The Best Horse Races to Look Forward To in 2012

There are hundreds of horse races all over the world and racing enthusiasts are gearing up for them in 2012. Here are the biggest three races  to look forward to watching and betting on this year.

Kentucky Derby 2012

For this year, 2012, the Kentucky Derby will be held on May 5. It is expected to be watched by approximately 150,000 people, with tens of millions watching its live TV coverage. Wagering on the race is again estimated to exceed $100 Million for this year.

It must be noted that only three fillies had won the race through the years: Regret in 1915; Genuine Risk in 1980; and Winning Colors in 1988.  Enthusiasts of this race are wondering if there will be a fourth filly to win the race this year.

Among the popular horses that will take part in this year's Kentucky Derby, the following are picked to win the race: Sky Kingdom, Union Rags, Gemologist, Algorithms, Hansen, Discreet Dancer, Alpha, Out of Bounds, Liaison, Consortium, Creative Course, and Sabercat.

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. It is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday of May as the last race capping the two-week Kentucky Derby Festival. The Kentucky Derby is  a one and quarter mile race.

The Kentucky Derby is the first race of the US Triple Crown, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and culminated by the Belmont Stakes. A horse must win all three races to win the much coveted Triple Crown.

The Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York as the final leg of the Triple Crown races. It is held five weeks after the Kentucky Derby, the first race in the Triple Crown, and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes, the second race in the Triple Crown. Being the final race of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes is regarded as the most challenging race, most likely because of the mile and half long dirt track which most three year old horses find daunting.

The Belmont Stakes even become more challenging because of the close succession of three very competitive racing events.

For the 2012 Belmont Stakes that will be held on June 9, the Purse Structure for the $1 Million prize will be broken down as follows:

Winner will get 62% of the purse or $620,000

Second Placer will get 20% of the purse or $200,000

Third Placer will get 10% of the purse or $100,000

Fourth Placer will get 5% of the purse or $50,000

Fifth Placer will get 3% of the purse or $30,000

There will be several stakes during this exciting day at the Belmont Park. The Acorn Stakes will be held at 2:34 p.m. The True North Stakes at 3:15 p.m. At 3.59 p.m., the Woody Stephens Stakes will be run. The Just a Game Stakes will be run at 4:43 p.m. with the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Stakes to be run at 4:39 p.m. And then, at 6:35 p.m., the race of races, the Belmont Stakes will be run by thoroughbreds who are aspiring the set another world record in horse racing.

The Breeders Cup

This fall, Breeders Cup 2012 will be galloping back to one of its darling homes, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia California. The cup will commence on Friday November 2 and cap off on Saturday, November 3. This comeback is quite unique in that it jump starts the Breeders Cup’s five year commitment to Santa Anita Park. Arcadia has played host to the Breeders Cup for a total of sixth occasions.

The record for highest record of wagers and attendance was set In Santa Anita. The decision to come back was made after an extensive review, with several racing venues offering for the Breeders Cup location this year.

Many of the horse breeders in California has expressed how honored they are that the legendary Breeders Cup 2012 will be stationed in the state. Its coming back is perceived it as a great challenge to top the race as homage to Santa Anita.

The Breeder’s Cup horse race was inaugurated as a means to celebrate the culmination of American thoroughbred running via a championship race. Despite the cup’s home being the United States it has garnered a huge following with competing parties from all over Europe vying a spot for this prestigious game. People from all over the world place their bets on this annual assembly and celebrate the best of the best as American thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious.

What Are Long Shots?

Betting in a horse race requires a good system. One has to adopt a betting system for horse racing in order to win more money at horse wagering. The most common horse racing betting system involves several factors in determining which of the horses will most likely win. Every horse racing bettor who has played the game for quite a while will know that the horse that will likely win, based on the system one has adopted or formulated may not necessarily be the horse with the best value or may not be the favorite pick to win the race. When one’s choice of the winning horse does not correspond to the horse that is the favorite pick to win the race, the practice is referred to as picking longshot.

A horse betting system could focus on either trainer-jockey combination or other factors such as pace or speed while other bettors could focus on longshot bets. But while there is no guarantee that any horse racing betting system will give a bettor money every time, many people continue to place their bets on longshots because this is the way to make more money compared to placing one’s bet on the track/house favorite.

