While horse riding can be a fantastic way of getting fit and having a fun-filled day for your loved ones, there are plenty of other ways that horses influence our lives. Not least, through the sport of horse racing. Horse racing was introduced into the UK in the 12th century, it’s history spans as far back as 648BC in the Greek olympics where chariot and horse back racing were just two of the events the athletes competed in. You can bet on four main types of racing – flat, endurance, trot and jump racing. These are competed over varying race lengths, with endurance races being the longest, sometimes reaching up to 100 miles in length. Trot racing is unique as the horses involved are harnessed to the jockey. Harnessed racing is not usually practiced here in the UK. Different type of bets are available, with the win bet being the easiest to comprehend. For a win bet you select a horse that you believe will come first in the race. For those who prefer a lower risk bet, or are not sure of the recent form of a horse you could also bet each way/place which pays out on the first three or four horses past the post, depending on the final number of horses in the race. For those who would rather pay less money for their bets but increase the potential returns you can try wagering on multiple horses through parlay betting. Parlay betting is where you can incorporate several bets into one, only paying out if all legs of the bet win. So, for example, if you were thinking of betting on the Ascot 2:10, 2:45 and 3:15 it should pay to pick the winners of all three races and combine into one bet rather than place three separate bets with individual stakes. The retusn can be very lucrative.