Throughout the centuries, there has perhaps never been a sport as exciting for people all over the world than horse racing. The locale might have gone from the Norse mythology to Rome’s Circus Maximus, and to modern-day racetracks, but the blood rush that people watching live horse races feel always gives way to an exhilarating feeling that keeps them going back to watch more races. All over the world today, horse racing is one of the best forms of entertainment around. Part of the fun is the wagering involved in most horse races today. However, even if you do not bet, live horse racing can be exciting.

Horse racing traces its roots down to Greece. In these races, mounted horses and chariots often participated. When the Roman Empire fell, horse breeding and horse racing in the West likewise died with it. Eventually, horse racing was revived in the 1100s when English king Henry I took an interest in breeding and training horses from an Arabian stallion line. Purebred mounts soon raced at the Smithfield Track in London, the first racetrack ever to be built after the fall of the Roman Empire. Even English fairs took interest in featuring horse races. It is because of the royalty’s support of the sport of horse racing that it was dubbed the “Sport of Kings.”

In the mid-1600s, the first American racetrack was built in Long Island, New York. The new racetrack, the Newmarket, was where the earliest North American horse races were held. Not long after, Americans started importing more purebred British horses for breeding, training, and horse racing. Those who have taken interest in the sport started organizing themselves into clubs that standardized practices in horse breeding, training, and racing. The sport of horse racing enjoyed great funding from various sources. Patrons have likewise made money out of the sport through betting. The need for ethical standards in horse racing to be standardized gave rise to the formation of the American Jockey Club in the late 19th century. The responsibility for maintaining the American Stud Book, the rule book for horse racing all over the United States, was soon taken over by the American Jockey Club. Later on, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States was established in Chicago.

Watching live horse races, fans claim, cannot be paralleled in entertainment value. Being one with other fellow horse racing fans standing along the racetracks’ sidelines to feel the horses rush by is a feeling that cannot be equaled. Add betting successfully and you have something that is even more enjoyable. Before you start placing your bets, you have to understand the sport of horseracing first so that you can plan your bets properly.

The types of races that you can bet on vary. Depending on the amount of money you want to gamble and the kind of odds you want to take on, you can choose to bet in any one of them. There are also differing horse race gambling rules depending on where you are located. Wagering in horse races involves pari-mutuel betting. This kind of betting pools together all the bets placed on a race, deducts the amount of taxes and racetrack expenses, and then divides the money among the winners. Parimutuel betting is believed to have been the reason why thoroughbred horse racing has become really popular. The most popular US horse races that people bet in are the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, and the Preakness – otherwise known as the Triple Crown.