Weird and Amazing Facts about Horse Racing

Horse racing is a thrilling and fantastic game for many people. But as there is money involved, it becomes a great sport for betting enthusiasts. Getting to know the amazing facts about horse racing can make you peep into the all-new world of stallions. 

How it started and a few records?

For the successful horses, the owners would pledge their lives. Yes, they can earn more on stud than on the racecourse, and $100 million is involved in horse racing every year. It all started with the chariot races of Rome, and they are the organized form of horse races, from where today’s horse races are derived. These races trace back to 4500 BC in Central Asia. 

• To date, there is no record that a horse more than 18 years of age has won the race. 
• A racehorse on an average weighs 1000 pounds, and the recorded that is lowest for a jockey is 49 pounds. 
• The highest aged jockey was Levi Barlingume, who raced till 80 years of age, which was until 1932. 
• Humorist was the winner of the Epsom Derby in 1921 that ran with only one lung.

Big-hearted horses have more chance to win 

You will also be excited to know about the organs of the racing horses. Yes, only the horses with large hearts have a great chance to win, compared with the rest of those who have smaller or average-sized hearts. 

If you are one of the groups who thinks that horse racing is not very animal-friendly, and they have stopped putting money in it. You have options to participate in other sports or you can play casino games at Betfair to get the same thrilling experience. 

Slow or fast? 

If you are looking for something funny then here is some amusing fact for you. Time is significant when it comes to winning a race. In 1945, the recorded time for winning that is the slowest of all time was set. Never Mind II, the horse refused to move from a fence, and the jockey had no other go, but to abandon the horse. But, to his joy, all the runners of the race had either been disqualified or fallen. So, he rushed back to complete the 2-mile race in 11 minutes and 28 seconds. This means he would have been at leisure. 

Facts about different breeds

Most of the time, you will find that the thoroughbred horses are chosen for their speed, agility, and determination. They had Arabian ancestors and were produced in England. The Arabian racehorses that raced more than 1000 years ago are of just ½ the size of the thoroughbred horses. Compared with these, the quarter-bred horses that are specially bred for quarter-mile races are smaller and less muscular. For harness racing, the standardbred horses are used. They are best suited for trot than gallop racing. 

Dangers associated with horse racing

While it can be seen a great sport, no one can deny that many times horse racing involves the fatal end of the horses on the racecourse, with broken spines. Horses are also killed because of the use of drugs that are meant for improving speed but are illegal and restricted. Thousands of former racehorses end up at slaughter beds. Even younger horses say of ages 3 and 4 are made to risk their lives on tracks.

Photo: Pixabay free for commercial use and no attribution but given

**KNOW THE BEST HORSES IN TRAINING (BEFORE THEY RACE!)**

How Do I Use Betfair While In The USA?

It's great to go on holiday. Even better the chance to visit West Palm Beach, Florida. All parts of the state are beautiful and there is plenty to see and do. 

But there's a problem. I love UK horse racing. In fact, it is my business to follow the Flat racing season. Also, I need to place bets on the betting exchange. I have a Betfair and Betdaq account. So what's the problem? Have you ever tried to access the betting exchanges while on holiday in the US? If you have, you will know what I'm talking about. 

Your access to the site will be blocked!

Annoying. You may question why this is the case. America has a very different view of gambling than other countries. To be fair each and every country has its own little ways. Many prohibit gambling full stop. The main problem with the US is that they are interested in looking after the bandwagon which is known as Las Vegas. No wonder the city in Nevada is synonymous with gambling. The Strip. The shows. The casinos. The lobbyists who are paid good money to make sure that potential wad of cash goes into the pockets of the few.

I think the only state in America where you can access Betfair is New Jersey. However, that's not much good if you are in Florida or any other state for that matter. 

So what do you do? 

You may have heard people using VPNs which help disguise where you are accessing the internet and website. However, this isn't legal and it has been known for Betfair to suspend people's accounts because they realising they are breaking the law of the land. 

