Lets face it, playing the ponies has GOT to be fun, millions of people do it worldwide everyday and billions of dollars are spent betting on them. That is pretty much a given fact. But what is there about watching a bunch of horses run in an oval that is so darned exciting and addictive? Let us examine the sport and see what we can find, shall we?

There is so much excitement at the track. First of all you have the sounds of the crowd, the announcer, the starting horn, the opening of the gates, the ponies as they clip clop around the track, the sound of excitement literally permeates the air and becomes almost enthralling and engulfs you and draws you into it. You cannot help but become excited in this atmosphere. Then there are the many smells. Perfume, body odor, beer, food, money, even the aroma of horse manure adds to the excitement that is the racetrack.

Running the ponies is addictive, much like any other gambling experience but there is more to it. You have people pitting wills against the track, against the each other, against the horse and the jockey.

There are almost as many ways to pick a winner (or loser) at the track, as there are winners and losers.

You can come away rich or you can come away broke but one thing you will not do is come away bored or needing more excitement. In recent years a slew of OTB or Off Track Betting facilities have sprung up to capitalize on the excitement for those that just simply can not make the trip to the physical track and yes they are fun. But you miss the actual sense of being there. The aroma factor is gone and that is a powerful force in the overall experience that is the track.

Just like sitting home with a can of your favorite beverage and watching the football game is not nearly as exciting as being in a seat at the stadium smelling the hot dogs and beer and the other things that go along with it. You actually NEED the experience of physically being at the track to fully appreciate the feeling.

Something about the screaming and yelling above the other people there after you have cautiously read over the names and stats of the ponies and the jockeys and mulled over the statistics and the odds and walking to the window and counting out the money and making the decision of win show or place and then watching your hopes and dreams circle the dusty track in hopes of making you a winner.

Thats an over all experience that has to be experienced to be believed and it can only be fully appreciated at an actual racetrack. You wont get it on your overstuffed couch. You wont get it fully at an off track betting room and you wont get it at the local pub watching it on the big screen. You get it from actually being there and taking part. Just like all the other fun things in life.

Simon M Skinner has worked in the online gambling industry since 2000. He has worked for some of the top online sportsbooks and now runs internet marketing for http://www.betamerica.com - the top online US horse racing website.

Known as one of the most valuable National Hunt horse races in the entire world, the Grand National is also one of the most popular and challenging among horse racing where betting is done by those who do not normally participate in bets or in viewing horse races in general. It is also known to be one of the most controversial races because of its high focus on injuries and fatalities that occur with its participating equine. The Grand National has been a focal point for many animal rights activists to ban the Grade 3 event, due to animal cruelty.

The Grand National is a Grade 3 Steeple Chase event, which has a distance of four miles four furlongs long. The event is restricted to equestrians who are six years and older. It is located at Aimtree Racecourse in Liverpool United Kingdom. Its course runs over two circuits on the premises of the Aimtree National Course, where there are sixteen fences located throughout the course. Each fence, except for the Chair and Water Jump, are jumped twice. A few of the jumps have gathered legendary status, more notably as the Chair and the Becher’s Brook, though in recent years the difficulty has been reduced due to the added pressure from several animal rights activists.

The race consists of two runs through 14 fences, and out of the 40 horses that start the race only 30% of them will have what it takes to finish it. That is due to such jumps as the Chair and Water Jump among the other fences that you must run through twice during the race. Since the course has lightened up a bit over the years, jockeys and their horses have the option to go around the jumps rather than risk them. This makes the course one of the ultimate tests of horse and jockey alike, which brings in over 500 million viewers every year. That is more than the Super Bowl and Formula 1 racing combined. This means the odds of winning are excellent in comparison to other races around the world.

The betting during this race is quite grueling, due to the Grand English Nationals being one of the largest betting events in the United Kingdom. Because of its excellent odds the possibilities are numerous, which makes the whole process as thrilling as opening presents on Christmas day. When you are placing a bet, make sure to check out the previous years winners and their odds and study these trends first. This means that anyone can have a chance to win with their favorite horse.

With its worldwide popularity and exciting events, the English Grand National is one of the most sought out events in horse racing today. Visitors around the world are not disappointed after spending their time viewing the event live and in person. This race was created to find the best jockey and racehorse in the world. With the thrill of the event ahead, you sure cannot miss this spectacular event.

Simon M Skinner has worked in the online gambling industry since 2000. He has worked for some of the top online sportsbooks and now runs internet marketing for http://www.betamerica.com - the top online US horse racing website.

Playing poker is something that needs to be learned, not only with the cards but also by the body language of your opponent. However, seeing the body language of your opponents is impossible when you are playing poker online.

Still, tells can be seen even if you are playing poker online. This is because tells are just ways that players betray their hands or their decisions. In fact, do you realize that you see more action in a game of poker online than in poker that you play non virtual? This is because there is bound to be a lot more money and betting involved.

Here are some tells that you can watch out for when playing poker online.

1. The stall
Most inexperienced online poker players would do this when they have a strong hand. This is because they are feigning ignorance of what to do to make their opponents call their raise. For experienced players, they take advantage of this to fake having a strong hand. So young players would stall when they have a big hand, expert players would stall to fake it.

2. The rant vs. the gloat
Some players take advantage of chat boxes to make it seem as if they are on a losing beat. Sometimes, it is even true. There are players that break down under chat pressure so you can bully them some more to make them lose their games. Gloaters on the other hand are immature players that want to make you think they are stronger and more experienced, aside from always getting good hands. Bluff them and see how far they go, especially if you have a very good hand.

3. The all-knowing player
This is the player that keeps on giving out unsolicited advice on how to play. Do not worry about these players; they normally get out of your way before you even notice them.

