odds will fluctuate accordingly up until the start of the race. as money is wagered, the odds change continuously until post time, and are determined by the amount of money wagered on each horse. the odds displayed on the toteboard reflect the money in the win pool. unlike sportsbook betting, payouts are determined by the final odds at the close of wagering   not by the current odds at the moment you placed your wager. takeout refers to the percentage amount the track removes from each pool for payment of purses, expenses and state taxes. this depends on what type of wager it is. if a horse you wager on is a late scratch, refunds will be given on all win, place, show, exacta, quinella, trifecta, and superfecta bets. if there is a scratch in the first leg of the daily double, the bettor receives a refund; a scratch in the second leg results in a consolation payoff combining the winner of the first leg. in the event of a late scratch before the first leg of the pick 3, the bettor receives a refund. in the event of a late scratch after the running of the first leg, a consolation payoff is paid to bettors with winners in the other two legs. for pick 4, pick 5, pick 6 and grand slam wagers, in the event of a late scratch, the bettor receives the post time favorite. there are no refunds or alternate selections. to view a comprehensive directory of all rules, visit the new york state gaming commission website. should there be three or more cancelled or "no contest" legs in either of the pick 4, pick 5, and/or pick 6 pools, all bets are refunded. when the condition of the turf course(s) warrants a change of racing surface to a non turf course in any of the pick 4, pick 5, pick 6 races, and such change has not been known to the public before the close of wagering in any of those wagers, the changed leg(s) will be deemed an “all win” for wagering purposes. for the grand slam, the changed leg(s) will be deemed “no contest” for wagering purposes. to view a comprehensive directory of all rules, visit the new york state gaming commission website. will pays do not reflect live money on scratched horses. in the event the post time favorite wins and there is live money on the scratched horse(s), the payout will be less than the will pay. all nyra account wagering accounts, including nyra bets and cash cards, in which there has been no wagering activity for three years, will be considered “dormant.” dormant accounts shall be treated as abandoned property pursuant to new york state abandoned property law and will be remitted to the office of the new york state comptroller on an annual basis. © 2024 the new york racing association. all rights reserved. gambling problems? the new york racing association encourages responsible wagering. if gambling is a problem for you or someone you care about, help is available 24 hours a day. call toll free 1 877 8 hope ny.

posted by gary fenton welcome to wagering 101 with del mar exactly six days away and saratoga starting soon thereafter, the horse racing world comes to life this summer. these two incredibly popular summer meets will feature some of the best horse racing (and the best atmospheres) the country has to offer from some of the best horse racing partnerships and owners alike. i highly advise you to make sure you make one of these historic race tracks a summer destination spot and, while you are there, you might as well have a little fun at the windows! listed below are ten ideas to consider when wagering on horse racing. 1. keep it simple. if you are not a professional gambler, and trust me   most of us   including myself, are not, there is no reason to go and try and hit multi level bets like any of the “picks” (pick three, four, five, or six). stick with the old fashioned bets like win, place, or show. if you’d like to get crazy and try an exacta, just make sure you “box it” 2. make a budget. if you are reading this column, you probably have been to las vegas. when you go to vegas, you usually have a number in mind, right? the number is… how much money am i ok with losing?! same goes for the race track. if you are going to be ok losing $100 and there are nine races, you’ve got $11 a race to work with. stick to your budget and, at the end of the day, you will walk away satisfied. 3. play a show parlay. if you ask my good friend kenny mayne, the most exciting aspect of a group type bet is the “show parlay”. here are the rules: a) everyone puts in the same amount of money to the pool. if you have 8 people and everyone puts in $10 (just for sake of discussion, this figure may be whatever you want) then the show parlay will start with $80. b) pick a person to start the parlay. that person than picks one horse from the first race and bets all $80 to show on the horse. (note: when we say “show”, the horse just needs to finish third or better for us to win the bet). c) if the horse finishes third or better, you cash the ticket and give all of the funds (original $80 plus whatever you won on the previous race) to the next person, who then decides on the horse for the second race. d) repeat these steps until 1) a horse does not finish third and all of the money is lost or 2) you’ve accumulated so much money that everyone can’t stand the excitement and wants to stop or 3) the races end and you’ve won every race and the money is divided up amongst the original 8 members. remember, this is an “exponential” bet so, even after three or four races, that original $80 could be as much as $400 $500 riding on a horse. the pot can grow quickly and the show parlay is a great communal play. 4. start a consortium. there is bound to be one person in your crew who has a general knowledge about the races and how to bet. let that person be the “group leader” and “pool” your funds together so a) you are all rooting for the same horse(s) and b) you have more chances of winning. if your budget is only $20, you are probably stuck making smaller $2 bets. however, if you pool your money with several others in your crew, all of you will benefit by spreading out your wagers and possibly hitting something big, like a pick six. 5. purchase the tip sheets. i know they may seem cheesy, but many of these “tout sheets” like toby turrell’s gold card are used by even the most sophisticated gamblers. these sheets are actually designed for the novice player and may provide valuable information. remember, you are betting against every other person at the racetrack and information is king. if you pull one piece of great workout information from one of these “sheets” and cash a bet on a big long shot… it will all be worth it! 6. play “my favorite jockey”. my grandfather, the man responsible for my horse racing addiction (that’s one way of saying it, right?), used to go to the track and only bet on one jockey, chris mccarron. mccarron is a hall of famer and during his prime in the 80’s, there was nobody better. so gramps, who loved racing and loved going to the races, actually never handicapped a single race. he’d take his program, circle all the horses ridden by mccarron, and hope he brought in a bunch of winners that day. no matter what circuit you are playing, there are great riders to simply call them your very own for the day. 7. go for the best names. keeping it in the family, my mom (a $5 $10 show better), bets on names. i will get text messages and emails throughout the race day just to let me know that she won on a horse named billy’s bullet or emmy darling (my sister’s name is emily). and what’s wrong with betting this way. absolutely nothing. take a minute and go through the card and pick out names that mean something to you. find names of your pets or a friend or a loved one and   when one of them wins   you will have a story for the ages (or at least the rest of the night!). 