People assume that betting on horses is based on luck, and that the only method to win money while doing it is to get inside information. By inside information, people generally refer to match fixes or some other knowledge that one or more of the horses is sick. This might have been true once, but in todays modern world where the gambling is institutionalized and checked daily, this sort of thing rarely (if ever) occurs.

So What Then? Should you gamble according to unexplainable hunches and simply hope for the best?

There is a better option. Base your bets on information that you collect about the different horses and then make a calculated guess. I have listed here the 8 Golden Rules you should look out for when judging how good a particular horse will fair in the race you are going to bet on.

1. Check out the weather, and then check how the horses in the race fared accordingly. Certain horses have a tendency to outlast others in the rain, while others charge unstoppable to the finish line on cloudy days. Why? I don't know, but what's important is that its true, and it has worked for me.

2. Do not think that older horses run slower than three-year old ones as the season comes to a close. This is just not true. What you have to check is how many races each horse did run. Sometimes horses compete in too many races and this slows them down, but this has nothing to do with age.

3. Surprisingly, though you might think that there is a direct ratio between the weight of the jockey and how fast the horse can run, but this is not true. Since most of the jockeys weigh approximately the same, its actually the relatively heavier ones who manage to win.

4. Similarly, heavier horses can run faster than lighter ones, but only up to a point. A colt weighs about a hundred pounds more than fillies and thus they are more likely to win long distance races.

5. Just because a horse has new blinkers does not mean that the horse will run faster. I know this sounds crazy, but a friend I met at the horse-track offered me this piece of advice, and I had to refute it to spare the heartache from any who do fall for it.

6. Check the pedigree of the horses. Remember to keep whatever information you find. You can even buy one of the books on certain horses at your local bookstores. After you have gathered all the relevant information keep in mind that a colt doesn't need as much of a pedigree as a filly to run very fast.

7. Don't rely too much on pedigree at the lower class races. This is the place where those horses with a weak pedigree tend to shine.

8. Female jockies are starting to make a name for themselves, so don't underestimate them when they race. Lately, they have been winning admirably.

Use the above 8 Golden Rules of Betting on Horses the next time you go to the track or enter an online sportsbook to place your bet so that your wager will have a better chance of winning.