The Bet

The bet is the part of horse racing that sets the sport into a class by itself. It’s like a game inside a game. Sure, one could travel to Nevada to place wagers on auto races, college & pro sports and even election results, but it is horse racing with it’s system of parimutuel betting that has been the originator and the driving force behind what’s known as sports gambling.

In Paris, in 1867, Joseph Oller, a bookmaker in cockfighting, invented a new method of wagering, which he named Pari Mutuel (French for Parimutuel betting or betting amongst each other). He successfully introduced his system at French race tracks. Nonetheless, in 1874, Joseph Oller was sentenced to fifteen days in prison and fined for operating illegal gambling. Later, in 1891, the French authorities legalized his system and banned fixed-odds betting. Quickly, Oller’s Pari Mutuel spread across most race tracks around the world. The system uses a complicated formula that bases the pay out on total dollars bet, taxes, track take, number of entries and so on which changes with every bet. It is only at the close of the betting (when the event starts and the betting ends) does the player know the final odds. This revolutionary system was so much more efficient than “fixed odds” betting where the payout is agreed upon at the time the bet is sold.

If you’ve ever placed a bet on a horse at 4-1 and watched him win at 2-1 then you probably would wish it was a “fixed odds” betting system.

At the turn of the century and before the totalizator was introduced the ever changing odds were posted on a blackboard with chalk. Hence, the favorite in horse racing is known as “chalk”.

Odds – Payoff:
1-9 $2.20….. 1-5 $2.40…… 2-5 $2.80…..
1-2 $3.00…… 3-5 $3.20….. 4-5 $3.60…..
1-1 (aka: even money) $4.00….. 6-5 $4.40…..
7-5 $4.80….. 3-2 $5.00….. 8-5 $5.20…..
9-5 $5.60….. 2-1 $6.00….. 5-2 $7.00…..
3-1 $8.00…..7-2 $9.00….. 4-1 $10.00….. 9-2 $11.00

A good rule of thumb on anything at higher odds is to multiply the number by 2 and add 2 to get your total win pay out. For example, on a $2 bet at 13-1 is 13X2=26 +2 equals $28.

It is through betting that makes horse racing the sport with the most involved spectators.