8. bet strictly by looks. you don’t have to be an expert to look at a horse and see positives and negatives about a horse’s appearance before a race. i suggest looking at each horse as they enter the paddock and as they hit the track before making a wager. a horses coat is a dead giveaway of health. try and find horses who have dapples (little circles) on their coat or horses who have glowing coats. a dull coat, on the other hand, is a sign of a horse who may not be thriving. 9. don’t bet the favorites. favorites win at approximately 33% of the time or, for those of you math wizards out there, one of every three races. on a nine race program, generally, three of the favorites will win and six of the favorites will lose. this is not a winning proposition. look at the simple math. let’s say each favorite is even money, meaning if you bet $2.00 to win and the horse wins, you will receive $4.00 in return. if you make a $2.00 win bet on all nine favorites (all at even money for the sake of this discussion) it will cost you $18.00. assuming three of the favorites win, your earnings will be $12.00. you may feel pretty good about yourself for picking the winner of three of the nine races but, at the end of the day, you will still have lost money. in fact, betting this way, you would have to win five of the nine races in order to make money. instead, assuming again you have nine races and you are betting $2.00 to win each race, if you can identify horses that are 9 1 or higher, you just need to win one race to break even and, if you are lucky and win just two of the nine races, you stand to make a healthy profit. interestingly enough, there is a way to find some good long shots… 10. look for overlays. an “overlay” is simply a horse that has odds greater than its morning line odds. the morning line is created by the racetracks odds maker and is their opinion of how the betting public will ultimately bet. you will find the morning line odds for each horse in the program and on the tote board. since horse race betting is “pari mutual”, the final odds are dependent on how much money is placed on each horse. thus, the morning line is simply a prediction. so look at it this way, if the odds maker at the track thinks a horse should be 4 1 and you look at the tote board and the same horse is 10 1, you have a nice overlay as the betting public may be missing something. this is your time to strike. remember, you are betting against every single person at the racetrack and, as we showed you in the previous example, you must demand value. the bottom line… if none of these wagering ideas strikes a chord with you… well… you can also bet birthday numbers, anniversary numbers, etc. whatever you do when you go to the race track to wager on horse racing… just have fun! if you are not interested in gambling or handicapping and more interested in becoming a fractional owner in the sport of kings, simply contact us today and start your very ownership experience. {{cta(‘5b83cf3a e0de 452f a82d aeb6f3c28ee8’)}}

champagne living live the good life! buzz my mom (left) & grandmother (right) next to one of the many racehorses we had while growing up. you can gamble on almost anything these days, including politics, entertainment, and even the weather. but when it comes to sheer excitement   and the potential to win big   nothing comes close to touching the allure of horse racing. and if you want to learn how to increase your odds of winning a few bucks at the racetrack, we’ve got you covered. let’s be clear about one thing upfront: there is no secret technique that will guarantee success. horse betting is partially luck and partially an art form. we can’t do anything about luck, but here are some tips to help you on the technique side of things: there are generally two categories of waters: straight and exotic. as a beginner, it’s a lot easier to just focus on a few straight wager bets. they’re simple, inexpensive, and easy to follow. “each horse in the race will be assigned odds to win,” hollywood casino of perryville explains. “for example, if you place a $2 win bet, and your horse’s assigned odds are 20:1, if your horse wins, you will win $40 plus your $2 bet, for a payout of $42. however, these odds may be adjusted for different types of bets.” with a straight bet, there are typically three different outcomes you can gamble on: there are different ways to bet these outcomes. you can do a straight bet for a horse to win, for example. or you can bet all three. if you bet all three options for a horse and the horse wins, you would cash in on the show bet, place bet, and win bet. don’t be the guy or gal that shows up to the track and just places bets based on the color or name of the horse. it’s important to do some preparation ahead of time. you can either do your own research (there’s usually plenty of data available) or pay for a handicapping service that will provide suggestions for you. either way, research brings the riches! in horse racing, conditions are everything. some horses run well on dirt, while others prefer turf. some horses have experience in muddy/rainy conditions, while others would much prefer a dry track. the more you do your research, the more you’ll understand how the current conditions will impact the outcome. (then you can adjust the odds in your head and find the value bets.) horse betting is a community. it’s a ragtag bunch of people from all backgrounds of life. you’ll have millionaires at a track, as well as people who are on their last dollar. but that’s what makes it beautiful. don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone who looks like they know what they’re doing. you might just learn a thing or two from one of these seasoned vets! one of the worst things that can happen to a new horse bettor is to win big. if you win big on one of your first couple of races, your brain will associate gambling with high returns. you’ll also think it’s easier than it really is. as frustrating as it is to lose, a few low cost swings and misses will do you well. the key to successful betting is to set your limits and take your lumps. never chase losses and always know when to draw the line. horse betting is harmless and fun   a form of adrenaline inducing entertainment   but it can easily become a fixation. by remaining disciplined, you can ensure it lands on the innocent side of the spectrum. zipporah sandler aka zippy is a lifestyle and travel specialist who after living everywhere from providence to paris found herself suddenly residing in south florida (something she swore she’d never do). whether it be san pellegrino water or louis roderer cristal, zippy suggests that you keep your life sparkling and your glass full. copyright © 2025 · champagne living media llc (2007) copyright © 2025 · divine theme on genesis framework · wordpress · log in