Horse racing bettors have learned through time that it is the best option to bet against a racetrack favorite. This may sound to be a very unconventional idea since statistics showed that horse racing favorites win about a third of the time but betting on a favorite horse gives the bettors less money compared when one bets on some longshots that will eventually win the race. A horse becomes a favorite in a particular race because the public has put more bets behind this particular horse in the racetrack, in the process ignoring the racing longshots. Having cornered a bigger chunk of the public’s bets, and being the favorite in the race, does not always translate into a huge payday for the bettors. If the favorite wins, the payout will be a considerably small; if the favorite loses, the huge bets will turn into huge disappointments for the bettors. This is the situation that is being avoided by the long shot handicappers. They figure that if a favorite horse gets too much bet from the public, then there is the great possibility that the racehorse is bet beyond its actual value and therefore, it is a good go-against horse and the situation calls for betting on the horse racing longshots.

Winning is not everything in horse racing. A bettor aims to win and make money at the same time. It is a known fact in horse racing that favorites are priced too low. Even if a bettor goes by the statistical third of the time winnings by favorites, he still will not make money by betting on the favorite horse. Going against horse racing favorites could turn out to be a good way of betting in horse racing. The favorites sometimes get more bets far more than they should get. A horse racing bettor must take time in analyzing the horse race and check for weak favorites and spots so he could go against those horses in long shots horse racing. This could be where a huge windfall will come from.

Offline Horse Race Betting at Winner’s Club International

Any horse racing enthusiast knows how difficult it is to play the Pick 6.  This exotic wager entails picking the winner of 6 straight horse races. It can be really tough.  In fact, there are days when no one correctly picks all 6 winners.

When this happens, the pari -mutual prize pool is rolled over to the next day creating enormous jackpots which can go up to $1,000,000 or more. It is at this point that joining a betting syndicate becomes a wise option.

According to horse betting experts, the key to winning a sizeable Pick 6 wager is:

1.         waiting for the seven-figure Pick 6 rollover opportunity, and

2.         being able to identify long shot horses that have a reasonable chance of winning and placing them on your ticket.

Play With the Seasoned Bettors

Wealthy businessmen from America thought of a way to beat the Pick 6 odds. They created a wagering syndicate specifically designed to take down these Pick 6 rollover jackpots.

Called the Winner’s Club International, the key to the group’s success is having the financial resources to create an extensive wagering ticket with a very high probability of winning. Members of the club only participate when the Pick 6 prize pool hits One Million Dollars!

The syndicate says they can can routinely win (again and again) against seemingly ridiculous odds when the right Pick Six numbers are at play.

If you would like to know more or if you want to sign up as a member of Winner’s Club International, you can visit their website at http://pick6winnersclub.com.

And They're Off: Horse Racing for Beginners

One of the oldest sports in the world is horse racing, and it also happens to be one of the oldest games where people have bet or put stakes up for the winner. The essence of horse racing is no different from any other form of racing. The horses are set at a starting point, at a signal the race starts, the horses start running and the first one over the finish line wins. Of course, through the ages common rules have been set to ensure safe riding and fair play.

Most countries have their race tracks, and each have their own famous races. In the United Kingdom, one of the most famous is Epsom Downs where the Epsom Derby is run. In the United States, the three most famous races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Winning these three races is called the Triple Crown.

From the regular to the most famous races, rules of racing has been put in place such that the horses have as much chance to win as any other. This is called handicapping. The faster or better runners expected to win the race are given heavier loads to carry. In theory this would allow the slower or lower-rated horses to have a chance to win. To ensure that the handicaps are maintained, the jockeys are weighed, including the saddle and handicap weights, before and after the race.

The real enjoyment for spectators is in betting on the races. It is not enough that the horses have been handicapped. To make the results even fairer, there is the pari-mutuel betting system. The pari-mutuel system calculates the return or winnings on bets based on the relative value of all the bets for a particular horse. This results in lower winnings when you bet on a favored horse. It also results in large winnings if a longshot wins.

Horse racing has been called the “game of kings” and through the years, it has also been of great enjoyment for everyone.

Pick 6 Strategies

Waging on a ticket that has all the Pick 6 winners can bring you a windfall of money. However, guessing all 6 winners of 6 consecutive horse race games is no easy task. To complicate matters, you can increase your chances of winning Pick 6 by coming up with several of the 6 winning combinations but you have to place a bet on each so that increases your cash outlay for every ticket. If you are an individual playing alone, you need a lot of luck and tons of cash to be able to sustain holding on to this winning ticket.

