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My viewpoint is that there is a lot of bad things that can happen no matter what you do. I come from the school that you live and let live, but with a lot of guidance. If your son has interest in a book about racing, let him read the book. Discusss the book with him. If he wants to pursue betting the horses explain the facts of life. You have to talk to him about sex and drugs and alcohol and smoking and vaping and stelaing and people and politics, and driving distracted or impaired or too fast and respecting yourself and the opposite sex........and yes you probably should talk to him about gambling. Don't think, no matter how hard you try, you can keep gambling out of his life. He may decide to bet football or go to Vegas or go to a poker room or play poker at college or go a local casino when he comes of age. I think ignorance of the game is more detrimental than the game itself. Not saying that lives aren't screwed up by gambling anyhow, but I think in general not knowing what your dealing with sets you up for the fall more than anything. You kow the game, you know gambling, let him know the score as you see it.
Like anything else in life teach him how to make wise decision for himself. As Ultracapper said in his post, chances are this game likely will not appeal to him that much anyhow. I have a nephew who goes to school in San Diego and his frat goes to Del Mar a few times a year. He says he has no interest in the game nor do the people he goes with. Just seems like this younger generation is differrent than we were. The worst thing you can do is keep it a secret as if you are keeping something really awesome from him. "It works for me but I could never let you do it". Seriously?
If he seriously want to pursue the game, let him pursue the game the right way. You say we are going to start you out with $500 bucks. You are going to bet 2% of bankroll($10 per horse or half of that if you prefer) until you reach a $1000 or go broke. If he reaches a $1000 you figure out what step 2 is and you go there. If he loses the enitre $500 it is safe to say his desire to pursue this game likely will go out the window. In between, you talk horses, bond, teach him the game and the two of you have a lot of fun. Chances are that $500 will last him quite a while and you go from there. The bottom line is he will learn how to play the game in a disiciplined fashion and won't get caught up in chasing scores. His gambling experiences of the future will be much wiser than they will be at random.
Life is full of great things and bad things and all you can do as a parent is guide and pray that your kids make the right choices in life and that nothing really bad happens even if they do.
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