horse racing betting can be a profitable experience, especially if you’re lucky to select a winning horse. horse racing can be a perplexing sport to bet on, which leaves most gamblers disappointed. to succeed at horse racing betting, understand the betting terminologies to boost your betting confidence. when choosing a bookmaker, be keen on the published odds and the margin size. if the margin is high, it means that the bookmakers will pocket most of your stake money. determine the stake amount beforehand and practice good bankroll management to avoid losses. if you lose your bets, don’t make the mistake of increasing your stakes, as this may result in more losses and the depletion of your bankroll. avoid staking high on short priced favorites because they lead to relatively small winnings, and a single loss can give your betting a big blow. consider learning from your betting mistakes to improve your skills over time and boost your winning chances. below are horse racing mistakes you should avoid. 1. betting on many tracks and races while it’s virtually impossible to form a solid opinion on many races in a day, most gamblers blindly pursue one race after another, wagering several tracks and not focusing on a particular race such as the golden slipper race or track. to be effective at horse betting, you should learn to pick your spots and support your best opinions with your betting capital bulk. consider focusing on specific race sequences and tracks. if you become selective on the races you bet on; betting becomes more profitable. this is because limited scope enables you to focus your time and energy on your best options. 2. failure to conduct enough research failure to conduct thorough research before wagering often leads to costly mistakes. for example, these mistakes can lead you to bet on horses with poor performance history while assuming they’ll win. such errors occur whenever you take enough time to research and analyze the horses’ performances. consider getting sufficient information regarding the race and the participating horses to make informed choices. 3. wagering on favorites while favorites are mostly good bets, they aren’t always the best. consider doing proper research before placing your bets to increase your winning chances. when you choose a favorite, in your mind, you’re sure they’ll win even without researching and looking into the race’s conditions. this crowds your judgment, and you may end up losing money. 4. not tracking your bankroll your bankroll determines how much you can place on each bet. failure to keep an eye on it may result in depletion of your funds or careless betting. keep track of your bankroll by calculating your wins and losses at the end of each betting day or week, and always know the exact amount in your betting account. you may also consider keeping records for more accountability and ensure you bet within your means. 5. ignoring the jockey horse race betting beginners tend to focus more on the horses. however, it’s to learn about the jockey and its importance during a race. consider looking at the previous results and times for every jockey and past results for when the jockey and the horse were paired. the jockey’s experience is also an essential consideration, plus the weather and the track condition of past races and the current one. when examining jockeys, consider the horses they were paired with in recent races. 6. focusing more on speed while speed is essential in horse racing, it’s not the only thing that can help you handicap a race effectively. most horse bettors make the mistake of betting on horses that have had good times in past races. while this may get you close to breaking even, you may never make profits. consider including speed in your horse race handicapping strategy and incorporate weather, track condition, and the jockey. 7. attempting long shot bets to try your luck long shot bets may sometimes win, but that doesn’t mean you should always risk staking on them to try your luck. to become a winning horse race bettor, wager depending on value and never base your bets on the hopes of getting lucky. if you decide to bet on a long shot, it should be because of the value it offers; otherwise, never consider it. 8. chasing losses losing your bets can be painful. while you may be tempted to attempt winning your money back by putting in more cash, it’s crucial to maintain your calm and avoid getting carried away by one loss because you may end up losing much more. endnote learning about horse race betting errors and what you can do to avoid them improves your chances to win. consider avoiding the above horse race betting mistakes to increase profitability. copyright 2018 © total horse channel horse videos and live events all rights reserved

this is the most important concept when reading my handicapping picks. the horses are grouped into color coded tiers. the tier colors are displayed as the background color of each horse's program number. the colors range from dark green to yellow. the grey tier is a special tier which means i did not rate that particular horse. although, the grey tier is listed at the bottom, this does not indicate that this is a bad horse. it is a rare occurrence that a horse is unrated. it is usually due to a lack of data for foreign horses. examine these horses manually to see if they pose a threat. within a given tier, the horses are ranked from best to worst. however, usually the horses within a tier are close in ability and it is difficult to choose one over another. for single race bets (e.g. exacta, trifecta), i would key or box the horses in this first (dark green tier). for multi leg bets (e.g. pick 3, pick 4), i take all the horses in the top tier. sometimes, depending on the circumstances, i add one or two horses from the second tier or from the grey tier. although i am successful at predicting many races, it is common sense that you must be selective when choosing the races to bet. you will not be as successful if you bet every possible race. typically, i look for races with smaller top tiers (one or two horses in the tier). i also skip races if there are one or more horses in the grey tier. while you should handpick your races to conserve your bankroll, be prepared to commit enough money to make a proper bet when you find a race you like. exotic wagers such as pick 4s, pick 6s and superfectas usually require a significant outlay to have a realistic chance of hitting the bet. i cannot tell you how many times eliminating one or two horses from your combination to try to save a couple of bucks has cost a bettor hundreds or thousands of