Certain sports rely more heavily on gambling than others. Horse racing fits this category, as do other sports, such as boxing and soccer. However, despite boxing betting shaping the sport quite heavily in the early to mid-20th century, its influence began to dwindle as the century progressed. Soccer markets are enjoying a surge in popularity in today’s digital gambling age, but this wasn’t always the case before the creation of the internet. The same cannot be said for horse racing, which has always had sizeable sportsbooks available for decades.
With the rise of the internet and the ability to place a sports bet on many different sportsbooks in the US from your fingertips, horse racing is one sport that has continued to flourish. Several factors allow horse racing to flourish successfully in this space, and today we will look at a few of these factors.
The first point we will explore today is the unpredictability of horse racing, which makes it a popular pastime for fans to place a bet. In sports games, you will likely get odds ranging from +50 to +500 on a particular team, and the odds aren’t too spectacular. Horses with odds of +5,000 and sometimes more will take to the track and come out victorious fairly often.
This excitement and unpredictability make it a serious recipe for a bustling gambling industry. The possibility of landing such a major return helps fuel the popularity of horse racing and the gambling markets that underpin it. This is especially true of popular horse races such as The Grand National, which had a huge underdog scoop the main prize last year. In addition, other horse racing meets enjoy huge popularity in North America, such as The Breeders Cup.
The Grand National is one of the most popular horse races in the world, and for many people in the UK, it is the only day of the year they place a bet on the outcome of a race. This particular handicap steeplechase event acts as an introduction to horse racing sportsbooks for millions of people. The fact that it is the most popular horse race in the world and also the biggest day for bookmakers across the United Kingdom is no coincidence. It provides more weight to the theory that horse racing owes much of its popularity to betting.
Another reason that horse racing is synonymous with gambling markets is the 24/7 nature of the sport. If you log into a sportsbook, a horse race will be taking place somewhere in the world. If you walk into a bookmaker’s shop, there will likely be a horse race on the television. This is irrespective of the time of day you log in or visit the shop.
Once you combine the three aspects we have discussed today, it isn’t difficult to see why betting and horse racing are so intertwined. Some analysts and fans may even go as far as to say they co-exist. Many horse racing events are “meetings” that take place throughout a weekend, involving upwards of five races per day.
So, it is sold as part of a package. If you go to The Grand National, for instance, this is the marquee race that is the most popular event over the course of the whole weekend. However, there are usually over 30 other races you can also watch. There are betting stalls set up everywhere and television adverts throughout the weekend, which create enormous revenues for gambling operators.
It would be unfair to suggest that horse racing relies completely on gambling for its popularity. This isn’t the case. Many horse racing enthusiasts out there watch the sport and don’t partake in the gambling side of the event. These horse racing fans will watch the sport out of love of the drama and the variables that can make a race so exciting.
However, horse racing does owe a lot of its popularity to betting. It has helped the sport break into the mainstream and supplements the excitement many people experience when they tune in to watch a race. This theory doesn’t just hold weight with huge fans of the sport, but it also applies to casual fans who may only watch a handful of races per year. However, if they only tune in for one or two events and they are marquee events like we have discussed today, the likelihood is they may place a wager to add further excitement to the event.