Another alternative may be to use Team Viewer. This still may be illegal but it would probably be very difficult to prosecute. Team Viewer allows you to access another computer even from a different country. So you could have a laptop switched on in the UK and access it in Florida. So technically you are using your laptop at home. It makes life easier. It is also a lot easier to access all those things on your laptop at home because it's not practical to carry your desktop and monitor across the pond! 

Anyway, it is a way to gain access to your Betfair account as long as you have wifi. 

Don't be restricted.

Personally, I phone my brother in the UK to place bets for me as it is both legal and easy to work. 

Enjoying the Grand National at Work

40 horses but only 1 winner – the 2018 Grand National is almost here! If you’re hoping to land a winner and maybe some extra pocket money out of the deal then you need to be keeping an eye our for the best bets from Betfair for the Grand National.

However, if you’re only hoping to have a flutter and maybe have some fun with your friends, family or colleagues, we’ve got a great game for you that you can play from the comfort of your own home/office.

To play, all you have to do is print off the three essential ingredients here – the rules card which tells you how to run the sweepstakes, the race-card which gives you the name of 40 horses likely to run, as well as odds from Betfair:

Blaklion is currently the 10/1 favourite with Betfair with one of last year’s contenders, Minella Rocco looking to go better and win this year’s Gold Cup. The Irish horse is currently 14/1 second favourite.

Behind the two favourites is the chasing pack of The Last Samurai, Definitely Red and Total Recall. The latter has seen its odds decrease in recent days..

Once the rules card has been printed, here are the betting slips to fill in so you can all pick the horse you think is going to win:

Now you’re ready to go have fun with your colleagues or whomever you are playing the 2018 Grand National sweepstake with this year. Enjoy!

Early Indicators for the 2015 Grand National

Ok, yes, it is very early days. The National Hunt season has not even got into full swing yet, but this is the time of year to find the best value on the most valuable steeplechase in the world. Here we will look at some of the main contenders for the big race at Aintree next April to try and point readers in the right direction for an ante-post wager.

Early favourite

According to Betfair, the early favourite for the 4 miles 3 ½ furlongs contest, run over 30 fences is Shutthefrontdoor, trained by Jonjo O’Neill. The seven-year old (who will be eight on the day of the race) shot to the head of the ante-post market with a decisive win in the Irish Grand National back in April. Owned by JP McManus – who has already tasted victory in the race with Don’t Push It back in 2010, the son of Accordion could be a lively contender.

An indication to the merits of Shutthefrontdoor may well lie with Holywell – who beat its stable mate by 3 ¼ lengths at the Cheltenham festival last March, in receipt of 4lbs. Holywell has since climbed to the head of the Cheltenham Gold Cup betting after winning at the Aintree meeting, and the horse’s further improvement this season would only boost the form and hopes of Shutthefrontdoor.

Major concerns

Last years’ winner, Pineau De Re will look to buck the trend that goes back to the legendary Red Rum who was the last to record back-to-back Grand National wins in 1973-74. A five-length success over Balthazar King, the Dr Richard Newland trained 11-year old proved too good for the rest of the field and returned a 25/1 winner. The major concerns for Pineau De Re are the facts that no horse has retained the National for 31 years, and he will be 12 years old come April – Amberleigh House is the only 12 year-old to win since 1996 – which must be another negative.

He will also be in the firm grip of the handicapper also after such a convincing performance that is likely to make it a much tougher task. Records are there to be broken however, but the statistics are surely against Pineau De Re this time around.

Potential improvers

A couple of horses who ran with promise in the 2014 race that will hope for improvement are Double Seven, trained in Ireland by Martin Brassil and Paul Nicholls’ Rocky Creek. Double Seven ran a very creditable third place finish back in April under the champion jockey AP McCoy, finishing 6 ¼ lengths behind the winner. Providing that Shutthefrontdoor turns up at Aintree, McCoy will have a serious headache in deciding of which JP McManus horse to choose from, but Double Seven has the course form in the book, which is an obvious plus.

