What Are The Different Types Of Horse Bets

Posted By admin On 28/07/22

Betting doesn’t have to be rocket science. Keep it simple by choosing a horse with a cool name. Or one that’s wearing your favorite color. But if you’re the analytical type who wants to consider a horse’s racing history, learn how to read a Racing Form and try your hand at handicapping.

Placing Your Bet

The easiest way to place your bet or wager is at the counter. Let the teller know the following information:

Exotic Bets or Combination Wagers. Across the board — Three equal Win, Place and Show bets. If your horse finishes 1st, you win all three bets. If your horse finishes 2nd, you win on the Place and Show bets. If your horse finishes 3rd, you win on the Show bet. Exacta — Pick two horses in one race. If they finish 1st and 2nd, in exact order. Win, Place, Show. These three are known as the common types of horse racing bets. For each bet, you’ll have to pick a horse, and if they finish the race in the right position, you’ll win. So, in the case of a win bet, if you pick a horse that wins the race, you win the bet. Straight Bets (Win, Place, Show) Win Bets. A win bet means exactly what you think. Simply put, you must select the horse that crosses the finish line. Place bets require your horse to finish either first or second. A show bet is when your horse finishes in first, second,. A parlay bet, also known as an accumulator bet, is the European version of a multi bet. However, a parlay formula bet allows you greater flexibility than multi bets, as you can decide on how many legs need to be win in order for the bet to successful. Traditional Horse Racing Wagers The traditional horse racing wagers are also known as straight bets. Not only are these the most popular type of wagers, they are also the most straightforward. The only thing that makes them slightly more complicated is that they vary slightly in different parts of the world.

  • The racetrack (remember, you can bet on races at other tracks)
  • The race number
  • The dollar amount you want to bet
  • The type of bet
  • Your horse’s number

Ex. “At Santa Anita, third race, five dollars to win on number two.”

Types of Bets

There are many kinds of bets. But let’s start with the basic ones:

Win, Place and Show.

Win — If your horse finishes 1st, you win $$$.

Place — If your horse finishes 1st or 2nd, you win $$.

Show — If your horse finishes 1st, 2nd or 3rd, you win $.

Exotic Bets or Combination Wagers

Across the board — Three equal Win, Place and Show bets.

  • If your horse finishes 1st, you win all three bets.
  • If your horse finishes 2nd, you win on the Place and Show bets.
  • If your horse finishes 3rd, you win on the Show bet.

Exacta — Pick two horses in one race. If they finish 1st and 2nd, in exact order, you win.

Quinella — Pick two horses. If they finish 1st or 2nd, in either order, you win. Also known as an Exacta Box.

Trifecta — Pick three horses. If they finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd, in exact order, you win.

Superfecta — Pick four horses. If they finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, in exact order, you win.

Daily Double — Two specific races make up the Daily Double. Pick one horse in each race. If they finish 1st in both races, you win. You have to make your bet before the first race.

Pick 3 — Similar to the Daily Double, but for three consecutive races.

Pick 4 — Similar to the Daily Double, but for four consecutive races.

Pick 6 — The biggest bet you can make. Pick the winning horse in six consecutive races. If you win, you win big.

If no one picks all six winners, those picking 5 out of 6 will split 30% of the Pick Six pool. The remaining 70% “carries over” to the next racing day, and will continue to do so each day until someone correctly chooses 6 winners out of 6 races.

Watch and Win

After placing your bet, watch your horse run. If your horse comes in the money, sweet! But don’t plan on buying a private jet just yet. Wait until the race has been declared “official”. Then collect your winnings at any window.

Automated Betting Machines

Once you’re familiar with placing bets, you can try using one of the self-service, automated machines. These easy-to-use machines are available at every track and offer simple directions on how to bet or collect money from a winning ticket. Easy peasy.

To enjoy betting on horse races, and to effectively manage your wagering bankroll, it is important to understand the wide variety of horse racing wagers now available. Once limited to win, place, show, with a few exacta and daily doubles thrown in the mix, the wagering menus at all tracks have expanded greatly over the last decade.

We now have an expanded menu including Pick 3 and Pick 4 wagering, and a horseplayer has to decide which betting pools to jump into when betting horses online. Getting familiar with all of the different types of horse racing bets will make it more enjoyable and profitable.

