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Beginners Guide to Horse Racing |
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Horse racing in Britain has a rich tradition dating back to the 17th century. Nowadays, horse racing of one form or another takes place up and down the country every day of the year bar Good Friday and Christmas Day. If you`ve never seen a horse race, you`ll want to know where you can watch horse racing and, probably, how you can bet on it.
Great Britain has a total of 60 racecourses, 53 in England, five in Scotland and two in Wales, although Chepstow, which is strictly in England, is only just over the Severn Bridge. Wherever you live in Great Britain, you should be able to find a racecourse within an hour or two`s drive of your front door. Of course, there are different types of horse racing, commonly known as flat racing and national hunt, or jumps, racing. Some racecourses cater exclusively for flat racing, some cater exclusively for national hunt racing and some cater for both.
Flat racing takes place over distances between 5 furlongs and 2 miles 5 furlongs and involves no obstacles, while national hunt racing takes place over distances between 2 miles and 4 miles 4 furlongs and involves smaller obstacles, known as hurdles and larger obstacles, known as fences. If you`re unsure about which type of horse racing you prefer, you might like to watch a few races on cable, satellite or terrestrial television to get a feeling for what the sport is all about.
Betting is obviously an integral part of horse racing. You can bet in person, with a bookmaker on a racecourse or in a licensed betting shop, via the telephone or online. For a telephone or online account, you`ll need to register your details with a bookmaker and deposit funds to your account using a debit card, credit card or another payment method. The simplest type of bet is a single win bet, where you stake a certain amount on your horse to win the race. For example, if you stake £5 at odds of 4/1 and your horse wins, you win 4 x £5 = £20 and have your original £5 stake returned, for a total return of £25. If you`re not so confident that your horse will win, but think that it will finish in the first three or four, you can back it win and place, or each-way. If you stake £5 each-way, your stake is £10 in total, but you still receive a proportion of your money back if your horse finishes second, third or fourth.
If you have the opportunity to watch horse racing on a racecourse, try to take some time to visit the racecourse stables. Here you can see the grooms or stable hands - the people employed to take care of horses and their surroundings - at work. Grooms make sure that racehorses have sufficient water to drink, oil their hooves and groom their bodies, manes and tails using horse grooming brushes to make sure that they look their best when race time comes around. |
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