Curt,
It's not really the same but you can learn a lot without losing any money.
Just cap the races you're interested in. Write down the bets you would have made. If you picked winners, good. They'll run again in about three weeks.
If they didn't, look at all the money you saved.
Paper bets are good.
In between the time you have money to gamble with and now...there are good books on handicapping to read.
I don't think anyone has read them all...and they might quench the thirst.
Then, there's always fishing. And at the end of the time you take to do it, you might even have a nice batch to cook and share with the lady that's going to show you the "good time".