The Exotic Wagers

Exactas – Exactas remain one of the most popular of the exotic wagers. The bet involves selecting the top two finishers in exacta order. A common bet would be a $2 exacta box of two contenders, and the ticket is a winner if they finish in the top two positions.

A common exacta wager is boxing contenders, with a $2 two-horse exacta box costing $4, and a three-horse exacta box costing $12. An exacta key is often a preferred wager, using one horse on top of several others if a horseplayer has a strong opinion on who is going to win a race.

Quinella – A similar wager, although with a separate betting pool, involves quinella horse bets. With the quinella wager, the payoff is the same regardless of which horse wins the race, which differs from exacta betting.

What Are The Different Types Of Horse Racing Bets

Trifecta – Horseplayers looking for a bigger score may want to look to trifecta wagers, which involves selecting the exact order of the top three finishers in a race and while it is harder than hitting an exacta, the payoffs can be much higher. A popular way to bet the trifecta is to box three contenders, which for a $1 unit would cost $6. A four-horse trifecta box would cost $24.

The Banker – Choosing a winning horse while also choosing two or more horses to come in the top positions

What Are The Different Types Of Horse Bets Betting

Superfecta – Horse racing superfecta wagering has become popular in recent years, and involves a much tougher proposition for horseplayers: Selecting the top four finishers in a horse race. Hitting the superfecta is one of the toughest exotic wagers to hit, but can often lead to a huge payoff if there are a couple of longshots in the mix.

A four-horse superfecta box would cost the horseplayer $24 for a $1 unit, with a five-horse superfecta wager costing $120.00. There are two ways to avoid digging deep into the wagering bankroll when playing horse superfectas. One is to key one or two horses in the win position, which gives a horseplayer more options in the other spots. Another way is to play the superfecta for less than the $1 unit. Most tracks now offer 10-cent superfecta wagering, meaning that five-horse box that cost $120.00 for a $1 unit would cost just $12.00 on a ten-cent unit.

What Are The Different Types Of Horse Bets Against

What Are The Different Types Of Horse Bets

Daily Double – This wager was the first exotic wager, and involves correctly selecting the winners of two consecutive races. Once limited to the first two races on the card, most tracks now offer “rolling doubles” meaning a new horse daily double bet starts in each race.

What Are The Different Types Of Horse Bets

The Pick 3 – Involves selecting the winners of three consecutive races. It is not an easy wager to hit with a straight bet, but using several contenders in each race can lead to a generous payoff if all three winners are selected. Hitting a Pick 3 can be lucrative, particularly if several of the favorites do not win. (See the daily double link above for a more in-depth look at Pick 3 betting)

Pick 4 – Similar to the Pick 3, only a horseplayer has to pick the winner of four consecutive winners, no small task. Most horseplayers will use multiple horses in most of the races in the sequence, which takes a bigger bankroll, but the payoffs can be huge.

Pick 6 – This wager can have the racetrack buzzing, particularly if the wager was not solved for several days and there is a Pick 6 carryover. Hitting the Pick 6 takes good handicapping and money management, along with a little luck. Having a lone winning ticket in a Pick 6 with a carryover can lead to a life-changing score.

The Horse Betting Options

Thoroughbred – There are three different breeds of horses, with thoroughbreds the most popular among online horse bettors. The betting action starts early in the year, with promising three-year-olds prepping in major stakes around the country trying to earn enough graded earnings to get to the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May.

The Run for the Roses is the first jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, which also includes the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. No horse has swept the three races since Affirmed became the last Triple Crown winner in 1978. The year-end championship in thoroughbred racing is the Breeders’ Cup, which is held in the fall at a different venue each year.

Harness – Harness horse bets are popular among horseplayers as most harness tracks race at night, giving punters that have a day job plenty of action in the evenings. The Meadowlands is one of the most popular harness tracks among online horse bettors, and the Hambletonian at The Big M is one of the three jewels of the Trotting Triple Crown, which also includes the Yonkers Trot at Yonkers Raceway, and the Kentucky Futurity, held at The Red Mile.

Quarter – There is no quicker action than quarter horse wagering, with most races a mad dash on a straightaway in races that are usually 300 or 350 yards and start to finish are less than 18 seconds. Los Alamitos is one of the most popular venues for quarter horse race betting. The California track is home to the richest race in California, the $2 Million Futurity, which is held each December.

The quarter horse Triple Crown is restricted to two-year-olds and consists of the Ruidoso Futurity in June, the Rainbow Futurity in July, and the All American Futurity on Labor Day.