There are over a million combinations that you can create to be able to win a slice of the rollover pool of the Pick 6 races. However, this can become very costly on your part and unless you have the financial capacity to do so, you may just settle for a ticket or two that might end up in the trash bin with other losing tickets.

Some of the more seasoned players choose to join large betting syndicates that are able to play in as many combinations as they like. These are the only bettors standing who receives the winning cash prices when all others are wiped out. The syndicates are usually the groups of players that have more money to invest in creating more combinations and are able to hold on to that winning ticket when everyone else has cashed out of the race. They are able to play in the combinations where the odds seem to be against their favor. Sometimes, the race is won by a handicap, which is hard to predict if you don't have the necessary tools to determine the win.  By playing along with a syndicate, you increase your chances of winning by betting on combinations that seem unlikely to bring in a win.

Playing the Odds of Pick 6

You need to be more than a good guesser to win the Pick 6. You may also need the necessary tools to be able to come up with the winning combination of your ticket. Using Pick 6 software tools helps in making the task of picking the 6 winners easier. The software enables you to view the outcome of each combination that you make. You will be able to study the patterns in every race and from there make an intelligent decision on the combination of winners that you will create.

You can look back on the racing history of the horses and the odds of each of the winners. By making your combinations online you can even make an estimate of the probable dividend payouts in each race or ticket combination. This helps you determine what ticket combination to bet on and the timing of your entry into every race.

You must remember that it is essential that you have a solid betting bank at your disposal. Constructing several winning combinations can be very costly and unless you are betting alone, you must have the cash to invest in these combinations. A strong word of advice, if you have a betting bank, bet your stakes at 1% of its amount so you do not lose everything due to a bad decision.

Pick 6 softwares can be very helpful and reliable in determining the winning ticket. But  as we all know, the end of the races are always unpredictable. These softwares help in minimizing your errors but bottom line, it just narrows down your choices to the highest probability of winners in several combinations than just betting on a single straight wager.

In the end, it will be more beneficial to join a Pick 6 Winners syndicate with minimal investment and bigger chances of winning.

Online Horse Betting

Watching a horse race live can give you an adrenaline high but not everyone has the privileged to be attending every race. Fortunately, the internet has made it convenient and accessible for everyone to bet on horse races online. You can make a fortune by betting on your favorite horse from the convenience of your home! You can even take your time to study the odds before placing your bets. The internet provides all the necessary information you need about your favorite horse, betting odds and racing history.

One of the more lucrative betting odds you can choose to make a lot of money from is the Pick 6. It is one of the more exotic wagers that all of the major Thoroughbred racetracks all over America put their bets on.

How to Play Pick 6

The rules to the game is simple. You have to place a wager by picking the winners of 6 horse races in straight order. It sounds really easy but in reality its hard to guess all 6 horses that will win! In reality, it is very rare that anyone can guess all 6 winners. When there is no declared winner for the Pick 6, the pari-mutual funds are then rolled over to the next day which creates an avalanche in terms of jackpot prices. The stakes could go as high as $1 million and even more.

The moment the betting pool reaches this high amount, betting syndicates enter the scene. Betting syndicates are comprised of heavily financed partners that pitch in on an extensive ticket which includes several horses in every race. They do this to be able to get a share of the prize pool pie and get a slice of the winnings.

This strategy is brilliant only if they are holding the winning ticket on a day where only a single or 2 other people have winning tickets. It becomes a foolish move if done on a day when all the favorites are expected to win and there are over hundreds of winning tickets. You can actually take a big hit when these odds occur.

The tips in winning huge bets in a Pick 6 wager are:

1. Wait for the Pick 6 rollover prize pool to reach the 7 digit figure


2. Guess correctly the long shot winning horses that are most likely to win the races. Place these horses on your ticket. Remember, more horses you include the bigger the wagers your ticket will contain.

How to Play with the Big Time Money Betting Syndicates

Betting alone with very limited financial capacity makes it a difficult task for an individual to win these kinds of races. Nevertheless, there is an effective method that was devised by wealthy US businessmen to beat these odds. By pooling all their money together to create the wagering syndicate is particularly designed to beat the Million $ Mega Rollover jackpots.

