Horses

[flomo]

anyone go to the track and bet on horses?
if so are there any good books or guides for stratagies and winning?

[DaNutsInYoEye]

I always bet on the ones with the cutest names.

[flomo]

I always bet on the ones with the cutest names.

that is what my dad does and he loses
i need a gift for him so i was hoping for some help, like a book suggestion

[DaNutsInYoEye]

I always bet on the ones with the cutest names.

that is what my dad does and he loses
i need a gift for him so i was hoping for some help, like a book suggestion

I suggest you get your dad better judgement. The names he thinks are the cutest obviously aren't. A person with a halfway decent sense of such things should clean up at the track.

[zook]

Used to go a lot when I was in high school and college, learned to read the racing form and make bets that the old grizzled veterans approved of. Still was a long-term loser. We could smoke cigarettes though and get guys to buy us beers.

But sorry, I don't know of any books. Try Amazon?

[ShortStacked]

I've been to the tracks a few times and have always left with positive numbers. This was a while back when I had my parents betting for me and I bet on my own once. I just followed the favored by the odds and did bets accordingly. Not gonna make you monsters, but I never left in the hole.

[ensign_lee]

Betting horses = -EV, at least from what I've heard.

[Scrimmage]

Don't go to make money, go to sit by the track, eat a burger, and bet some small cash. Good times. I brought my then girlfriend (now wife) there once as she'd never been, and she was saying something like "Why do they need the jockeys? The horses know what to do!", and I disagreed. Anyway, 15 minutes later, there was a starting mistake and a horse lost it's rider out of the gate, and the horse went on to win! Craziest thing I ever saw there, they disqualified all bets on that race though.

I do remember hearing though that the best thing to do is bet on the bets where you pick the winner of a number of races in a row (think it was called 'Triactor' or something wierd), or choose first and second spots, etc. You'll lose most of the time, but when you're right you get a huge payoff.

You might also try searching for horseracing handicapping, horserace betting, etc. I'm sure there are some websites out there.

[swiggidy]

Last time I went my buddy was placing $1 bets on the 1-3 box or whatever where you pick the top 3 but it doesn't matter where they place. He was getting excited when he won his 20c, lol.

Ya, I like the ones that payout 100:1 or so. I figure horse betting is only +eV if there is a drink special.

[Rabid Dog]

I used to go to the track here, but mainly for fun. You dont realize just how fast those horses really are till you see them live. I learned one thing for sure. Never bet on the horse thats the fiestiest in the stalls and area where they put the saddles on. They always wear themselves out back there and never finish well.

[Eric]

I haven't read Sklansky's Getting the Best of It but I think it has some material on horse racing.

There was a track near my high school. I went occasionally but not nearly as often as some of my classmates(some of them would go through the sports page during homeroom to see about the races for the day).

I do remember hearing though that the best thing to do is bet on the bets where you pick the winner of a number of races in a row (think it was called 'Triactor' or something wierd), or choose first and second spots, etc. You'll lose most of the time, but when you're right you get a huge payoff.

A Daily Double is a wager where you pick the winner of 2 consecutive races.
A Pick 3 is a wager where you pick the winner of 3 consecutive races.
An Exacta is a wager where you pick the first 2 horses to cross the finish line in exact order, you can box it so the order of the 2 doesn't matter.
A Trifecta is a wager where you pick the first 3 horses to cross the finish line in exact order, you can box it so the order of the 3 doesn't matter.

[flomo]

thanks for all the responses

btw
my dad is also a slot machine junkie
he is not playing for EV
luckily he only gets to the casino/track once a month

[tannari]

i have never bet on horses