Sports Betting: Popularity of Horse Racing in Canada

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For centuries – ever since man discovered it was possible to train these wild beasts – horse racing has been a favorite pastime worldwide. It’s not just fun for breeders and jockeys, but especially for live and online sports betting enthusiasts, who enjoy the expectant thrill of making some quick cash.

Horse racing isn’t just a big deal in Canada. It’s become an extremely popular form of sports betting all across the globe. According to statistics, it’s most prominent in the countries of Australia, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

What is it that makes horse racing so incredibly popular throughout much of the modern world? There’s no single answer to that question. In fact, there are at least three very good reasons for it.

Speed, Speed and More Speed

Guys love speed. I’m sure a lot of ladies do, too, but anything that moves fast tends to draw the attention from the male population. Cars, planes, trains, horses – we guys loved to play with these things growing up. It only makes sense that we continue to be attracted to fast moving objects as we get older.

But it’s not just the speed of the horses themselves that gamblers enjoy. It’s the speed at which the races take place.

Sports betting on things like football, baseball, or basketball; it takes hours for the matches to conclude. A horse race generally lasts anywhere from 40 to 300 seconds. It’s a lot more exhilarating than spinning the slots reels or a roulette wheel, but doesn’t last so long that we become immune to the thrill.

Odds Increased in Strategic Sports Betting

If you’re betting for fun and the money doesn’t really matter, pick a pony and let it ride. If you’re really out to win, though, horse racing gives us the opportunity to increase our odds by doing a little research.

The breeding background and past performances of racing horses are very well documented. One can go online and find a wealth of information on all the ponies for a particular race, just as easily as they can log onto an online sports betting site to place their wagers.

Strategic betting is much easier in horse racing than it is in most other sports, where a game’s initial probabilities can easily be effected by things like injuries and turnovers.

More Bettors Means More Money

Because of the pari-mutuel engine, the more popular horse racing becomes, the more money bettors stand to win by wagering on it. Betting on a horse race isn’t like betting other sports. You’re not taking specific odds on a team or contestant. The amount you win depends entirely on how much money was wagered on the race overall, and how many people placed winning bets.

Thus, when a great deal of people bet on a race, the prize pool grows to enormous heights, ensuring a bigger payout to those who pick the right ponies. For this reason, its a good idea to place your wagers at the track, or at a popular online sports betting site where lots of wagers are going to come in.