To many people, the words "sensibly" and "betting horse racing" should not appear in the same sentence. But there is a way to enjoy the thrill of laying a bet on a horse without worrying if you will loose your shirt in the process, too. That is to only bet on horses who lave longer than odds of 5 ? 1 that have a really decent shot of winning. This means holding back on those "sure things" and "bankers" that have terribly little odds in order to afford betting horses with longer odds.

This also means staying away from tricky bets like trifectas or daily doubles until you've gotten the hang of being able to pick a winner. Betting horses that win is the best way to at least break even in playing the ponies. But how do you pick a winner who will pay you back with odds of more than 5-1 is you aren't betting horse race after horse race?

You watch the races, or at least look up the results. You keep a notebook that checks off what qualities can make an also-ran yesterday into a betting horse for you today. This takes time and patience, but you do get to watch a lot of races and that's a lot of fun in and of itself.

Make special note of horses listed on the card that are "first time Lasix", who are moving up in class or have had a change to a better trainer or jockey. You can also make special note of horses that seem to have bad luck in their previous three races, but who were making an honest effort. These betting horses often will pull in odds of over 5-1 because of their past performance. Break out your wallet on these types of horses and your betting horses will be more profitable.