dollars in lost winnings. if you cannot afford to outlay enough funds for the more exotic bets, stick to simpler bets such as win/place/show, exactas/quinellas and doubles. besides my selections themselves, workouts are the second most important gauge of a horse's ability. past performances indicate a horse's basic ability. recent workouts are an indication of a horse's current form. when choosing between two horses with similar past ability, the horse in the best current form will often prevail. we analyze the quality of workouts for you. workouts highlighted in red are quality workouts. in addition, if you see the "monster workout" icon for a horse, keep an eye out! click here (or view the right sidebar) for the description of the icons on the prediction form. horses are either main track horses or turf horses, not both. it is very rare that a horse will run well on both surfaces. breeding plays a major factor here, as there are physical aspects of a horse which make the horse better on the turf or dirt. i will discuss this in further depth in a later article. it is enough to know that if a horse looks terrible on the dirt (but has shown some promising short distance workouts), there's a good chance the horse will perform well on the turf. a horse that is predisposed for turf can look like a completely different horse when moving from the main track to the turf. the same goes for horses that are terrible on the turf. they may prefer a dirt course. for first time turf starters, i incorporate a pedigree analysis and rate these horses accordingly. another way to gauge if a horse will like the turf is to see if the horse ever ran on a wet dirt track (good, muddy, or sloppy). if the horse ran significantly better on the off track than a fast track, the horse may take well to the turf. it always amazed me that most handicappers never take track condition into consideration. this is a huge factor. similar to the dirt vs. turf issue, some horses prefer a dry track while others prefer a wet track. this applies on the dirt as well as on the turf. in fact, this is often the case with european turf horses. the turf courses in europe are frequently soft, and european horses usually don't run as well on a firm course here in the states. a simple way to determine if a horse likes an off track, is to check his wet record on my tip sheet or look at the horse's individual past performances on a wet track. luckily, i do the analysis for you for all track conditions. in addition, i also analyze turf races for the dirt (just in case they come off the turf due to inclement weather). simply select the dirt and turf conditions on my predictions form to reflect the current conditions. it is important to change your selections during the racing day, if the track condition changes. if turf racing is moved to the main track, simply choose off as the turf condition. you will then see my dirt selections for all turf races for the dirt track condition you have selected. sometimes racing may come off the turf but one big turf stakes race will remain on the grass. in this case, first you select the current turf condition. then, go to each individual turf race and you can override the surface to dirt for the races that came off. simply leave the surface set to turf for the turf races that remained on the grass. another thing to watch for are horses that are dropping in class. horses that are significantly dropping in class from their last race, are usually a threat. some examples of significant class drops are: maiden special weight to cheap maiden claiming, claiming to another claiming with a significantly lower claiming price, allowance to claiming and graded stakes to allowance or claiming. to determine if a horse is going up or down in class, simply look at the very right of the horse's section on my picks sheet. if you see a green down arrow, that means the horse is dropping in class. a red up arrow means moving up in class. the class comparison is based on the horse's last race on the same surface as the current race. click here (or view the right sidebar) for the description of the icons on the prediction form. you can also see the class of the last race run by looking at "prev race:" on my tip sheet. this is simply a quick indication of the track, class, and finish position of the horse in his last race (e.g. 3/7 means the horse finished third out of 7 horses). of course, if you want to see the past performance in detail, view the past performance matrix. layoffs are important in the following two ways: there are essentially two kinds of medication given to racehorses, lasix and bute. bute is only legal at certain tracks (typically on the west coast). any horse that is using lasix for the first time will almost always improve. i indicate this on my tip sheet with a special icon. click here (or view the right sidebar) for the description of the icons on the prediction form. on the other hand, bute is very different. a horse either needs bute to run well, or can't run at all with bute. by looking at a horse's past performances, you can tell if they run better with or without bute. the medication column on the past performance is indicated by a 'b' if the horse was using bute. if a horse runs well with bute and now is off bute (i use an icon to indicate this), the horse will typically run down and run a terrible race. however, if a horse has always ran with bute and didn't do well, the horse may run a big race the first time running without bute. many racing enthusiasts make the mistake of betting a particular jockey. it is true that jockeys may have significantly different winning percentages. however, these people do not realize that the most popular jockeys also get the best mounts. a jockey cannot make a horse run better than the horse's natural ability. conversely, a jockey can ruin a horse's chance to win by giving the horse a bad ride. it is the case, however, that some jockeys "know" how to ride a particular horse better. by looking at the horse's past performance matrix, you can see which jockeys typically rode the horse well. i personally put minimal weight on the rider of the horse. keep this in mind: if you give the best jockey the worst horse, he/she won't hit the board. however, if you give the worst jockey the best horse, chances are he/she will hit the board and possibly even win the race. nevertheless, when there is a change of jockey, i highlight it on my selections form. i show the past jockey's record at the track the horse last raced, and the current jockey's record at the current track. if the record has a star next to it, that means the data was not accurate and i had to estimate the jockey's record for that track. trainer changes can make a big difference, especially over the span of the horse's next few races. simply, you can compare the records between the previous and current trainers. again, if there is a change, i highlight it on my selections form. if the record has a star next to it, that means the data was not accurate and i had to estimate the trainer's record for that track.

