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Wagering is what drives the sport of horse racing. The thrill you get when your horse hits the finish line in front is second to none. Let’s take a look at the most popular horse racing wagers, in very basic details, for you to begin to learn and experience that thrill firsthand.
Straight Horse Racing Bets
Win Wager
The easiest wager one can place on horse racing is the win bet and, thanks to its simplicity, it is the most popular among horse racing fans. Wager on a horse to Win. If he or she wins the race, you collect the payoff based on a $2 win mutual. When you wager on a 2-1 winner, for example, you receive the base wager ($2) times the odds (2) for $4.00 plus the original wager back for a total of $6.00. Your profit, in this case, is $4.00.
It’s that simple. The hard part, of course, is uncovering the horse that will win.
Place and Show Wagers
The place bet is wagering on a horse to finish no worse than second, and the show bet is wagering on a horse to finish no worse than third. There is often confusion among newbies, believing that a horse must finish third in order to cash on the show bet. Many a ticket has been discarded because of that mistake.
In Europe most of the ‘show’ wagering is actually referred to as ‘place’ betting.
Exotic Horse Racing Bets
Daily Double
This is the simplest type of exotic wager, and probably the oldest. The Daily Double is combining the winners of two consecutive races. If your wager includes both winners, you cash. The base wager is either $1.00 or $2.00 depending on the host track.
What are the tax rules involving horse racing wagers? Learn more about how the IRS now treats big winnings on the horse races.
Exacta / Perfecta
The exacta is picking the exact order of the top two finishers in a race. You can play the exact straight or you can box the wager, so that if the
horses finish in any order, one-two, then you cash. You can include as many horses as you wish in your exacta box, but the cost of the wager goes up exponentially and your chances of turning a profit diminish greatly. The base exacta wager is usually $1.00.
In Canada the exacta wager is referred to as the perfecta.
Trifecta
The trifecta is picking the exact order of the top three finishers in a race. You can play the trifecta straight or you can box the wager. The advantage of the ‘box’ is that if the horses finish in any order, one-two-three, then you cash. You can include as many horses as you wish in your trifecta box, but the cost of the wager goes up exponentially. The base wager is usually either $0.50 or $1.00.
Superfecta
The Superfecta is picking the exact order of the top four finishers in a race. You can play this quad bet straight or you can box the wager, so that if the horses finish in any order, one-two-three-four, then you cash. Like the exacta and trifecta, you can include as many horses as you wish in your superfecta box, but the cost of the wager goes up exponentially. At many tracks throughout the country, the base minimum wager is only $0.10 and that makes the bet affordable for the recreational horseplayer.
The industry has added a lot of new bets over the past few years, and we’ll take a look at them in an upcoming primer.
Wager on a horse to Win. If he or she wins the race, you collect the payoff based on a $2 win mutual. It’s that simple. The hard part, of course, is uncovering the horse that will win.
