Tutorial

The barrier to entry for new horse racing fans can be a bit high, it seems pretty complicated the first time someone hands you a racing form to look over and the technical terms involved in some of the wagering can sound a bit unusual. It took me a while to understand the basics, and that usually happened at the track while I had a drink in my hand. I've tried searching the internet for a good tutorial but most of them aren't very helpful so I'm going to try and lay out some of the basics so beginners can get up to speed quickly.

I'm not much more than a beginner myself so if you're interested in expert advice then you should seek out the experts, and if you're interested in telling me that you are smarter/more knowledgeable than me then you probably are.

In order to get started there are two things you need to understand. The first is how to read the racing form which explains everything you need to know about the race and the history of the horses involved so you can make an informed judgment about which horse or horses you think will perform the best. The second is to understand the betting options so that you can decide how you want to participate among the many options available.

A typical day at the track has about 10-12 races spread out with about 30-45 minutes in between each race. The downtime gives the officials time to clear and prepare the track for the next race, as well as for the trainers and jockeys to get the horses ready and go through their pre-race routines. It also helps that it gives spectators plenty of time to get food and refreshments, look over the racing form for the upcoming race and of course to place a wager.

Throughout the day there will be different types of races. Some will be shorter distances known as sprints. These races usually have the horses only making one turn on the track and go less than a mile. Races of more than a mile typically involve two turns and are known as route races. Most tracks have a dirt track on the outside and a turf course (grass) on the inside. There will be races on both surfaces and often times horses will have a specialty of one or the other surfaces.

The "class" of a race is measured by the purse of the race. For obvious reasons a race with a $50,000 purse is going to have a better class of horses running in it than a race with a $25,000 purse. If a horse is running in a race with a larger purse than its previous race the horse is said to be moving up in class. The highest class races are known as graded stakes races. There are three grades, Grade I, Grade II and Grade III with the chief difference among them being the size of the purse and the prestige of the race. The Kentucky Derby has a field of 20 horses and they take the top 20 (3 yr old) horses in cumulative points from designated Kentucky Derby Prep races.

Typically a race day will have only one or two featured races which may or may not be graded stakes races. On very big/special days, like the day of the Kentucky Derby or during the Breeders Cup you'll see many stakes races during the afternoon but this is not usually the case. On most race days the race card is filled up with other types of races. There are "maiden" races for horses that have not yet won a race. In some instances these maidens are running their first ever race. There are also types of "claiming" races where any licensed horse owner can make a claim on a horse in the race at a specified price and buy the horse. This is common for horse breeders who are looking to sell the horses they've bred and want to showcase them in a race There are also allowance races which are just regular races for horses to compete for the purse money.

You don't have to be particularly wealthy or knowledgeable to wager on horse racing. The minimum bet in most cases is $2. For some of the more exotic (longer odds of winning) types of wagers the minimum is even lower, as low as $0.10. You can have a nice day at the track, sit outside, enjoy the weather, talk to your friends, get some food and drinks and bet on every race and still not spend that much money, so don't be intimidated by the wagering. Most people in line at the betting window, even the ones at Churchill Downs on Derby day are only betting a little bit of money on each race. You're not going to impress anyone or "fit in" by betting more money than you should be on things you don't quite understand so just be smart about how you want your day to go.

If you haven't already, read these two tutorials:

• How To Read the Racing Form
• Wagering Tutorial

Have fun.