Oh the smell of the dirt and the horses and the fans and the horses! What are the top horse racing tracks and where the heck are they?
We watch horse racing on television but do those announcers EVER tell us where the race is? No, they usually say it once when you’re in the kitchen getting your chips and beer before the race begins.
If you miss that, you’re out of luck, but here, we are proud to tell you where they are and why they’re tops. We picked out four here and we will tell you why we like each one of them.
Churchill Downs/Kentucky
The home of the Kentucky Derby, this horse track is full of wealthy ladies with big hats with Mint Juleps in one hand and Burgoo Stew in the other. Opened in 1875, the vision of Col. M. Lewis Clark, who also won here as a jockey, Churchill Downs has grown over the years in popularity.
In 1902, Matt Winn who bought the failing track was actually incorporated in 1942. Years went by until 1980 when CEO and President, Thomas H. Meeker demanded expansion he got it. In 2005, the $121 million dollar renovations were complete including revamping the grandstands and clubhouse.
This racetrack is full of history, but mostly, we like the idea of the computerized advanced deposit wagering set up in 2007 easier for us to bet at home since we cant afford tickets to actually go there.
Belmont Park/New York
Who doesn’t like New York? Its the apple state, oops; we mean it has a city nicknamed The Big Apple. That alone is great for apple lovers, but we love this track too. This 430-acre track in Elmont, NY has two super seasons, one from April to July and the fall season in September and October. This too is home to one of our favorite races, The Belmont Stakes, part of The Triple Crown.
The track here is 1 and a half miles in length and even though they claim they can fit 90,000 people here, they only have 32,941 seats so most of us who attend will be standing. You should be exceptionally well dressed to get into Belmont Park, even if the parking is only four bucks.
They will let you bring in coolers for your beer, but only if you aren’t sitting with the wealthy people and for our betting or should we say losing convenience, this track has ATMs on the first, second, third, and fourth floorsnice!
Hollywood Park/California
Wow, who doesn’t like Hollywood! Thats exactly what we thought, but we really do enjoy this track. Opened in 1938, old Jack Warner of Warner Brothers Studios must have liked horses and betting on them he also enlisted a lot of Hollywood types to invest in Hollywood Park. It was used as a storage facility from 1942 to 1944 because of WWII, the big one, and a fire in 1949, put it out of business until its reopening in 1950.
In 1951, Citation became the first million dollar horse winner here and we bet he was proud! This track was the first to offer exacta wagering in 1971 something we are fond of. In 1973, another $3 million was offered up for renovation purposes. Where do you think all your bets go? The rack track itself is 1 1/8 miles and is awesome to see.
Off site betting in Del Mar, San Bernardino, and Ventura came along in 1987, and this used to be the home of the world famous Breeders Cup! In 1994 its further renovation of $20 million gave this park the class it needed and if you don’t want to bet on a horse race there is a casino too and we like that!
Santa Anita/California
Well, they say California is sun filled with surfer happy people who say way wow, and are everywhere thats just part of the reason we like it here. Another reason is that this track opens every year the day after Christmas so ask for cash this year!
While you cant bring a Frisbee, fly a kite or wear your rollerblades at this track, it will be the home of the 2009 Breeders Cup a first for this track. It covers 320 acres and a complete equine hospital (that s a horse hospital if you didnt know).
You dont have to dress up here if you get box seats, but if you shell out $7.50 you can sit in the clubhouse but you have dress up there and if your Grandma is 62 or older, she can get in free on Thursdays! We liked it here because there are friendly people who will explain to you how to bet or you can read one of their information full brochures on how to wager!
All of these places have great horse racing tracks and if you have only watched horse races on TV, dont fret, now that you know what its like to visit these tracks, maybe you can just make an offsite bet and stay at home with your beer and chips.
Simon M Skinner assists withruns internet marketing for BetAmerica - the top online US horse racing betting website.
If you find yourself at the racetrack looking at the odds of each horse and dont understand anything and youre almost at the tellers window to bet on one dont fret. We will tell you here how to read horseracing odds.
