Pennsylvania offers various options to witness and wager on live events, including horse racing.
The Keystone State has six horse racing facilities: Three tracks devoted to harness racing and another three tracks that host thoroughbred racing. In recent years, the Pennsylvania Derby and CotillionStakes, held at Parx Casino and Racing during the third week in September, have become vital prep races for fillies as they make their way toward the Breeders' Cup in November.
The Commonwealth also offers online horse wagering and off-track betting facilities (OTB). PABets (TVG) also offer ways to watch and bet on the ponies without having to leave the comfort of your home.
Betting on horses has been a favorite pastime of horse owners, gamblers and just about everyone else associated with race horses ever since humans first figured out how to ride them. The domestication of horses thousands of years ago always led to discussions of who had the fastest horse — discussions that could only be settled in one way.
Bet on horses on over 300 racetracks. Join today to get up to a $500 Cash Bonus instantly and qualify for another $150! Online horse betting with rebates up to 8% paid daily. How to bet on horse races in NJ. Horse racing dates back to the 1830s at Freehold, but it was still illegal to bet on horse races in New Jersey until 1939 when voters backed an amendment allowing pari-mutuel betting at in-state racetracks. The horses raced were six years old and carried 168 pounds (76 kg), and the winner was the first to win two 4-mile (6.4-km) heats. The patronage of Charles II established Newmarket as the headquarters of English racing. In France the first documented horse race was held in 1651 as the result of a wager between two noblemen. A bet on a horse to win, place and show. You are wagering on a horse to Win, Place and Show. If your horse wins, you receive Win, Place and Show payouts. If your horse finishes second, you receive Place and Show payouts; and if your horse is third, you receive the Show payout.
For those new to horse betting, it can be challenging to place a bet or to read a racing program, though both are easier than they seem. We provide a brief overview, not only on horse racing in PA but on how to wager online and decipher statistics to make your best bet.
Best online horse betting sites in PA
#1: TVG / PABets
The Television Games Network (TVG) is an online horse and greyhound racing betting company. FanDuel Group owns TVG.
TVG has grown since its 1999 debut, now offering an extensive betting menu along with simulcast video. Although TVG was focused more on American racing, over the years, it has expanded internationally. It provides comprehensive coverage of harness racing thanks to its partnership with the American Quarter Horse Association.
Besides offering quality video and replays, the TVG platform is easy to use, does not impede the wagering process with technical glitches, and provides several promotions.
TVG operates under PABets in Pennsylvania and 4NJBets in New Jersey.
Up to $250 First Deposit Bet, Use Promo Code LSRTVG
#2: BetAmerica
Instituted in 2007 and acquired in 2017 by Churchill Downs, BetAmerica offers a mobile app for both Apple and Android users, as well as a website for betting on horse racing, greyhound racing, and fantasy sports.
Horse Gambling Cheaters
BetAmerica provides access to more than 400 tracks around the globe. Bettors can also use the service to live stream races or for race replays.
Horse Gambling Gif
The BetAmeria app is simple to use. If you want to wager, select a race, and then tap on the horses of your choice. You can easily roam through pages, place other bets, and your selections will remain accessible on your screen.
Since Churchill Downs owns the app, it also provides detailed information on the KentuckyDerby, which is held at that facility each year.
Just recently, there was an expansion of BetAmerica, which now conducts a handicapping podcast. The organization may be more involved in video as well as other media productions soon.
#3: TwinSpires
Like BetAmerica, TwinSpires is also owned and operated by Churchill Downs.
While TwinSpires is the official online wagering service of Churchill Downs and for the Kentucky Derby, bettors have access to nearly every thoroughbred, standardbred, and quarter horse contest around the world.
TwinSpires employs slick technology, such as being able to view five races at the same time in HD format. Even the most novice bettor will be able to navigate the app and the website.
TwinSpires also provides a rewards club where bettors receive points for their wagers, but what separates this app from its competitors is it offers free past performance data.
TwinSpires also employs a professional handicapping team that is extensively involved in video production.
