Horse Racing 101
Many people who are into gambling consider horse racing their recreation; it's what they do for fun. They don't expect to win, except in the case of a truly exceptional horse, such as Secretariat.
It is simply impossible to be completely rational about horse racing. There are too many factors unknown and unknowable for anyone, including the owners and trainers, to feel like a total expert.
All the same, horse racing, both harness and thoroughbred, inspires great and emotional loyalty in its partisans. This loyalty seems to date back to ancient Egypt or even earlier.
The horse was to the ancient world what the internal combustion engine is to the 20th century. As soon as people realized that the horse could ride, they set about to domesticate this miraculous and beautiful runner.
As far as we know, the breeding of horses began in the warm world of the ancient Middle East, long thought to be the cradle of civilization as we know it. Arab horses, then, as now, were superior, sleek, desert runners, completely altering the lives of the chieftains and warriors able to ride them.
Not only did domesticated horses make it possible for a man to travel otherwise impossible distances, but they gave him an edge in battle, too. As soon as this was perceived, every political entity large enough to have a security force began to take an interest in horses.
The Greeks and Romans both held horse races, sometimes as part of victory celebrations after the same horses had helped win battles and conquer territories. In Europe, horse racing was 'the sport of kings' by the Middle Ages.
The tradition of racing by English monarchs goes back at least to the 11th century, but owes much to Charles II, who was king after the restoration of the British throne in 1660.
After eleven years of Puritan rule by Oliver Cromwell, the English people were ready for a period of gaiety, excitement, and wealth, all of which was promised, or at least suggested, by horses and racing.
Charles kept a spectacular stable himself, and he and other members of the Court sponsored races in which the upper classes entered their carefully bred horses to compete for prestige and prizes.
The common people were drawn to these affairs, too, at first simply as spectators out for a good time. Soon, betting on the races had become at least as popular as attending them, which could be a bit of a dangerous thing in those times when a horse race was a combination of royal tournament, chaotic street fair and minor public riot--- somewhat like today's rock concerts.