The secret of its success is to have the financial means available in creating one extensive betting ticket that has a high probability of winning. They only join the pool when the stakes reached the one million dollar mark.

After several years of research, the Pick 6 Million Dollar Syndicate was created. It is a system that guarantees a 100 percent win during races when the correct Pick 6 combinations are being played. You can continuously win over and over against odds that seem ridiculous to win.

Seems impossible? No it isn't. You can find more information about the Pick 6 Winners Club at their website: http://pick6winnersclub.com and see how vert little money and experience you actually need to win a big cash prize.

Breeder's Cup

The World Championships of the Breeder's Cup was first introduced in 1984 as single day event. It is a yearly series of races of Thoroughbred horses that are not necessarily Grade 1. The company operating the races is Breeder's Cup Limited which was formed in 1982. Up until 2006, this single day event was expanded into 2 days starting 2007 until the present. The races are held in different locations in the US every year except for 1996 when races were held in Canada at Woodbine Racetrack.

This event was created for the purpose of capping the North American Thoroughbred racing championships and to attract the top horses from all parts of the world. The competition was founded by John R. Gaines in 1982. He is the leading breeder and thoroughbred owner who aimed at cleaning this sport's image.

Prior to expanding the Breeder's Cup into a 2 day event, these races were the world's second richest. A total amount of $17 million were awarded in 2008 while it was $20 million given out in 2007. The only other single richest Thoroughbred racing day event happened in the Dubai World Cup night. It was during 2008 where it featured a 6 race event with a purse worth $21 million. Aside from cash rewards, the winner of the Breeder's Cup is awarded with a Trophy and a garland of flowers.

How the Races are Played

In every 14 Championship races of the Breeder's Cup, 14 starters are the allowed maximum for each race. An exception is made to the Dirt Mile, Juvenile Turf and Juvenile Fillies Turf races wherein only 12 starters are allowed.

In selecting the runners in every event, the Breeder's Cup Limited uses a selection system. The system ranks the horses according to their preference based on (a)the point system, (b) the performance in the Challenge Races and ( c ) according to the racing experts judgments. The implementation of the field selection system is necessary after the acceptance of the pre-entries around 6 weeks prior to the official ranking of  Breeder's cup oversubscribed fields. After the pre-entry, the vacancies on the fields would be filled in by the horses according to the panel's preference.

In 2006, there were only 8 races on the card of the Breeder's Cup and all were under the Grade 1 classification. Three races were added in 2007, namely Juvenile Turf, Filly and Mare Sprint, and Dirt Mile. All these races were run on the Friday before the 8 remaining races. The Turf Sprint, Marathon and Juvenile Filly Turf were races added during 2008.

Throughout the event's history, the chronological order of races on the card was changed several times. Traditionally, the last 2 races are the Classic and Turf. The event in 2008 marked Day 1 as fully dedicated for the fillies and mares races. Day 2 featured all the other races. Since then, Ladies Classic and Filly & Mare Turf are the Day 1's last two races. In 2009, runners of both sexes in the Marathon was moved to Day 1 from Day 2. All the other races remained on the day they were run in 2008.

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is one of the most awaited horse races in the US and it goes by several names. It is known as “Most Exciting 2 Minutes in Sports” as well as “Fastest 2 Minutes in Sports” for its obvious approximate race duration.  It is also known as “The Run for the Roses” because a garland of roses is placed over the winner when the race is finished. The Derby is the first race of the US Triple Crown, in which Preakness Stakes run second and Belmont Stakes follows as the third.

The Derby is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky US every first Saturday of May culminating the 2 week long festival of the Kentucky Derby. This stakes race is ranked Grade I for 3 year old Thoroughbred horses and runs 2 Km in Churchill Downs. The geldings and colts should carry 57.2 kg (126 pounds) and the fillies 54.9 kg (121 pounds).  The winning horse should win in all the three races in order to have the Triple Crown. The Derby races attracts the most attendees than other horse races like the Preakness Stakes, Breeder's Cup and Belmont Stakes.

Backtracking on the Kentucky Derby History

The Derby is among the oldest of the USA Thoroughbred horse stakes races (the oldest being the Phoenix Stakes dating back to 1831). The concept of the Derby was built by Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. He is   William Clark's grandson, the head of Lewis And Clark Expedition. In 1872, Clark visisted the Epsom Derby which was during that time the most famous race being run yearly since 1780. He then went to Paris, France in 1863 where he met racing enthusiasts that organized the famous Grand Prix de Paris and formed French Jockey Club.

