How To Make Money From Sport Betting

horse-racing consists of flat racing or jumping, 'over the sticks'. Racing became popular during the 16th cent. and the first race-course with an annual fixture was established on the Roodee at Chester in 1540. Racing received support from successive monarchs. James I established a hunting stable at Newmarket where he bred horses, Charles I offered a gold cup as a prize for a race in 1634, and Charles II made it fashionable. Noblemen founded stables and became interested in breeding thoroughbred racehorses. Old Bald Meg (c.1659) is the oldest recorded mare in the General Studbook and it is argued that every thoroughbred has descended from her.

Racing expanded with courses springing up at Doncaster (1595), York (1709), Ascot (1711), Epsom (1730), Goodwood (1801), and Aintree (1827). In 1750 the Jockey Club was founded to regulate the sport. The first Racing Calendar was introduced in 1773 and stud books and jockeys' colours followed. Lord George Bentinck (1802-48), an influential horse breeder-owner, devised the flag start, race card, paddock parade, and much of modern race-course practice. Highlights of the flat season include the Derby, Oaks, and St Leger.
Horse-racing has become synonymous with betting. The on-course Totalizator introduced in 1929 and the Horserace Betting Levy Board founded in 1961 both aimed to distribute betting revenue for the good of the sport. A Joint Racing Board was established in 1968 to facilitate policy discussion between the Turf Authorities and the Levy Board.
Sources : By Richard A. Smith

Basketball game played generally indoors by two opposing teams of five players each. Basketball was conceived in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith , a physical education instructor at the YMCA college in Springfield, Mass., as a way to condition outdoor athletes during the winter months. His original list of 13 rules has undergone a century of revision, leading to faster pacing and greater athleticism. Today basketball is one of the most popular American sports and one the rest of the world has adopted.

Basic Rules

At each end of the court-usually about 92 ft (28 m) long and 50 ft (15 m) wide-is a bottomless basket made of white cord net and suspended from a metal ring, 18 in. (46 cm) in diameter, which is attached 10 ft (3.05 m) above the floor (usually hardwood) to a backboard made of fiberglass, wood, or other material. Players may throw, dribble (bounce), or shoot the basketball (an inflated ball usually made of leather or rubber) but may not run with it or kick it.

Teams try to advance the ball and shoot it through one basket (the ball must enter from above) and to keep the opposition from scoring through the other. Each field goal, or basket, scores two points, or three points if shot from beyond a specified distance (21 ft/6 m in U.S. colleges, slightly longer in international and professional play). Teams must shoot the ball within a prescribed time limit (24 sec in the National Basketball Association; 30 sec in international games and in most women's play; 45 sec in men's collegiate play).

Any player making illegal body contact with an opposing player is assessed a foul; the opposing team may be given possession of the ball, or an opposing player awarded free throws at the basket from the foul line. Each made foul shot is worth one point. Players who exceed the foul limit (usually five, but six in the NBA) are disqualified from the game. International and collegiate basketball games have two 20-min halves, professionals play four 12-min quarters, and high schoolers play four 8-min quarters.

baseball bat-and-ball sport known as the national pastime of the United States. It derives its name from the four bases that form a diamond (the infield) around the pitcher's mound.

Basic Rules

Teams consist of nine players who use a leather-covered hard ball, a wooden (in the professional game) or aluminum bat, and padded gloves. Additionally, the batter, catcher, and home-plate umpire wear special protective gear. Teams alternate turns in the field and at bat, the home team batting last. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning, and nine innings constitute a game. In the field there are a pitcher, a catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders. The pitcher throws overhand, employing a variety of deliveries (fastball, curve, knuckleball, etc.), from the raised pitcher's mound to home plate, a distance of 60.5 ft (18.4 m). An opposing batter attempts to hit the pitches and safely reach base, while the fielders attempt to put the batter out through various plays. A batter who misses three pitches, or fails to swing at three judged hittable, is out on "strikes" ; but if the pitcher first throws four pitches out of the strike zone, the batter obtains a base on balls, or "walks" to first base. A run is scored every time a batter becomes a runner and crosses home plate after touching each base in the prescribed order. When the fielding team puts out three batters (or runners), the teams exchange places. If the score is tied at the end of nine innings, play continues into extra innings until one team has scored more runs than the other in an equal number of turns at bat.

Source : The Columbia Encyclopedia