Chapter 638: A Good Start

Even if the race starts, everyone can find a seat in the grandstand, or go to the adjacent owner and member boxes, where they can enjoy the food while watching the race. There are several betting points nearby, dedicated to serving those present.

'The first race is about to start. Lao Huo, your 'good start' is in the first race. Are you confident of taking first place?'

A group of Chinese tycoons gathered together. Apart from Xia Yu and his three friends, there were also Hu Zhong, Wang Dehui, Feng Jingxi and Tian Yuanhao from Wantai Clothing. Bao Yugang smiled and focused everyone's attention on Huo Yingdong.

The group looked on. How could Huo Yingdong say he had no confidence? He said with confidence, 'Although my "Good Start" has rarely participated, it doesn't mean that its strength has declined. It has won five championships.'

'The initial odds are the second lowest. Zhenyu, go and bet 100,000 on 'Good Start' to win.'

'Okay, father!'

After saying that, Huo Zhenyu, who was closely following Huo Yingdong, immediately walked over to the betting point on the left.

'Good Start' was the name of Huo Yingdong's horse, and it was the one of the three horses Huo Yingdong had bred that had achieved the most results.

Each horse owner is not limited to owning one horse, but up to four, which makes the competition even more uncertain. As long as the horse owner can afford it, the Jockey Club will be happy to see the horse owner own three or four horses.

'Lao Huo, then I look forward to your 'Good Start' giving us a good start,'

Xia Yu laughed.

'That's a must!'

Huo Yingdong waved his hand grandly and said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Yingdong changed the subject, directing everyone's attention to Xia Yu: 'Xia Yu, did you place a bet on your Red Hare in the second race? I've looked at the odds given by the Jockey Club, and I reckon that since it's a new horse, even after taking into account the trainer and jockey, they've still given you the highest odds in the second race, with the odds on the win being the highest, at 67.4.'

'Such a high odds? But usually new horses are underdogs, and some new horses have odds of over 90 or even over 100. I believe Xia Sheng's horse will have lower odds after running a few more races.'

'Xia Sheng named his horse 'Red Rabbit', so it must be quite strong. Looks like we're going to have a dark horse,'

Tian Yuanhao said with a smile.

Generally, the more popular a horse is, the lower the odds, because the historical results of such a horse have already proven its strength, and it is more likely to win. The horse club is not a charity, so naturally the odds will be lowered.

For a new horse like Xia Yu, which has no historical results at all, the odds will be set very high.

'What are the odds for my horse in the sixth race, 'Black Stallion'?'

Xia Yu asked Huo Yingdong with a smile on the corner of his mouth and great interest.

'The odds of 'Black Stallion' winning are 78.5. It's also an underdog, because two of the horses in the sixth race have won the quarterly championship.'

Huo Yingdong obviously understood the situation well, and he also explained the reason why 'Black Stallion' had a higher odds than 'Red Hare'. After all, 'Black Stallion' was a gift from him, and its odds were higher than 'Red Hare'. This implied that he thought the 'Black Stallion' he gave was less powerful. Since it involved face, of course he had to mention it.

Xia Yu laughed instead of getting angry. He laughed with high spirits, 'It seems that the horse club is going to give me money. I haven't bought a horse ticket yet. It would be a pity not to play when I'm here.'

After saying that, he instructed Li Wuming, 'Brother Li, bet 100,000 yuan on each of the two horses I gave you.'

Li Wuming nodded and immediately walked towards the betting point.

In horse racing betting, the game is divided into the game of the ordinary pool and the game of the special pool.

In the ordinary betting pool, there are Win, Place, Quinella and Quinella Q.

Win is the horse selected to finish first, with the highest odds.

Place is to pick one of the top three horses; Quinella is to pick the first horse, no need for order; and Position Q is to pick two of the top three horses, no need for order.

In the special pool, there are more ways to play, such as Single T, Triple Trio, Four in a Row, Four-Up, Triple Trio, Six Fantasy, Six Treasure, Jockey King, etc., and the specific rules will not be described here.

In the ordinary pool, the odds of a win are the highest, but in the special pool, the odds of some games are much higher than those of a win. For example, in the Six Treasure Colour, the last six races, each of which has the first horse selected, the probability is very small and the risk is extremely high, so the odds are particularly high.

However, in the sixteen races, Xia Yu's horse only ran in the second and sixth races. He didn't know much about the other horses, so naturally he wouldn't be stupid enough to give the horse club money. The ordinary pool's win was good enough, so he just played for fun.

In fact, not to mention buying 100,000 yuan, millions are pocket change for him, but if you really bet on the win at these odds, if you win, you'll win a few hundred million in prize money, and the prize pool is only a few tens of millions. If you can empty the prize pool in one go, it will create problems for the horse racing club, and no one will look good. A lot of people will be offended.

Xia Yu is not stupid. Some money can be earned, and some money cannot. For example, everyone has a scale in their heart for this kind of money, and it is all for fun. Only ordinary citizens would hope to make money this way.

Just like Hu Zhong and the others, when they saw Xia Yu going to bet on his own horse to win, they also bought 5,000 or 10,000 yuan as a show of respect, so as not to steal Xia Yu's limelight and interests. They could also cheer together with Xia Yu during the race, in order to get closer and find common topics of conversation.

Joining a horse club is all about socialising and networking, and it's the interests outside the club that count.

Soon, Huo Zhenyu, Li Wuming and the others returned, and the first horse race officially began.

At the referee's command, the fourteen jockeys galloped out on their steeds, and the previously quiet stadium suddenly resounded with loud shouts. The spectators who had placed bets cheered for the horses they had chosen.

'Lao Huo, your Good Start is currently in second place, just a little behind the leader. Your horse is famous for its strong late-stage explosive power, so it looks like the championship is in the bag.'

Bao Yugang squinted his eyes a little and said to Huo Yingdong with a smile, obviously very familiar with Huo Yingdong's horse.

Huo Yingdong laughed heartily, slightly smug, but humbly said, 'It's still early, don't jump to conclusions too soon, or you'll be sorry.'

'Hey, are there any outsiders here? Why are you pretending?'

'Haha...'

'It's amazing, it's number one!'

After completing the first half of the race, 'Good Start' finally took the lead. Huo Zhenyu shouted in excitement, and the smiles on the faces of the Huo Yingdong crowd became more and more obvious.

Xia Yu watched the race with great interest. He had to say that it was extremely entertaining, and listening to the deafening shouts, his adrenaline was pumping and his blood rushed upwards unconsciously.

'He'll cross the finish line soon, he's got a length on the other horse, he's in the lead!'

'The winner is No. 6, 'Good Start'. The owner of this horse is the famous tycoon Huo Yingdong...'

The host seized the moment to make an explosive introduction, and there was an instant burst of cheers in the stadium. The audience who had bet on the right horse laughed wildly, enjoying the envious and jealous glances of the losers around them.

'Huo, congratulations, your 'Good Start' has won another championship medal and made a small profit!'

'Treats, treats!'

Xia Yu and the others started to make a racket, and Huo Yingdong, in a great mood, waved his hand and said, 'A treat is no big deal, no problem. Do you have time tonight?'

'If it's a treat from Huo the tycoon, of course you have time!'

'...'

In the midst of the lively chatter, the second race was about to begin, and the host began to introduce the horses in the race.

'Xia Yu, Huo won a championship, so this race is all yours.'

'No problem, this race is definitely a upset.'