styleblueprint for a life of style + substance explore locations food & dining homes travel lifestyle & culture explore locations: explore locations home features we got the help of a "betting expert" to walk us through the race program. or, you can do it our way which mixes luck, superstition and odd logic together! published on may 2, 2012 last updated on may 7, 2024 create your free profile or log in to save this article i’ve been known to bet on the ponies a time or two and i’ve been known to win a time or two as well. but, in the 16 years that i have lived here, i really don’t know what i am doing. i mix a little luck, a sprinkle of superstition and some of my kooky logic together to make my bets. but, what if you really knew what you were doing? if, when you read the program, you just weren’t looking at the jockey silk colors like i do. i enlisted the help of a friend (who shall remain nameless) to guide me through the racing program. so here is his guidance below refer to program sheet from keeneland above. read through it. marinate on it. and then when you are at the track, pull this up on your smart phone to review it again. after his very sage advice, you can read on to “alternative betting options.” the original styleblueprint gals waiting to bet. what is the type of race (stakes, allowance, claiming) and the purse. i try to look at the race history of those entered. example: if you look at race 8 at keeneland it is a $100,000 stakes race. a number of horses in the race have been running for $100,000, $150,000, or even $1m. other horses have been running in much cheaper races. those running for higher purses and finishing well, would be more apt to be a better bet. how long has the horse been off? when was the most recent race. generally, if a horse has not run in the past 6 months or more, they may need a race under their belt. i tend to bet a little lighter in these situations. its more for conditioning. how many races has the horse had in 2012, 2011 and how did they finish? have they run at the track you are betting? if so, how did they do? have they run at the race distance before? how did they perform? who are the owner, trainer and jockey? these combinations carry some weight. how has the horse been working recently? have any had a “bullet” work on the track? that would be the best time of the day at a particular distance for all of the horses working. what track surface has the horse been running on? dirt, alternative, or turf. turf horses tend to run better on alternative than dirt. is a key jockey shipping in just to ride a particular horse? that is usually a good sign. how many times has a jockey ridden the horse? how much weight are they carrying? has the horse run on lasix (for definition read here) before? what is the horse’s speed rating for the race? if a horse is running more consistently in the 90’s to 100’s it would be a good bet. the higher the number the better. does the track favor a particular type of runner? is it speed favoring or are horses coming from “off the pace”? has the horse run against other horses in the race? how did it do? review the notes regarding how the horse did in the race. if you look at race 8 keeneland   dayatthespa, it says “all out, lasted.” the horse won the race by a neck (nk). some key notes regarding how a horse faired in a race would be “bobbled start,”, “bumped at start,” “swung wide,” 5 wide at turn, “faltered.” there are days where the best horse doesn’t perform due to a variety of reasons. some horses don’t like adversity. they tend to loose interest when something out of the ordinary happens. if they get a clean trip, they could win with better odds. some races are tougher to bet than others. maiden races (horse has never won, or run before). they are tough to pick. cheaper races are often more difficult due to the quality of the horses involved. there is not much consistency. i have tried to do a much better job of picking better handicapping races. some don’t set up well, and you just need to pass on it. *if all else fails, spend $10 and buy a few handicapping sheets* and a big thank you to our anonymous betting expert. pin let me tell you how i would bet this race. first, look at program to appear educated. all i see is “blah, blah, blah, numbers, stats, blah, blah.” so i utilize one of my several betting coping skills. here they are: 1. names: do any of the names mean anything to you? in the above program, i’m totally betting on the last sadie horse because sadie is the name of my babysitter. logical connection, yes. 2. jockey silks: always bet on the pink silks. or if their monogram is the same initials as yours … sign from god. 3. trainer: always bet on bob baffert because i love the silver fox, baby. heart attack or not. 4. jockey: i’m not loyal to any jockey, but i do bet on leparoux a lot because i sound so cultured when i say his name. pin 5. post number: everyone has a lucky number, right? bet that. you can in fact, bet this way all day and be rather successful. 6. horse color: i always bet the grey horse; it’s good luck! my friend never bets the grey horse; it’s bad luck! 7. “excavation”: the horse that “excavates” his bowels before the race is ready to win. i’m leaving this one alone. 8. dancin’ and prancin’: the horse that prances, dances or is really frisky in the post  parade is ready to win. “hyper” would be an appropriate term here. pin 9. owner: louisvillage is a small place. you are bound to know someone who owns a horse in some race right? 10. reverse psychology: this is one my favorite tricks. i bet the horse that nobody is talking about in the media. especially for derby. never bet the favorite. but here is my cardinal rule: never ever tell anyone what you bet until the race is over. go to another line away from your friends, write your numbers down somewhere private, take the tickets and shut your yap. don’t jinx it! i wish everyone the best of luck, the best of bourbon and the best of weather for the next two days. see you there! company connect legal ©2025 blueprint.inc

hey, so a trainer who i’ve helped out here and there when he has been short staffed offered to teach me how to pony the horses for exercise in the morning. i am going over next week to try it out. i have a crash vest and helmet… and i’ll be riding his pony with his tack… anything you can think of that would help me to know ahead of time? thanks! never let the horse get ahead of your leg…meaning keeping his head at your hip/knee but do try to keep their head straight! sometimes on a tough one i’ve found that holding the halter quiets them down, but always have the lead in your other hand. make sure he starts you out with horses that pony well   you might also want to wear chaps to protect your thigh/leg on that side because sometimes horse open their mouth and accidentally hit your leg w their teeth! make sure he has a nice pony that you can hold before you try to pony with it have know some that could pull like a train worse then the racehorses! thanks both of you, those are great tips! i don’t currently have any full chaps, only half chaps, unfortunately. this trainer seems to have a lot of really well mannered horses. one day i filled in walking for him and walked 13 horses, only one was uppity and he wasn’t even bad really, just feeling good. he knows i have not done it before and has mentioned he’d give me a easy one to start. i hope the pony is good because he only has the one! i’m really excited to do this! once i learn more about it all i may train one of my horses to do ponying. *make sure you learn the traffic rules of the track before you get out there. every track has different rules regarding the direction you are allowed to pony when the starting gates are up. some trainers will have you “backtrack” the wrong way, others the right way, some