In the world of horse racing, the goal of everygambler is to gain a lot of money by betting on theright horse to win. Sometimes a horse is known as apast winner, and that makes it seem like the righthorse to bet money on. At other times, a horse thathas not done so well in the past will suddenly runwell and beat all the others. In the end, only theresults at the finish line determine if you have beton the right horse or the wrong horse.

在赛马界里，给他们认为可以获胜的马投注然后赢钱，是每一个赌徒的目标。有时侯某匹马是以前的冠军马匹，这使它看起来是值得投注的马。但是，在其它时候，以前表现并不出众的马会突然发挥良好，并击败其它所有的赛马。你押的宝对与不对，只有在赛马冲过终点时才能知道。

From this origin, we have adopted this idiom into everyday use. If someone has trusted orsupported a person or group that later does badly, or who betrays that trust, we say that they"bet on the wrong horse." This idiom indicates that a person has exercised poor judgment, andas a result, has suffered some loss.

这个源于赛马界的成语已被我们在日常生活中大量使用。如果有人对某一个人或一个组织给予大力支持或信任有加，但是如果这个人或这一组织行为不法或者背叛了这种信任，我们就说，这个人“押错宝”了。这个成语表示，一个人由于自己的判断错误，结果使自己蒙受了损失。

习语：

1. bet on the wrong horse“押错宝”的意思

Only when Mr. Black made a speech at the meetingdid I realize I had bet on the wrong horse.

当布莱克先生在会上表态时,我才意识到我看错了人了。

2. to flog a dead horse 是指“白费力气”的意思。

Don't try to flog a dead horse.

别白费唇舌了。

3. to horse around 是指“胡闹”的意思。

The boy will not stop horse around, so their mom have to shout at them.

男孩们胡闹个不停,他们的妈妈不得不对他们大吼。