Among all the nations in Asia, Thailand remains to be among the few ones that consistently criminalize gambling. Gambling is generally illegal here, but horse racing, aside from the national or state lottery, is in fact legal. The Thai government is really strict regarding this, so in case an individual will perform some gambling, however fun it can be, it has to be carried out in the legal way. This is certainly more or less to say that a person does not have much choice with regards to gambling in Thailand. Of course, there are numerous illegal or underground gambling centers around; even so, the danger to that is really higher and do not think about the laws alone but also the people who run them. Most of the time, these illegal or underground gambling activities are known as a part of organized crimes.

Generally however, horse racing is not really a surprising sight into the Thai society. Actually, for the higher class society, this is only a way of entertaining activity even though it is a form of gambling. Anybody can often find horse racing possibly in the country sides or perhaps in exclusive clubs. Even though the exclusive clubs are commonly set aside to members only, the horse racing events that take place in them are usually available to public as well. The Royal Bangkok Sports Club and also the Royal Turf Club in Bangkok are actually two exclusive clubs that have official race tracks and they’re said to host horse racing events every Sunday, alternating between one club and another.

Horse racing started out in Thailand more than a hundred years ago, around the year of 1980s. It was claimed that the first Western style horse racing was during the return of King Rama V, when the civil servants as well as students organized a race to welcome the come back of the King from the States. After that, there were increased interests to the Western style horse races. The King himself had desired to bring in the activity to his country while also creating the regulations of horse breeding and sports clubs that have facilities that can go with international clubs in several countries. The opening of Royal Bangkok Sports Club around 1901, in a land given by the King, marked to be the official introduction of horse racing in Thailand.

Horse racing continued to be one of the well known sports (for enjoyment and gambling) since it took root about a century ago – the weekly races with about 10 races each time is a proof of that. The Royal Turf Club also conducts four big competitions every year; they are the Chairman’s Cup, the Ram Rakop Cup, the Royal Darby Cup, as well as the Phraya Pradipatpubal Cup. The earnings from horse racing can be quite rewarding as well; the admission fee to the Royal Bangkok Sports Club and also the Royal Turf Club is just about 50 to 100 Baht, however the competitions occur every week and also there are normally plenty of spectators as this is one of the most loved Thai activities. The betting turnover per race day for horse racing is quite high and also has been known to go over the threshold of 100 million Baht. Nevertheless, the actual expenses as well as prize money are not small amount either; they will also range between six up to ten million Baht per race day.