don’t care. some horses do better going one way or another, which is something you will just learn. usually they will be calmer backtracking. it’s good you are working for only one trainer to start, so you will get to know his horses and their little quirks. *always expect something to happen!! no matter how quiet the horse seems or how easy things are going, don’t ever relax to the point of getting sloppy. don’t let your pony’s reins get too long, you want to be sure that you can stop or turn on a dime. don’t relax your lead rope too much either. *ditto to keeping the horses head by your leg. not only can they get away from you if they get too far in front or behind, but if they have too much “freedom” they can kick your pony. seeing blood gushing from a cut vein on your pony because you let him get kicked is a horrible feeling! *be courteous when going by the starting gates. make sure to look and see if there are horses inside. the gate crew will usually yell “breaking!” to let you know that they are going to pop them out. get out of their way as soon as you can and make sure you have a good hold when those gates clang! *you and your pony are the racehorses “body guards”. when passing another horse, especially on the path to the track, put your pony between your racehorse and the other racehorses. ponied horses often are feeling good and have a little freedom and love to kick up their heels! you don’t want them kicking somebody else. also be aware of inanimate objects and give them plenty of clearance on your racehorses side, in case he decides to jump into them. *sit deep and back a little in your seat and keep your heels down to keep yourself anchored in case the racehorse tries to pull you out of the saddle *wear gloves!!! every time! *don’t be afraid to speak up if you feel a horse is unsafe to pony or you don’t feel comfortable taking them. you have every right not to, and it’s much better to speak up than to get you, a horse, or somebody else hurt. *if ponying a horse with a lip chain, make sure the chain is looped back to itself on the offside so it is snug and won’t come off, which can be a huge mess! *sometimes a horse who is pulling hard will do better if you take ahold of the noseband on the halter and hold it lightly. just watch you dont get your fingers stuck, or they can rip you right off the pony! *keep your reins and your rope tangle and loop free and organized. you’ll get better at handling them with practice. *a couple tricks i have learned to handle emergency cases when the horse is pulling hard and about to get free…don’t get in a tug of war, and don’t be afraid to give a couple quick hard shanks to get their attention. you don’t ever ever want to tie the horse to your saddle horn, but you can do a half wrap around it. a few bumps against an unforgiving horn and the horse will often back off his pulling. even putting your rope hand on the saddle to brace it can help. some horses feel the give and take of your arm and will try to take advantage of it. …if you have a chain that is attached over the nose and under the jaw, and the horse is being unruly, you can twist the chain until the slack is gone. gets their attention and can prevent pulling…and if all else fails, and you can make a loop out of your rope, and put it over the horses nose, and hold the loop in place, loose around the horses nose. this is an extreme measure and you can lose a finger pretty easily if you aren’t careful. *watch stud colts! some will try to bite or mount your pony! *every trainer and pony person has their own methods of how they want the chain. i prefer it to be over the nose and under the chin. i feel it gives you the most control. some do under the jaw. some will do it buckled to the other side of the halter. i refuse to pony like this, you have extremely limited control this way. i tell the groom/trainer to fix it or i won’t take the horse. i have always regretted it when i haven’t made them change it. *don’t be afraid to correct dangerous or unruly behaviour. you have to keep yourself safe as well. *sing or talk to your horses, some of them really seem to like it ok, i think i’m done lol! hope it helps and you have a great time!! a good friend of mine ponies for a living, and i’ve tried to store away everything she ever tells me as good advice. bansheebreeze covers a lot of it   two things that came to mind right away that she covered are wearing well fitting gloves with a suede palm   i followed her advice and got these just for riding, and they are great http://www.greenhawk.ca/cgi local/softcart.exe/scstore/p drc0488.html?l+scstore+wkbd8898ff737073+1311888041 one other thing she has mentioned is not giving a horse too much shank   they can get behind you or come into you and you have no way to redirect them. like i said, i think a lot of her as a horsewoman so i try to remember the stuff she tells me. dee eta   it isn’t just the colts who can get silly notions about climbing on your pony…she said that when she used to pony my middle gelding, he was on enough hormones to make him think he could get the job done, and he was an obnoxious prick about it. some fillies, given enough hormones, can think the same thing too! the trainer you are with is a good guy and should teach you well. however, you usually have to ride in front of the outrider before ponying anything before you can be approved to bring a second horse out on the track. they don’t usually let just “anyone” out there to ride. especially at pid. their outriders and pony people are very good up there. good luck! lots of good advice here. i would add that you should take the pony out to the track solo first for a trip around once so that you can get a feel for the pony, tack, track and surroundings before you have a horse in your hand. make sure to know the rules! good luck and all the best! good advice here, the only thing i would add is lots of advil! really good advice, i would just second the advice of getting used to the pony on your own first. i made the first page of indian charlie newletter about 15 yrs ago getting run off with on the pony around the saratoga main track! good luck and enjoy yourself! thanks everyone! i am definitely checking back and reading everything, just been busy with packing up for shows this weekend yeah, i’m sure they would want to see me ride the pony around a bit before handing me another horse, too. if they even give me a horse to pony that day at all. i would want to get to know the pony and the surroundings some anyways before getting a tb to hold onto. i have met the pony and he’s a cool dude and the trainer says he’s great but can be a little strong, but that doesn’t bother me. just one thought…will you be covered under the trainer’s comp or your own? hate to put that out there, but thought it was worth discussion. dee heres an insurance example at pn: you have to be on the trainers badge list before going to the track and you can only work for that trainer. technically, an application process should be followed, but rules seem thrown to the wayside on this lately. if you choose to do any outside day work, even on his pony, you must then have a separate pony license, complete with the whole application process plus verifying that you carry your own insurance. powered by discourse, best viewed with javascript enabled copyright © 2023 the chronicle of the horse