Like BetAmerica, TwinSpires has recently expanded. Be sure to look for more improvements over the coming year.
- Early history
- The modern age of racing
Our editors will review what you've submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!Horse racing, sport of runninghorses at speed, mainly Thoroughbreds with a rider astride or Standardbreds with the horse pulling a conveyance with a driver. These two kinds of racing are called racing on the flat and harness racing, respectively. Some races on the flat—such as steeplechase, point-to-point, and hurdle races—involve jumping. This article is confined to Thoroughbred horse racing on the flat without jumps. Racing on the flat with horses other than Thoroughbreds is described in the article quarter-horse racing.
Horse Gambling Hk Drama
Horse racing is one of the oldest of all sports, and its basic concept has undergone virtually no change over the centuries. It developed from a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two horses into a spectacle involving large fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, and immense sums of money, but its essential feature has always been the same: the horse that finishes first is the winner. In the modern era, horse racing developed from a diversion of the leisure class into a huge public-entertainment business. By the first decades of the 21st century, however, the sport's popularity had shrunk considerably.
Early history
Knowledge of the first horse race is lost in prehistory. Both four-hitch chariot and mounted (bareback) races were held in the Olympic Games of Greece over the period 700–40 bce. Horse racing, both of chariots and of mounted riders, was a well-organized public entertainment in the Roman Empire. The history of organized racing in other ancient civilizations is not very firmly established. Presumably, organized racing began in such countries as China, Persia, Arabia, and other countries of the Middle East and in North Africa, where horsemanship early became highly developed. Thence came too the Arabian, Barb, and Turk horses that contributed to the earliest European racing. Such horses became familiar to Europeans during the Crusades (11th–13th century ce), from which they brought those horses back.
Racing in medievalEngland began when horses for sale were ridden in competition by professional riders to display the horses' speed to buyers. During the reign of Richard the Lionheart (1189–99), the first known racing purse was offered, £40, for a race run over a 3-mile (4.8-km) course with knights as riders. In the 16th century Henry VIII imported horses from Italy and Spain (presumably Barbs) and established studs at several locations. In the 17th century James I sponsored meetings in England. His successor, Charles I, had a stud of 139 horses when he died in 1649.
Organized racing
Charles II (reigned 1660–85) became known as 'the father of the English turf' and inaugurated the King's Plates, races for which prizes were awarded to the winners. His articles for these races were the earliest national racing rules. The horses raced were six years old and carried 168 pounds (76 kg), and the winner was the first to win two 4-mile (6.4-km) heats. The patronage of Charles II established Newmarket as the headquarters of English racing.
In France the first documented horse race was held in 1651 as the result of a wager between two noblemen. During the reign of Louis XIV (1643–1715), racing based on gambling was prevalent. Louis XVI (reigned 1774–93) organized a jockey club and established rules of racing by royal decree that included requiring certificates of origin for horses and imposing extra weight on foreign horses.
Organized racing in North America began with the British occupation of New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1664. Col. Richard Nicolls, commander of the British troops, established organized racing in the colonies by laying out a 2-mile (3.2-km) course on the plains of Long Island (called Newmarket after the British racecourse) and offering a silver cup to the best horses in the spring and fall seasons. From the beginning, and continuing until the Civil War, the hallmark of excellence for the American Thoroughbred was stamina, rather than speed. After the Civil War, speed became the goal and the British system the model.
Match races
The earliest races were match races between two or at most three horses, the owners providing the purse, a simple wager. An owner who withdrew commonly forfeited half the purse, later the whole purse, and bets also came under the same 'play or pay' rule. Agreements were recorded by disinterested third parties, who came to be called keepers of the match book. One such keeper at Newmarket in England, John Cheny, began publishing An Historical List of All Horse-Matches Run (1729), a consolidation of match books at various racing centres, and this work was continued annually with varying titles, until in 1773 James Weatherby established it as the Racing Calendar, which was continued thereafter by his family.