Upon his return to Kentucky, he formed the Louiville Jockey Club in order to raise funds in building quality racing facilities located outside the city. This race track was later called Churchill Downs which was named after his relatives Henry and John Churchill. These men provided the land where the racetrack was built. In 1937, the racetrack was incorporated officially as Churchill Downs.

The very first Kentucky Derby race happened on May 17, 1875 before an approximate crowd of 10,000. On the field 15 of the 3 year old horses ran the 2.4km race track (which is the same length of distance like the Epsom Derby). Aristides, a colt that was riden by its jockey Oliver Lewis, won this inaugural Derby. It was later that same year, Aristides and its rider Lewis won 2^nd place in the Belmont Stakes. In 1896, the race track distance was revised to the current 2 km run that is used today.

Though the initial races were successful, the race track underwent financial difficulties prompting the incorporation of a New Louisville Jockey club in 1894. Even with improved facilities, the business flopped and in 1902, Col. Matt Winn took over with a new group of businessmen in acquiring the facility. Under the wing of Winn, The Churchill Downs race track prospered and saw the rise of the Kentucky Derby as the prominent stakes races for the 3 year old throughbreds in North America.

Belmont Stakes

Horse racing is a form of professional gaming and one of the most prestigious ways of spending your leisure time. In North America, horse racing attracts many followers who not only bet and watch it live from the stands but also watch the races on television. There are several popular horse racing events that American keep track of and one of the more popular ones is the Belmont Stakes.

This racing event is held at Belmont Park in Belmont, New York during the month of June. It is classified as a Thoroughbred American Grade 1 horse race. The race runs for 2.4 km (1.5 miles) and is open to all Thoroughbreds that are 3 years of age. The geldings and colts should carry the weight of 57 kg (126 pounds) while fillies should carry 55 kg (126 pounds). This race is the US Triple Crown's final and 3^rd leg. It commences 5 weeks after the Kentucky Derby and in 3 weeks after the Preakness Stakes.

Although the Belmont Stakes only ranks fourth in North America in terms of attendance, it typically surpasses attendance of other races that includes the Breeder's Cup. The amount of Belmont Stakes attendance is only next to the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Preakness Stakes. In 2004, the Belmost Stakes had a massive 21.9 million TV viewers and ranked highest in household viewing rate after the 1977 Seattle Slew win over the Triple Crown.

Short History of Belmont Stakes

The very first Belmont Stakes event was in commenced in Jerome Park Racetrack which is located in the Bronx. The venue was built in 1866 by Leonard Jerome, stock market speculator and August Belmont, Sr. its financer and where the race got its name. The races where held at the Jerome Park up to 1890 then transferred to  Morris Park Racecourse. The races were held there until May of 1905 when it was transferred to the newly opened Belmont Park which is a 430 acre race track located in Elmont, New York, Long Island. It can be found outside New York City in the borough of Queens.

The races were cancelled during 1911 to 1912 following the closure of Belmont Racetract due to an anti-gambling legislation passed by the New York state.

In 1880, the first US post parade ws held at 14^th Belmont. Prior to 1921, the races were run in a clockwise tradition following the English race. Ever since the race was run by Americans, the direction took a counter-clockwise turn. Winners of the Belmont Stakes were honored with the August Belmont Trophy, which is among the most prestigious awards of the country.

What Makes Belmont Stakes so Distinct

Aside from having the 3^rd highest honor in the Triple Crown races, being the last race to be run, it earned the recognition of being the “Test of the Champion”.

In 1931 it was established that the order of the Triple Crown races were the Kentucky Derby first, then the Preakness Stakes and lastly, Belmont Stakes. The Belmont Stakes races are typically held during the 1^st Saturday after or on  June 5. Kentucky Derbies start on 1^st Saturdays of May while the Preakness Stakes begin 2 weeks later. Three weeks after the Preakness Stakes is when the Belmont Stakes begin.

Being the last race to be run and its distinctive one lap length around the immense Belmont race track, most of the 3 year old horses have difficulty maintaining their speed and stamina being unaccustomed and lacking experience in running the long distance. The Belmont races need strategic timing and positioning of the horse in order to win the critical lead.