I mentioned a few weeks ago an excellent article titled "The Carrot that can save racing". I was therefore interested to read the Bloodhorse column that spoke of the newly launched Youbet.net site which provides an educational site for players wishing to develop an understanding of pari-mutuel wagering.

The website came to fruition after the company realized that technology needed to be adapted to user needs and "teaching" people the intricacies of betting is certainly something that has been used to great effect in the poker industry which has adopted training courses that do not require patrons to play with actual money.

Youbet.net allows people to play for points as opposed to playing for money. According to The Bloodhorse column there will be "educational vignettes & graphics & a lot of text explaining things like what is an exacta, what is a trifecta & so on."

It's hard to write about gambling sites as it is easy to then be labeled "pro-gambling", but at the end of the day it is the punter who provides the money that keeps the racing industry going, so if we can educate people (with many other betting options) how to follow the horses to their benefit, then I guess that's not an all bad thing. Others may, of course, disagree.