find more of the art of manliness: browse all get style browse all get strong browse all get social browse all get skilled in: featured, games & tricks, living brett & kate mckay • may 6, 2022 • last updated: may 7, 2022 growing up, i never visited a horse track or saw a single horse race. that all changed when i met kate and married into a horse race loving family. rick surwilo, my father in law, had started going to the racetrack as a teenager with his family. this was a time before lotteries and casinos, and horse racing was the only legal form of gambling, so it was something really different to go and do. his family lived in connecticut but had bought a little home in woodford, vermont, and rick’s dad loved to take the wife and kids to the green mountain race track in pownal, just a little ways south of there. they’d set up their lawn chairs by the finish line, and grandpa surwilo would take everyone’s orders and go relay the bets to the tellers. the green mountain race track in pownal, vermont when i started dating kate, one of our first, and most romantic, dates was when she took me to the racetrack here in tulsa. we had a great time betting on a few horse races while snuggling in the bleachers as a thunderstorm rolled in. after kate and i got hitched, her parents would take us to the horse races every other summer or so, and even gave us poor newlyweds a little scratch to bet with. rick’s father had long since passed away, but gram surwilo every inch the stereotypical feisty italian grandma still loved to go and bet on the ponies, just as she had in the old days in vermont. i really enjoyed these outings with my extended family, and placing a few bets myself, but i admittedly had no idea what i was doing. i mostly just picked the horses with the names i liked best. so i jumped at the chance america’s best racing offered me a couple of months ago to come see the spiral stakes at turfway park in florence, kentucky, and get some lessons on how to bet on the ponies. kate and i had a great time there and learned a ton. betting on horses is a lot more complicated than i had imagined, but it’s really a great deal of fun. today, i’ll share some of the basics of what i learned, so that the horse racing neophyte can take advantage of this wonderful spring weather and go down to their local racetrack (or the kentucky derby!) feeling like they know what they’re doing. the finish line at turfway park. before we get into the art of betting, let’s talk about why you’d want to visit a horse racetrack anyway. perhaps you’re thinking, “that’s something my grandpa liked to do, but i’m not interested.” watching horse racing at the higher levels of the sport is a wonderful experience. i’m really not much for any other forms of gambling, and personally don’t see the fun in losing my shorts in some dark, smoky casino. but horse racing i like; it feels like entertainment, an experience, an outing. i like that i’m outside. i like that there’s a lot of history and tradition behind it. all in all, whether i win or lose money, i still have a great time. these days if you want to take the family to a pro basketball or football game, the tickets and food can easily run you $400. admission to a racetrack is often free, the minimum bet on each horse race is just $2, and you can sometimes bring your own food and drinks. you get to spend all afternoon and evening outside, watching beautiful animals perform at their peak ability. and all this can run you less than a trip to the movies. and if you’re looking for an affordable, unique date, where you won’t run out of things to talk about, look no further! my favorite track i’ve visited: the saratoga race course in ny. lots of history there built in 1863, it’s the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the united states. you have two categories of wagers to choose from when you bet on the ponies: straight wagers and exotic wagers. for a beginner, i recommend sticking with straight wagers. they’re simple and cheap. you simply pick one horse to come in first, second, or third. the minimum bet at most tracks for a straight wager is just $2. exotic wagers allow you to make multiple bets on multiple horses in a single wager. exotic wagers are generally much more difficult to win than straight wagers, require an advanced degree of skill and knowledge in horse picking, and are more expensive. however, the payoffs on exotic wagers are much greater than straight ones. straight wagers remember with a straight wager, you only bet on one horse. exotic wagers exotic wagers allow you to bet on multiple horses in a single bet, allowing you to increase your profit potential. but as i mentioned above, they’re much harder to win than straight bets, can get expensive if you’re not careful, and require much more skill in handicapping horses. feel free to experiment with some exotic wagers after you’ve done a few straight bets. i’m not going to get into “keying” horses with these exotic bets. that’s a little bit too advanced for our purposes here. basically, keying horses allows you to minimize your wager, while increasing your payout if you pick your horses right. it’s something that i’d look into once you get comfortable handicapping horses with exotic wagers. human tellers are fast, accurate, and friendly. alright, so you know what kind of bet you’re going to make. now it’s time to place your bet. if you’re at the racetrack in person, i recommend only using human tellers. the automatic tellers have big lines, and you risk being shut out of a race because some yokel is making multiple wagers and doesn’t know how to operate the computer. there’s also the risk that you’ll mess up your bet because you punched the wrong button. the human tellers are fast, accurate, and friendly. have your money ready in your hand. things move fast at the counter, especially a few minutes before post. you don’t want to be the guy holding up the line because he’s fumbling through his wallet looking for his $2. once you get up to the counter, what do you say to the teller so you don’t sound like an idiot and hold up the line? here’s your script: tell the teller the following in this order: for example: “churchill downs, race seven, $2 to win on #4.” if you want to do a quinella bet, tell them: “$2 quinella on 3 and 5.” now hand the teller your money and take your ticket. keep it in a safe place. you’ll need it to claim your money if you win. you can tuck it in the front pocket of your shirt, or if you’re wearing a hat, stick it inside your hat band. so now you know how to place a bet at the horse races. with that bit of info, you can go to any track in america and have a good time picking a random horse and betting your $2 on each race. but if you’re like most people, your goal isn’t to simply pay $2 to watch a bunch of horses run around a track. you actually want to win some money! that’s what makes horse racing “the most exciting two minutes in sports.” the suspense and thrill of knowing that each race can make you a bit richer is overwhelming. you can’t help yourself from jumping up, pumping your fist, and yelling “go, baby, go!” as your horse turns the last corner on the track and makes a break for the lead. but how do you pick a winning horse? there are literally hundreds of books and thousands of websites on handicapping (that means picking) horses and everyone seems to have a different opinion on what factors are the most important to analyze when choosing a horse. while plain old luck is the biggest factor in whether you make or lose money (especially for beginning pickers), handicapping makes the races more fun because it gives you a sense of control, as well as something to chew over between each race. for the purposes of this post, i’m going to keep the handicapping tips very, very basic. the goal is to give the first time race spectator enough information that he can go to a racetrack and not feel like he’s just randomly picking horses to win. i’d love for all you horse racing junkies to chime in with your tips for our beginner horseplayers. get familiar with reading the race day program. your ability to successfully handicap horses will depend upon your ability to read the race day program. the program is crammed with information that you can use