Rocky Creek was touted as a potential Gold Cup horse in the not too distant past, but those lofty aspirations have since faded with some mediocre performances at that level. A fifth-place finish back in April was a very decent effort on the 8-year olds’ first time over the National fences and a crack at the 2015 renewal could well be the gelding’s main target this term.

Lively outsider

One to keep an eye on at a fancy price is the Jim Dreaper trained Goonyella. The seven year-old son of Presenting narrowly missed the cut for the 2014 race, but will surely be aimed again in 2015. Some reasonable performances in last years’ Welsh National and the 2014 Irish National without causing too much noise could well be a benefit this time around especially if the ground turns out softer than good.

Summary

It is obviously a very difficult task to pick the winner of the 2015 Grand National with over seven months to the race, but hopefully some of these horses could well be picking up a piece of the prize money come April. There is value to be had at this time of the year in placing a small stakes wager on the event, good luck in finding it!

Silviniaco moves a step closer to Gold Cup glory

The Paul Nicholls-trained Silviniaco Conti put up an impressive performance to get the better of last month’s Betfair Chase winner Cue Card in a tremendous renewal of the Grade 1 King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day and now looks a genuine contender for top honours in March in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Third on his seasonal return at Haydock behind the Colin Tizzard-trained Cue Card, the French bred seven-year-old had clearly come on a good deal for his first run of the term and he was the only horse able to stay with Cue Card as last term’s Ryanair Chase hero set a searching gallop in testing ground at the Sunbury track.

By the final turn, only Silviniaco Conti remained as a danger to Cue Card, former champion Long Run having failed to respond to first-time blinkers while Dynaste failed to make the grade.

Al Ferof plugged on to take third, but up front it was Silviniaco Conti under a fine ride from Noel Fehily who leaped into the lead at the penultimate fence and eventually came away to score by three-and-a-half-lengths as the gallant Cue Card finally ran out of gas.

Punters reacted quickly to the impressive victory with Silviniaco Conti being slashed to a top price of 4.9 favourite on Betfair having traded at double figures prior to his Kempton victory. Bobs Worth, the defending champion is now a 5.9 shot in the latest odds, while Ireland’s Sir Des Champs, runner-up to Bobs Worth in the blue riband contest last season, now offered at 7.4.

Cue Card (9.8) is expected by many to head for a repeat bid for the Ryanair Chase over a shorter trip and is a clear 4.7 ante-post favourite on Betfair to land the two-mile-five –furlong event once again.

Miller out to Enhance Tremendous Henderson Cesarewitch Record

Twenty-five years after his second National Hunt trainers’ championship success, the 2012/13 jumps season saw the popular, ruddy-faced Nicky Henderson back at the top of the tree after ending a run of seven successive seasons with the title for his arch-rival Paul Nicholls.

But Henderson – whose only major omission from his career CV is that elusive Aintree Grand National victory – is not just a jumps trainer and has proved himself well capable of taking on the best of the Flat handlers on their own turf, his win with Forgotten Voice at Royal Ascot this summer reminded everyone in the game just how astute the Master of Seven Barrows is.

At Newmarket on October 12, Henderson will be out to bag his third Cesarewitch Handicap in just 10 years, his Lieutenant Miller look to have leading claims and appearing to have been targeted at the marathon two-and-a-quarter-mile contest from an early stage this season.

Well supported in recent weeks down from 16/1 to a general offer of 12/1 with betfair online, the winning hurdler stays really well on the Flat and won nicely off a mark of 79 in a 17-furlong Doncaster handicap earlier in the season.

It was in defeat, however, that he really threw his hat into the Cesarewitch ring, the gelded son of Beat All running a brave race to be a close third to Well Sharp in the Ascot Stakes at the royal meeting in June, before failing by an agonising half-length to hold off Broxbourne in the two-mile-five-furlong Goodwood Stakes off a rising mark of 88.

A further rise in the weights to a new rating of 91 looks fair, and with Henderson’s fine record in the big Newmarket event it would be a brave man who will bet that Lieutenant Miller will not make the first four in what is always a tremendous spectacle on the Rowley Mile course.