First, do you understand the tote board or even know where it is? Its the big old sign type of thing probably across from where youre sitting with all sorts of numbers and horse names on it. You really cant miss it. On the tote board, you will see the odds for each horse and dont confuse odds with how much youll win if your horse wins. For instance if the horses odds are 7 to 5, that means you will get $7.00 bucks for every five dollars you bet 20 1 will mean $20 bucks for every dollar you bet you get the idea. Keep in mind that almost all horse tracks will have a two dollar minimum bet. Numbers on the tote board are usually rounded off, so pay attention to that too.
To figure the exact odds on your horse, you need to look further at that tote board, basically total win pool and amount bet on the horse. The total win pool is what everyone sitting at the track has bet on your horse (yes, more than one person can bet on a horse). Dont forget this isnt the amount you win if the horse wins it is just all the money riding on that horse. Next, there is a thing called the take. Yep, thats what is taken away from that horses winnings and shoved not into your and your fellow betters pockets. Different tracks have different takes but usually range between a healthy 14 to 20%. We think it should be more like 5%, but we dont own the tracks and someone has to pay taxes, and track upkeep basically you through your betting, but we move on.
Finding your exact odds is easy. You can do this in your head if youre good at head math. Or, you can bring a trusty calculator with you like we do. First, subtract the tracks take from the total pool and then subtract the amount bet on your horse and youll have the exact amount of cash the horse will payout. But wait, were not done yet. After that, you have to divide! Divide that last payout figure by the amount you bet on your horse and you will have the exact odds on your horse! Whew, can you believe some people do this in their head? If you cant really understand this all by reading it, heres a chart!
Total pool amount: $900.00
Total bet on horse: $300.00
Take amount: 15%
Here is the math now:
$900 minus 15% = $765.00
$765 minus $300.00 = $465.00
$465 divided by $300.00 gives you a whopping $1.55!
Simon M Skinner assists withruns internet marketing for BetAmerica - the top online US horse racing betting website.
Okay, you know how to figure the odds on a horse, but what about handicapping? We are here to tell you that it is sort of confusing and a lot of it is luck, but with a little brainpower, we are sure you can figure it out! Let us find out all about horse racing handicapping.
You should follow general tips on handicapping so lets list them out.
Choose a race that fits the horse
It is always good to see which horse is running which race and decide if its a sprint, which are around two to three lengths, to make sure the horse you like has good speed and is able to finish strong.
Look for good match-ups
Don’t randomly bet on every horse just because you like their name or jockey. See what horses are matched up with each other and what their records are. This way you can make good decisions on when to bet and how much you want to bet.
Know how to wager
use your knowledge of the tote board and horse payouts and remember to deduct the track cut to find out how much you would really receive if your horse won. If you bet $2 and end up winning a buck that’s not a good bet.
Understand how horses race
Find horses that are consistent in their performance and play the wait game if you have to. Look at match ups constantly after all if you’re at the track, you probably have the time to sit down and make good decisions right! Learn to pass on a race if it wont payout.
Check out the signs
if you look closely you can find marked signs at each racetrack that tell you with signals if you should play or pass on a race. If you don’t see them ask where they are.
What is the pace shape of the race?
You can ask your buddies how this works, or people at the track, but running styles are usually matched and the pace of each race is matched so find out about these types of races and see if you can bet to win.
The 4 race shapes
there are basically four kinds of race shapes, fast, lone early, honest, and slow. Use these for match up skills to determine if your horse even has a chance to place!
Separate the true contenders from the winners. Don’t waste your time on horses that haven’t won against their match ups.
Race track and field of running
be sure to analyze if the horses are running on turf versus dirt. Find out which horses do well on turf and which on dirt.
Buy a handicapping book
While this sounds like a really simple thing you would be surprised how many people don’t even consider this! Or, if you don’t like to read, find a guy who is always at the track and always seems to do well and pick his brain!
Simon M Skinner assists withruns internet marketing for BetAmerica - the top online US horse racing betting website.
When you play in an online casino, one of the most popular games is the blackjack game. In fact, is the most widely played casino banking game in the world so much so that you will never run out of competition and excitement at this game.
