Doc's Helps to Explain Horse Race Wagering
by Trevor Whenham
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Betting on horse racing is different than betting on other sports, but the differences make the sport more attractive in many ways - there are many more widely available options to bet on any race than there are for most regular sporting events. It's also pretty easy once you understand what's going on, or once you have someone explain horse race wagering to you. If you aren't familiar with betting on the ponies, here's a quick introduction to the more common bets that are available.
Win - This is the most common and most obvious bet. You are simply picking the horse that you think will win the race. There is a $2 minimum on this bet, and there is no maximum. The payouts for this bet are listed on the tote board at almost every track, so you can easily tell what the return will be on your bet. Horse racing uses a pari-mutuel system, which means that the payout on a bet is determined by the amount bet on a horse compared to the other horses. The more that is bet on a horse to win, the lower the payout will be.
Place - This is like a win bet, except it pays off if your horse finishes in first or in second. Because you have twice as many opportunities to win the payoff is obviously less than it is for a win bet.
Show - This is a bet where a horse has to finish first, second or third in order for you to get paid. This bet has the least risk available, but that means that it often doesn't pay very well. The minimum possible payout is a profit of 10 cents on a $2 bet, and it is not uncommon to see such a small payout when a horse is a heavy favorite.
Quinella - To win this bet you have to correctly select the two horses that will finish first and second in a race. In order to pay off it doesn't matter which order the horses come in as long as one is first and the other is second.
Exactor (or Exacta) - The name will vary depending upon where you are, but the bet is the same - you have to choose the top two horses in a race, but unlike the quinella you have to have the two horses in the right order. You can bet one combination, or you can bet an exactor box which can include two or more horses in combination (though you pay for each combination). As a general rule, the exactor pays about twice as much as the quinella, but that can vary dramatically. At most tracks the minimum bet for the exactor is just one dollar.
Triactor - This is like the exactor, only you have to choose the top three horses instead of just the top two. You have to select the horses in the right order as well. This is much harder than the exactor, but you are also rewarded handsomely if you get it right.
Superfecta - This is like the exactor or the triactor, but you have to pick the top four horses in the right order. This is one of the very rare circumstances where you can bet on the horse that will end up in fourth place. Though you can play this bet however you want, it is most common for a bettor to bet several different combinations in one race because of the difficulty of the bet. At some tracks you can play a superfecta that costs as little as 10 cents per combination.
Daily double - This is a bet that requires you to pick the winner in two consecutive races. It is the equivalent of a two-race parlay, though it can often pay out more than a normal parlay would. Obviously you have to pick the winners of both races before the first race starts. Most tracks will have daily doubles on every combination of two consecutive races on the card.
Pick 3 - Like the daily double only harder, this bet requires you to choose winners in three consecutive races. As with some of the previous bets, the pick 3 will most often be played by bettors with a combination of more than one horse in one or more of the races. Pick 3's are usually offered on every set of three races on a card.
Pick 4 - As you could probably guess, the Pick 4 is the same as the Pick 3, but you have to choose four consecutive winners. The payout on this race can often be quite high - 600/1 or more is not uncommon. There are usually two Pick 4s on a normal race card.
Pick 6 (or Pick 7 in some places) - This is the hardest bet to win on any track, but it is also the most lucrative. On big race days the payoff for picking this bet correctly can be several hundred thousand dollars. Because of that you will often see people bet hundreds of dollars worth of different combinations in hopes of picking a correct one. If there is no winning ticket on a day (which is very common), some of the money in the pool will be paid out to the bettors that had the most correct choices, and the rest of the pool will be carried over to the next day. The carryover can often build up to be very large. On those days the betting action is often very heavy.
Grand slam - There are several different exotic bets available in different areas. One that I particularly like is the Grand slam, which is available primarily on New York tracks. It is like the Pick 4, but with a twist. The goal is to pick one of the top three horses in the first three races, and then the winner in the fourth race. It is much easier than the Pick 4, so it pays much less. It is offered once per race card.