One of the easiest events which can translate into a board game is the activity of horse racing. Something that people have been enjoying for a long time, horse racing allows people the chance to pick a favorite horse, following its career as well as its jockey. Horses offer the same sort of appeal as auto racing does, as you are rooting for one to win the race because you have been following their particular talents and skills. Unlike auto racing, however, horse racing offers something more because you are following an actual living creature instead of a machine. This makes things be much more up in the air, with a larger element of randomness come into play, as living creatures can act in surprising ways, good or bad.

Regardless of this, horse racing is popular because it is one of the most exciting ways that people find to gamble. Going to the horse races and placing a bet on a favorite horse often gives people the chance to feel as if they are living the high life, doing something out of the ordinary. It can be a great pastime for a number of people and, thus, the act of horse racing is a popular one. It also lends itself well into board games, as a number of them have based quite a compelling game around this event.

Reiner Knizia, the king of the abstract board game design, created a special game based entirely on horse racing. Winner's Circle, also occasionally published as Royal Turf, makes players enter the world of competitive horse racing, on both ends of the spectrum. Players begin the game by secretly placing bets on horses which they think will perform well during the race. After the bets are placed, these players will then gain control of the jockeys in the race and make decisions and play cards to both promote certain horses and hinder others.

After the race is complete and one horse comes out as the winner, each of the bets are revealed and payouts are made based on who bet on which horse. A total of three races are played in this manner and whichever player ends the game with the most money earned is declared to be the winner of the game. This game, quick to learn and easy to play, offers players a multitude of options when it comes to competition, however, and each game can end up playing out completely differently from any before it.

Win, Place, and Show is another great horse racing game, dating all the way back to the 1960s. This game offers six horses and six lanes in an oval track, each marked up with a number of spaces. Some of these spaces have special markings in them, allowing for players to have a certain amount of strategy in the paths they choose to take, including when they choose to change lanes to try and overtake other players. Each horse has a certain set of skills associated with it and this allows for a fun game every time you play it!