However, you just don’t play the game because you will be losing more than you expected without these tips on how to win at blackjack.
Learn Basic Strategy
Blackjack is a game of mathematics. Gut instinct, hunches, guesses and superstitions have very little, if at all, place in this game that involves math skills, even card counting. Thus, you do have to learn and master the basic play and strategy and you don’t have to secondguess the math.
Know the Dealer Tells
You will need to understand the various dealer tells simply because these help in your game. These are subtle signals made by the dealer than can tell you whether to hit, stand, double down, split a pair or surrender, thereby increasing your chances of winning.
Of course, you have to remember that dealers can fake tells, too. But once you have understood the psychology of tells through constant practice and reading of books on the subject matter, you will discover that the best possible way on how to win at blackjack often boils down to combining your math skills with peoplereading skills.
Know When to Make Your Move
When you have learned basic strategy, you will be able to know when to make your move depending on the cards. This is essential because the wrong move in the right strategy can and will make you lose!
You can follow these basic principles in making your moves:
Hit when your two cards total a 9 or below; stand when it is a hard 17 or higher
Hit when your total is 12 to 16 and the dealer’s upcard is 7 or higher; reversely, stand when the dealer’s upcard is a 6 or lesser
Double down when your total is 10 or 11 and higher than the dealer’s upcard; similarly, double down when your total is a 10 and the dealer has a 7.
Again, you have to leave your guesses ans superstitions outside the door, or in the case of an online gaming casino, by the shredder.
Avoid Insurance Except in Certain Circumstance
This is because insurance is always weighted in favor of the dealer. You will almost always lose on this one, thus, the name sucker bet. You should never ever be a sucker for anything, least of all in a game like blackjack.
The certain circumstance being referred to is in card counting. However, this is beyond the scope of this article so you might be best looking for tips from Ken Uston.
Manage Your Bankroll Wisely
This is a nobrainer. Often, the tips on how to
win at blackjack will include sage advice on managing your bankroll simply because you do not win when nothing is left except the shirt upon your back.
That being said, remember never to play over your bankroll and set limits on what you will lose and earn and stick to them. You will find that winning at blackjack can be a fun thing to do!
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With popular growing in popularity thanks to the internet many people are often curious as to which is the better format to play poker, online or at a casino versus people they can see. The answer varies depending on what you are looking for in a poker game and simply what you prefer. Convenience wise, online poker will always win, but there are some jewels or playing at a casino that you cannot beat. Here is a breakdown of what you stand to gain and lose from both online and casino poker playing.
The very first question that usually comes to mind when considering playing online is that you may feel you are playing blind since you cannot watch the other person’s actions and face. While this is true, and the only way to get human interaction physically is in a casino, playing online has its own a set or rules when it comes to reading your opponents. For instance, because you are not distracted by the casino surroundings, you are able to assess how a player plays quickly.
Since you are watching their names and numbers, you can learn if that player always folds out and only stays in when they have the cards. You can also watch the reaction time of other players. If you have a pretty consistent internet connection you can start to observe when a player pauses for a longer amount of time, do they pause when they have the hand, or when they don’t. These are the unique ways of reading an online opponent.
Another component of online poker playing is the instant seating you will receive. If you want a low blind table with about two to three players, in the online world you can find one in a second. In a casino if you are looking for the same thing you may have to wait or change casinos. The same is true if you want to play a specific type of poker such as Omaha or Razz that are not so commonly placed at casinos. Whereas you may have to wait awhile for a Razz table to open up at a casino, online you can simply jump right into a game since the field of participants is larger.
This larger field of players also means you are more likely to jump into a game with more inexperienced players, which may mean if you are a poker shark; it may be easy for you to prey on the smaller tables and make some earnings. Be aware though, that where substantial money can be earned, substantial losses can still be obtained online as there are players who are better than you too, so you have to be very cautious to still get a read on every player until you are sure of how you should be playing your game the same way you would if you were in a casino.
Instead of poker you might want to try your luck at online nickel slots and check out the best online nickel slots at onlinenickelslots.net.