When it comes to getting ahead betting on horses, or any form of gambling, there are some basic mistakes that lead to big losses that could have been avoided. When people travel to Las Vegas, they usually only have a couple of days in the casinos, so if they start losing early, they can panic and increase their bets hoping to break even or finish ahead. In other words, they play for the short run instead of the long haul. One of the great things about horse racing is that with online betting and off track betting, it is possible to play nearly every track in the country from almost any state, all legally. So if you have a bad day at the track, you do not have to try to win it all back in a couple of days. You can take your time, bet smarter, and work off the loss over weeks or months instead of hours or days.