Open field racing
By the mid-18th century the demand for more public racing had produced open events with larger fields of runners. Eligibility rules were developed based on the age, sex, birthplace, and previous performance of horses and the qualifications of riders. Races were created in which owners were the riders (gentlemen riders), in which the field was restricted geographically to a township or county, and in which only horses that had not won more than a certain amount were entered. An act of the British Parliament of 1740 provided that horses entered had to be the bona fide property of the owners, thus preventing 'ringers,' a superior horse entered fraudulently against inferior horses; horses had to be certified as to age; and there were penalties for rough riding.
Contemporary accounts identified riders (in England called jockeys—if professional—from the second half of the 17th century and later in French racing), but their names were not at first officially recorded. Only the names of winning trainers and riders were at first recorded in the Racing Calendar, but by the late 1850s all were named. This neglect of the riders is partly explained in that when races consisted of 4-mile heats, with the winning of two heats needed for victory, the individual rider's judgment and skill were not so vital. As dash racing (one heat) became the rule, a few yards in a race gained importance, and, consequently, so did the rider's skill and judgment in coaxing that advantage from his mount.
Bloodlines and studbooks
Betting on horses has been a favorite pastime of horse owners, gamblers and just about everyone else associated with race horses ever since humans first figured out how to ride them. The domestication of horses thousands of years ago always led to discussions of who had the fastest horse — discussions that could only be settled in one way.
Bet on horses on over 300 racetracks. Join today to get up to a $500 Cash Bonus instantly and qualify for another $150! Online horse betting with rebates up to 8% paid daily. How to bet on horse races in NJ. Horse racing dates back to the 1830s at Freehold, but it was still illegal to bet on horse races in New Jersey until 1939 when voters backed an amendment allowing pari-mutuel betting at in-state racetracks. The horses raced were six years old and carried 168 pounds (76 kg), and the winner was the first to win two 4-mile (6.4-km) heats. The patronage of Charles II established Newmarket as the headquarters of English racing. In France the first documented horse race was held in 1651 as the result of a wager between two noblemen. A bet on a horse to win, place and show. You are wagering on a horse to Win, Place and Show. If your horse wins, you receive Win, Place and Show payouts. If your horse finishes second, you receive Place and Show payouts; and if your horse is third, you receive the Show payout.
For those new to horse betting, it can be challenging to place a bet or to read a racing program, though both are easier than they seem. We provide a brief overview, not only on horse racing in PA but on how to wager online and decipher statistics to make your best bet.
Best online horse betting sites in PA
#1: TVG / PABets
The Television Games Network (TVG) is an online horse and greyhound racing betting company. FanDuel Group owns TVG.
TVG has grown since its 1999 debut, now offering an extensive betting menu along with simulcast video. Although TVG was focused more on American racing, over the years, it has expanded internationally. It provides comprehensive coverage of harness racing thanks to its partnership with the American Quarter Horse Association.
Besides offering quality video and replays, the TVG platform is easy to use, does not impede the wagering process with technical glitches, and provides several promotions.
TVG operates under PABets in Pennsylvania and 4NJBets in New Jersey.
Up to $250 First Deposit Bet, Use Promo Code LSRTVG
#2: BetAmerica
Instituted in 2007 and acquired in 2017 by Churchill Downs, BetAmerica offers a mobile app for both Apple and Android users, as well as a website for betting on horse racing, greyhound racing, and fantasy sports.
Horse Gambling Cheaters
BetAmerica provides access to more than 400 tracks around the globe. Bettors can also use the service to live stream races or for race replays.
Horse Gambling Gif
The BetAmeria app is simple to use. If you want to wager, select a race, and then tap on the horses of your choice. You can easily roam through pages, place other bets, and your selections will remain accessible on your screen.
Since Churchill Downs owns the app, it also provides detailed information on the KentuckyDerby, which is held at that facility each year.
Just recently, there was an expansion of BetAmerica, which now conducts a handicapping podcast. The organization may be more involved in video as well as other media productions soon.
