How It’s played
One person in the group will take on the role of the announcer. They will need to be someone with a bit of showmanship, someone who can take centre stage and get the rest of the crowd up and excited. So, make sure you select someone who knows the importance of the caller role. They will take the deck of cards and remove the aces, leaving them to one side, and shuffle the rest of the deck.
The four aces will be placed in a row (left to right) face up, and each suit represents a horse. Other cards are then laid out faced down on the edge of the racing track (Up and down). These faced-down cards represent each stage of the race. The cards now on the track will form an L shape. Just about any sport can be turned into a drinking game, like football or hockey, but this horse racing game is really one of the best.
As players place bets, it’s possible to start the race, delivering the same level of thrill as the classic horse race or any live sports betting event. Yet, the announcer element of the game makes it more similar to live casino games with a professional dealer. The announcer actively monitors the game like a live dealer would, preparing each race by taking out the aces from the deck. This replicates the excitement of a live casino experience, whether it involves baccarat, blackjack, or poker, taking players very close to the feeling of anticipation and the thrill of the gambling rush.
The betting
Now is the time to make the bets. This is to be done before the race. The announcer will go around to each person in the group and ask them what horse (suit of card) they would like to back to win. Everyone will also pick their stake, in this case, the number of drinks.
The announcer will pick a minimum bet, usually 2 drinks. If you are not that confident on your horse then you can pick 2 drinks, meaning if it wins you can pick someone else in the group to take two drinks. However, if your horse loses you have to take 2 drinks, plus anymore more drinks that someone else can make you take. So try to pick a winner.
The race
The race will then begin. The announcer will be holding the rest of the cards in his hand and will draw one. Whatever suit it is, that horse then starts to move forward. For example, if the announcer shows hearts, the ace of hearts horse will move forward. Once all horses have progressed to the first stage, the announcer will then overturn one of the cards placed on the side of the track. In this case, this card will make the horse take a step back.
For example, if it is a club, the ace of clubs will then move back. This process repeats until we have a horse that goes all the way to the finish line. But of course, it is a horse race, so cheer along for your horse the whole way. Who knows? Maybe that will make it get to the finish line even more quickly.
Time to drink
At this stage, the announcer will go through the list of everyone’s bets. The people who backed one of the three horses that did not win will have to take their allotted drinks. It is time to ridicule all the cocky people who picked a high number of drinks.
Then the winners will dish out who has to drink from their winning stake, usually forcing the drinks on the cocky people from before.
Now what?
It is a game that is really easy to reset and go again. All the competitive people in the group will want to make up for their loss. The best thing about the game is its ease of access and how close to a sporting event it really feels even though it is just a pack of cards on a table.
But let the announcer catch their breath again after all the shouting, give the deck of cards another shuffle then gets back out on the track. Playing cards have captured our imagination for generations, this is just another way to get joy out of them.
While it is best to play as a drinking game, it does not need to be restricted just to that. The alcohol element can easily be replaced with sweets, coins or any other kind of currency. Another thing that can make this game even more fun is by playing with packs of playing cards.
For example, a Harry Potter-themed deck of cards can make for a bit more magic, with people choosing the horse based on Hogwarts houses instead of a suit. Of course, there are a number of variations for this, but if you have a random themed pack of playing cards at home that came from a Christmas stocking 5 years ago that you have never used, maybe giving them a run out in this horse racing game is the way to get the best amount of fun out of them.