Could pre-race trading on the nags be considered 'commodities trading for sport' ?

[arbitrage16]

And if not, which type of financial trading is it most akin to?

[jimibt]

in some respects, despite an array of choice (runners), i'd lump it more with binary options. the simple truth is, you tend to make a selection based on a gut (educated) feel for its direction and have a natural expiry (4-5 mins) to make the most of your position (tho of course, you can exit and re-enter on same or other *option* inside the timeframe).