#3: TwinSpires
Like BetAmerica, TwinSpires is also owned and operated by Churchill Downs.
While TwinSpires is the official online wagering service of Churchill Downs and for the Kentucky Derby, bettors have access to nearly every thoroughbred, standardbred, and quarter horse contest around the world.
TwinSpires employs slick technology, such as being able to view five races at the same time in HD format. Even the most novice bettor will be able to navigate the app and the website.
TwinSpires also provides a rewards club where bettors receive points for their wagers, but what separates this app from its competitors is it offers free past performance data.
TwinSpires also employs a professional handicapping team that is extensively involved in video production.
Like BetAmerica, TwinSpires has recently expanded. Be sure to look for more improvements over the coming year.
- Early history
- The modern age of racing
Our editors will review what you've submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!Horse racing, sport of runninghorses at speed, mainly Thoroughbreds with a rider astride or Standardbreds with the horse pulling a conveyance with a driver. These two kinds of racing are called racing on the flat and harness racing, respectively. Some races on the flat—such as steeplechase, point-to-point, and hurdle races—involve jumping. This article is confined to Thoroughbred horse racing on the flat without jumps. Racing on the flat with horses other than Thoroughbreds is described in the article quarter-horse racing.
Horse Gambling Hk Drama
Horse racing is one of the oldest of all sports, and its basic concept has undergone virtually no change over the centuries. It developed from a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two horses into a spectacle involving large fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, and immense sums of money, but its essential feature has always been the same: the horse that finishes first is the winner. In the modern era, horse racing developed from a diversion of the leisure class into a huge public-entertainment business. By the first decades of the 21st century, however, the sport's popularity had shrunk considerably.
Early history
Knowledge of the first horse race is lost in prehistory. Both four-hitch chariot and mounted (bareback) races were held in the Olympic Games of Greece over the period 700–40 bce. Horse racing, both of chariots and of mounted riders, was a well-organized public entertainment in the Roman Empire. The history of organized racing in other ancient civilizations is not very firmly established. Presumably, organized racing began in such countries as China, Persia, Arabia, and other countries of the Middle East and in North Africa, where horsemanship early became highly developed. Thence came too the Arabian, Barb, and Turk horses that contributed to the earliest European racing. Such horses became familiar to Europeans during the Crusades (11th–13th century ce), from which they brought those horses back.
Racing in medievalEngland began when horses for sale were ridden in competition by professional riders to display the horses' speed to buyers. During the reign of Richard the Lionheart (1189–99), the first known racing purse was offered, £40, for a race run over a 3-mile (4.8-km) course with knights as riders. In the 16th century Henry VIII imported horses from Italy and Spain (presumably Barbs) and established studs at several locations. In the 17th century James I sponsored meetings in England. His successor, Charles I, had a stud of 139 horses when he died in 1649.
Organized racing
Charles II (reigned 1660–85) became known as 'the father of the English turf' and inaugurated the King's Plates, races for which prizes were awarded to the winners. His articles for these races were the earliest national racing rules. The horses raced were six years old and carried 168 pounds (76 kg), and the winner was the first to win two 4-mile (6.4-km) heats. The patronage of Charles II established Newmarket as the headquarters of English racing.
In France the first documented horse race was held in 1651 as the result of a wager between two noblemen. During the reign of Louis XIV (1643–1715), racing based on gambling was prevalent. Louis XVI (reigned 1774–93) organized a jockey club and established rules of racing by royal decree that included requiring certificates of origin for horses and imposing extra weight on foreign horses.
Organized racing in North America began with the British occupation of New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1664. Col. Richard Nicolls, commander of the British troops, established organized racing in the colonies by laying out a 2-mile (3.2-km) course on the plains of Long Island (called Newmarket after the British racecourse) and offering a silver cup to the best horses in the spring and fall seasons. From the beginning, and continuing until the Civil War, the hallmark of excellence for the American Thoroughbred was stamina, rather than speed. After the Civil War, speed became the goal and the British system the model.