There are other tells that you can learn to distinguish as you keep on playing online. The only thing you need to do is to try and not get too much attention on yourself. This is to make sure that you have ample time to observe other peoples tells.

When playing online poker, you may not be able to see your opponents but you can see what they do. Just like playing poker with your buddies, people will reveal their personalities whether or not you actually see them face to face.

Here are some behaviors that you should avoid:

1. Chatting constantly. Whether you are ranting or gloating, other players might be able to read between your lines and make you lose your strategy.

2. Over reacting. Do not be so foolish as to tell everyone you have a good hand or a bad hand by putting too much raise on the table or by sending emoticons on the screen.

3. Rechecking your cards when a flush draw is flopped write down your cards if you have a bad memory. Rechecking your cards mean that you either have a weak hand, or a very strong hand and you are silently gloating.

4. Telling your opponents you have a strong hand
They are going to know that you probably have the weakest hand imaginable so refrain from this bluff.

For yourself, you can avoid giving away your own tells by not reacting in any way perceivable to other opponents on the online table.

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When it comes to a horse racing event the focus is usually who wins the race and the horse that did it. However, what about the jockey? It seems like you never hear anything about them. Usually they hire an agent that works for a percentage of the jockeys winnings, which in return, they find a horse to ride during each race. They are known for riding atop a young thoroughbred that can race at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. This involves great strength, concentration, and superb endurance. The top jockeys provide skillful strategies and great sportsmanship to the events. Here are just a few of these skillful jockeys who have captured the hearts and the attention of the horse racing circuit.

Pat Day- Known as a favorite throughout the Midwest circuit, especially around Churchill Downs, Hall of Famer Pat Day has won several events since 1973, since racing at Prescott Downs in Arizona. This native of Colorado has received the Eclipse Award on four separate occasions and is known as North Americas impressive jockey. By 1997, Day had become the fourth rider ever to notch 7,000 career wins.

Eddie Delahoussaye Once known as a one time regular on the top 10 of national earnings, the Louisiana native had rebounded from some ordinary years recently to stand in as number 22 in earnings. Delahoussaye has been a headliner for nearly 30 years since his first horse racing event in Louisiana. He competed throughout the Midwest prior to heading to California during the late 70s, and became one of the industrys leading jockeys. He has a case full of trophies including a 1978 Eclipse Award, 1991 George Woolf Award, and has received a plaque from the Racing Hall of Fame.

Gary Stevens- After returning to racing horses after a ten month retirement, Gary Stevens resumed his riding career again in December 1999. After his opening day in Santa Anita, he shocked the world again by retiring. While he was retired, Stevens became an assistant trainer for Alex Hassinger of The Thoroughbred Corporation.

Stevens then returned to the circuit after he reached a settlement with Lloyds of London, in which he received a disability package from them. His day at Churchill Downs gave him an enormous win with the Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap while riding Chilukki, and piloting War Chant to win the Breeders Cup Mile. He is ranked at number 2000 with a total of 36 wins and takes home earnings of $3,167,958. He became a part of the Racing Hall of Fame in 1997, and earned an Eclipse Award in 1998. He has been racing horses since 1979.

These are just a few of the riders who have caught media attention over the past several decades. Each jockey has worked hard in obtaining their awards and cash winnings. If you follow the trends of how jockeys perform prior to betting, you may see who will become the future Hall of Famers in the horse racing circuit.

Simon M Skinner assists withruns internet marketing for BetAmerica - the top online US horse racing betting website.

Now that you know you want to bet on horses, how do you do it? If youre a beginner, you should know some important things about horseracing and how to bet on horses. If you dont know what win, place, and show means we can help you here as we will take an in depth look, well as in depth as we can here, and tell you how to bet on horses.

First, if you find a horse named Wingnut, bet on that horse (just kidding)! When you are ready to make that first wager, you can bet to win, place, or show. A win means your horse must come in first. To place, your horse must come in first or second. To show means your horse can come in first, second or third and youll win! We suggest for beginners to stick to easy bets like this before you move on to say a, Quinella bet.

While we know this word sounds funny, all a quinella bet means is that two horses you bet on must come in first and second in any order so you win. If you dont understand how a quinella works, ask before wagering.

Try and Exacta bet! In an exacta bet, the horses you pick must come in first and second in that exact order. If youre bold, you can try for a Trifecta or a Superfecta and we know you are bold right?

A trifecta bet is where you pick three horses that will finish first, second, and third again in exact order. In a superfecta, you can pick four horses to finish first, second, third, and fourth wow how fun huh?

Look at odds and payouts on the tote board and shell out the bucks to purchase a program that will list horse and jockey stats as well as trainer information. You will most likely be able to find the horse race record for that particular track in the program. Remember that odds can change due to track condition and the amount of money bet on a horse and dont forget that old track cut we all have to subtract when figuring out the odds. If you dont know what the tracks take is, make sure to ask.

People like percentages! If you know that airplane you are on has a 99.99% chance of staying in the air thats great! Look at the percentages in horse racing too. You should check out the winning percentages of the horse, the jockey, and the trainer. If they have good percentages of winning bet on them.

Keep track of your horse by looking at the color of the blanket he is wearing. Each horse is assigned a color but it wont necessarily match the jockeys shirt so watch out for that! We also recommend you watch out for nasty betters! Just when youve placed your bet and have a great seat in front of the clubhouse monitor, you might see the odds on the tote board change dramatically. This usually happens when a trainer or owner bets a lot on their horse right at the last minute, we know it sounds bad, but its legal.

Simon M Skinner assists withruns internet marketing for BetAmerica - the top online US horse racing betting website.