One of the most entertaining and enthralling aspects of horse races is the possibility to bet on winners or on horses that are better placed, through different methods of betting available in all racetracks. To bet on horses is not the same as simply trying one’s luck: skill to predict, to assesss horses, perhaps playing with friends, all come into play.
Only adults are allowed to place bets.
WINNING
WINNING
This is the simplest bet: one must predict the horse who will come in first place at the end of the race. It may be played through both fixed odds and totalizator methods. Close attention should be paid to stable relationships: all bets played on horses declared in connection with a stable and stated in the race programs or on the quota monitors are considered winning bets.
Italian breeding of gallop horses is considered one of the best in the world and many Italian horse breeders work abroad as well.
Italian trot horse breeding is considered of excellent quality, and indeed there exists a specific breed of Italian trot horses.
PLACED
PLACED
In this bet, the better predicts whether a horse, at the end of the race, is considered “placed”. In races with eight or more horses at the start (“starting horses”) a horse that finishes in first place, second place or third place is considered placed, and if the race involves for four to seven starting horses, only the first and second place horses are considered placed horses.
If after bets are placed, withdrawals are announced which cause the starting horses to fall below eight or four, all of the “placed” bets are refunded.
This bet may be played either through a totalizator or through fixed odds.
COUPLED
COUPLED
This type of bet is played through a totalizator: if in a race you like two horses and have trouble choosing a favorite one, this bet is the one for you: in the coupled bet, one must predict the horses that will be placed in the first to positions at the finish line. It is a bet tha can be played with at least fout starting horses, if this number falls below four, all bets are refunded.
I
TRIO
TRIO
This is another bet that can be played only with the totalizator: it is a type of game that usually allows for the highest winnings, but it is also the most challenging to predict since the first three horses classified in a race must be indicated. It is played when at least six horses are present at the start (otherwise, the bet is refunded), and it several types of cominations can be played which give rise to full-fledged systems with varying degrees of complexity: the most common one is called “trio a girare” (flexible trio), in which the better must indicate at least three horses that will be classified in the first three positions at the finishing line, regardless of the exact order.
TRIS, QUARTÈ E QUINTÈ
TRIS, QUARTÈ E QUINTÈ
These are best using the totalizator that may be played only in certain races on the program during the day, and held in two Italian or foreign racetracks. They are part of what is known as “Ippica Nazionale” (National Horse Racing).
The bet known as Tris is essentially identical to the Trio: Quarté and Quinté are very similar, and require the better to predict, respectively, the first four or five horses classified in a horse race. Quarté and quinté may be played in “ordinary” Tris races, usually starting at 7:00 pm during the winter and 10:30 pm during the summer.
the likely winner of the race,
and therefore the winning odds
assigned to such horse are the lowest.
plays as a wager when betting.
one or more experts, called handicappers,
establish a scale of numbers,
assigning the weight that each
individual horse will have
to bring to the race.
The weight includes the saddle
and the jockey, and in order
to reach the handicap
established, small lead weights
can be added or removed
from the saddle.
The heaviest weights are assigned
to the best horses with the objective
of guaranteeing the same
probability of winning to all
of the thoroughbreds taking part in a race.
registered in each race,
and it is announced officially
by the race companies
that manage racetracks;
bets may not be accepted
before the dissemination of
this announcement since the types
of bets that will be accepted
will depend upon the number
of horses taking part in the various races.
of starters
or more horses taking
part in a race belong
to the same owner.
The stable relationship
is always indicated
in official programs,
and the horses involved
are highlighted
– including on the screens –
using the seeds of French playing cards
or letters of the alphabet
between parentheses.
The stable relationship,
as we have seen,
may have an effect on bets.
relationship
in gallop races,
when it has entered
its position in the starting cage or,
in races with starts
with ribbons or flags,
when it is placed before
the starter’s orders.
Started
Horse
before the start,
all of the bets placed
on him are refunded;
if a bet has been placed
that invovles several
combinations such as, for example,
a “trifecta” with four horses,
only the combinations that
include the withdrawn horse (or horses)
are refunded, while the other
combinations remain valid.
Where one or more horses
are withdrawn after the start,
the bets placed
on those horses are considered
to be losing bets.
Once the horse (or horses) on which one wishes to place a bet have been selected, the better may go to various points throughout the racetrack to place his bet. Acceptance points, for fixed odds and totalizator bets, are found in the betting area near the main grandstandd and the Palazzina del Peso, at the stairs leading to the main grandstand. Other operator terminals are available within the Palazzina del Peso.
Races can be watched from the main grandstand or on the sidelines next to the track; in addition, for the finish lines of straight races (in linea) over 1,200 and 1,400 meters, special small grandstands are available at the “second finish line” and the “third finish line”.
At the end of the race, the winning horse and the placed horses are brought to the area underneath the Owners’ Grandstand, in the Palazzina del Peso, where the jockeys remove the saddles and the horses’ owners receive their respective prizes. For the most important races, the prizegiving takes place on a platform next to the track, and the prizes are delivered not only to the owner, but also to the trainer and the jockey.
Always wait for the official announcement of the order of arrivals at the finish line before throwing away betting tickets: the jury could note irregularities which could lead to the penalization of one or more horses and, therefore, change the order of arrivals at the finish line.