Match races
The earliest races were match races between two or at most three horses, the owners providing the purse, a simple wager. An owner who withdrew commonly forfeited half the purse, later the whole purse, and bets also came under the same 'play or pay' rule. Agreements were recorded by disinterested third parties, who came to be called keepers of the match book. One such keeper at Newmarket in England, John Cheny, began publishing An Historical List of All Horse-Matches Run (1729), a consolidation of match books at various racing centres, and this work was continued annually with varying titles, until in 1773 James Weatherby established it as the Racing Calendar, which was continued thereafter by his family.
Open field racing
By the mid-18th century the demand for more public racing had produced open events with larger fields of runners. Eligibility rules were developed based on the age, sex, birthplace, and previous performance of horses and the qualifications of riders. Races were created in which owners were the riders (gentlemen riders), in which the field was restricted geographically to a township or county, and in which only horses that had not won more than a certain amount were entered. An act of the British Parliament of 1740 provided that horses entered had to be the bona fide property of the owners, thus preventing 'ringers,' a superior horse entered fraudulently against inferior horses; horses had to be certified as to age; and there were penalties for rough riding.
Contemporary accounts identified riders (in England called jockeys—if professional—from the second half of the 17th century and later in French racing), but their names were not at first officially recorded. Only the names of winning trainers and riders were at first recorded in the Racing Calendar, but by the late 1850s all were named. This neglect of the riders is partly explained in that when races consisted of 4-mile heats, with the winning of two heats needed for victory, the individual rider's judgment and skill were not so vital. As dash racing (one heat) became the rule, a few yards in a race gained importance, and, consequently, so did the rider's skill and judgment in coaxing that advantage from his mount.
Bloodlines and studbooks
All horse racing on the flat except quarter-horse racing involves Thoroughbred horses. Thoroughbreds evolved from a mixture of Arab, Turk, and Barb horses with native English stock. Private studbooks had existed from the early 17th century, but they were not invariably reliable. In 1791 Weatherby published An Introduction to a General Stud Book, the pedigrees being based on earlier Racing Calendars and sales papers. After a few years of revision, it was updated annually. All Thoroughbreds are said to descend from three 'Oriental' stallions (the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Barb, and the Byerly Turk, all brought to Great Britain, 1690–1730) and from 43 'royal' mares (those imported by Charles II). The preeminence of English racing and hence of the General Stud Book from 1791 provided a standard for judging a horse's breeding (and thereby, at least to some degree, its racing qualities). In France the Stud Book Française (beginning in 1838) originally included two classifications: Orientale (Arab, Turk, and Barb) and Anglais (mixtures according to the English pattern), but these were later reduced to one class, chevaux de pur sang Anglais ('horses of pure English blood'). The American Stud Book dates from 1897 and includes foals from Canada, Puerto Rico, and parts of Mexico, as well as from the United States.
Horse Gambling Website
The long-standing reciprocity among studbooks of various countries was broken in 1913 by the Jersey Act passed by the English Jockey Club, which disqualified many Thoroughbred horses bred outside England or Ireland. The purpose of the act was ostensibly to protect the British Thoroughbred from infusions of North American (mainly U.S.) sprinting blood. After a rash of victories in prestigious English races by French horses with 'tainted' American ancestry in the 1940s, the Jersey Act was rescinded in 1949.
Evolution of races
The original King's Plates were standardized races—all were for six-year-old horses carrying 168 pounds at 4-mile heats, a horse having to win two heats to be adjudged the winner. Beginning in 1751, five-year-olds carrying 140 pounds (63.5 kg) and four-year-olds carrying 126 pounds (57 kg) were admitted to the King's Plates, and heats were reduced to 2 miles (3.2 km). Other racing for four-year-olds was well established by then, and a race for three-year-olds carrying 112 pounds (51 kg) in one 3-mile (4.8-km) heat was run in 1731. Heat racing for four-year-olds continued in the United States until the 1860s. By that time, heat racing had long since been overshadowed in Europe by dash racing, a 'dash' being any race decided by only one heat, regardless of its distance.
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