to make smarter bets. in it you’ll find a section for each race that day with the statistics and history on all the horses racing in a particular race. the lines of numbers and lingo in a program can be a bit intimidating at first, but with a little practice you’ll be reading like a (semi) pro in no time. i could devote an entire article to explaining how to read a race day program, but i won’t. equibase, the company that creates all the race day programs for every track in the u.s., has a great interactive guide on how to read their race day programs. if you’ve never been to the horse races before, play around with it before you go. look at what class levels the horse has been racing at. there are different levels of competition, or classes, in horse racing. as you go up in class, you’ll find better performing horses and higher purses. there are four race classes: maiden races, claiming races, allowance races, and stakes races. racetracks try to have races with horses at the same level of competition. horses move up and down classes throughout the year depending on their performance and oftentimes a change in class can affect whether a horse will win or lose. for example, let’s say the race you’re betting on is a $40,000 allowance race. you have your eye on a horse, so you check its past performance in the program. it looks like he’s been consistently coming in first and second, but you notice that his previous races have all been claiming races. while it’s great that this horse has been bumped up a class, in this particular race he might be outclassed by the other horses who have experience in performing in allowance races. so it might not be a good idea to bet on this horse to win in this particular race. past performance on surface type. racetracks have different surfaces that the horses run on. some have natural dirt and grass tracks while others have artificial “all weather” tracks. horses perform differently on each type of surface. some horses love dirt tracks, but don’t like the feel of artificial tracks and vice versa. the program tells you each horse’s past performance on the different surface types. if a horse has performed well only on dirt and the track you’re at is an all weather course, you might consider eliminating her from your list of possible picks. history with jockey. i like to look at a jockey’s performance history in the program. if a jockey consistently places in first, second, or third no matter what horse he or she is riding, it’s a good indicator of talent. so if i see a good jockey riding a horse for the first time that has consistently finished in the middle of the pack, i might place a bet on that horse, reasoning that with the jockey’s added skill this middle of the pack horse has a good chance of finishing in the top two spots. i also check to see the history of a jockey with a particular horse. if i see that a horse and jockey have consistently finished in the top three spots together, there’s a good chance they’ll finish in the top three spots in the race that i’m betting on. consider the odds. for every race, each horse will have the odds of it winning next to its name in the program. the favorite to win is the horse with the lowest odds. while past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, the statistics show that over time going for the race favorite pays off. if you: so if you’re looking for an easy way to handicap horses that gives you a good chance of a small return on your money, just bet the race favorite to show. this horse was really antsy in the paddock. didn’t put my money on him. watch the horse in the paddock. this is my favorite way to handicap a horse. before every race, the horses are paraded around in an area of the track called the paddock. it gives you a chance to see how the horse looks and is behaving before the race starts. once i’ve winnowed my list of picks to two or three horses using the info in the program, i like to go over to the paddock to take a gander at how the horses look. just like you and me, horses have good and bad days. sometimes when you wake up in the morning you’re raring to go and other times you come down with a case of the mondays. same with horses. watch the horses to see how they’re behaving. do they look peppy and eager to race? mopey and eeyore like? check to see if a horse is sweating a lot. you can tell he’s sweating because he’ll have big dark splotches on his coat. if he’s sweating a lot, it likely means the horse is nervous. sweat spots by the kidneys indicate that the horse isn’t feeling good, so you might want to pass on him. some horses will act very jittery in the paddock turning in circles, biting, rearing. while it’s a sign that the horse has some spunk, he’s wasting all his energy in the paddock instead of saving it for the race. go with the alert, but calm horse. looking for these signs with the horses isn’t very scientific, but it is a lot of fun. random, superstitious factors. of course, you can simply use some random superstitious factor to handicap your horse. you can pick the horse that’s wearing your lucky number or your favorite color. or you can pick the horse because you like the name. a lot of racegoers have their own silly handicap factors they use. come up with your own. last minute tips you don’t have to bet on every race. for the beginner, the temptation is to bet on every single race in the program. while there is definitely one horse that will win each race, the astute horseplayer culls the entire program for the best bets and might, conceivably, only bet two or three races out of the entire card (card is the term for all the races that day). set a budget and bring cash in that amount. if you think you might get carried away with your betting, simply bring a set amount of cash. once it’s done, you’re done. wear a hat. there are few venues these days where a hat doesn’t look out of place. the racetrack is one of them. never miss an update want to start taking action on the content you read on aom? never miss an update view all related articles/// view all the art of manliness participates in affiliate marketing programs, which means we get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links. we only recommend products we genuinely like, and purchases made through our links support our mission and the free content we publish here on aom.

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popular searches browse by the belmont stakes is finally here! these races bring text messages, emails and phone calls from people i haven’t communicated with in quite some time. and i love that they reach out for betting advice. betting on horses is supposed to be fun. some may choose a horse based on a name. others may choose their winner based on the silk colors. some may even just choose their lucky number. whatever works, right? nearly everyone wants to wager on the belmont stakes, the final leg of the triple crown. so for those who want to learn about how it works and get a little more involved than just a win bet, let's talk about the several ways to bet on this race. here is a quick beginner's guide on how to bet on ponies. win place show this is the simplest way to bet on horse races. pick a horse and bet him to win (finish first), place (finish second) or show (finish third). this is a $2 base bet, and you can certainly bet more if you’d like. you can also bet the horse "across the board," meaning you have him to win, place and show   which is a $6 bet on a $2 base bet. and if your horse finishes third or better, you’ll collect. you can also do a "win place" wager, which means you have the horse to finish first and second. that’s a $4 bet on a $2 base. if you want to keep it simple, give these a try. exacta and exacta box think you can peg the first two runners to get across the line?