Australian horse racing

Thoroughbred horse racing in Australia is a part of Australian culture, particularly the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and its highlight the Melbourne Cup.

Related Topics:
Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival - Melbourne Cup

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Australia was the source of one of the major developments in race wagering - the totalisator or tote - an analogue computer which allowed the automatic calculation of race odds given betting patterns.

Related Topics:
Totalisator - Computer

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There are three main avenues for race betting in Australia. Licensed on-track bookmakers offer fixed-odds betting, mostly on wins and places. Off-track betting was traditionally controlled by the various state government through organisation called "Totalisator Agency Boards" (TAB), which offered mainly parimutuel betting - that is, the odds were not fixed but involved "the house" taking a fixed cut and distributing the remainder amongst people who made a winning bet. Many of these "TABs" have now been privatised, and many pubs now offer betting services linked to the privatised offshoots of the companies. Finally, in some parts of Australia there was a tradition of illegal off-course bookmaking, known as SP bookmaking historically involving significant turnover, though it is unclear whether this is still the case.

Related Topics:
Bookmaker - Parimutuel betting - Pub - SP bookmaking

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For a more detailed explanation of punting terms and racecourse jargon see the Australian punting glossary.

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