MetroBet dives into the basics of betting on horse racing.
Betting on horse racing can be both fun and rewarding if you know what you’re doing. For the beginner, the volume of available wagers can be intimidating. MetroBet will explain how some of the most popular wagers at the track work.
Win/Place/Show
Win, Place and Show wagering is where most novice horseplayers start because these bets are very straightforward. A Win bet pays off when the horse you bet on finishes first. A Place bet covers you if your horse finishes first or second, though it will pay significantly less than a win bet. A Show wager pays off if your selection runs first, second or third, but usually yields less than a Place bet. The typical minimum on Win/Place/Show wagers is $2.
Exacta
An Exacta wager requires the bettor to pick the top two finishers of a race in exact order. It frequently pays considerably more than just betting two horses to win and/or place while involving a little more risk. Exacta wagers can be ‘boxed,’ meaning your selections can come out in any order. You can box as many horses as you wish in an exacta wager, though the cost will increase exponentially. For example:
$2 Exacta Box 1/2 = $4
$2 Exacta Box 1/2/3 = $12
$2 Exacta Box 1/2/3/4 = $24
If you like only one horse to win, you can do an Exacta part-wheel with that horse on top rather than the conventional Win bet in order to pursue a higher payoff. For example, a $2 Exacta part-wheel 1/2,3 would cost $4. The typical minimum on Exacta wagers is $1.
Trifecta
The Trifecta is like an exacta wager, only it requires the bettor to pick the top three finishers of a race in exact order. Like the exacta, a Trifecta can be boxed to increase coverage, as well as price.
$2 Trifecta Box 1/2/3 = $12
$2 Trifecta Box 1/2/3/4 = $48
$2 Trifecta Box 1/2/3/4/5 = $120
A five-horse box strategy is hardly optimal, so bettors can construct trifectas in unique ways in order to emphasize how they believe the race will play out. For example, if the bettor believes only two horses can win but that there are three other horses that can finish either second or third, a Trifecta ticket can be built this way in order to reduce cost:
$2 trifecta 1,2/1,2,3,4,5/1,2,3,4,5 = $64
The typical minimum on Trifecta wagers is $1, though several tracks have adopted 50 cent minimums in order to make the bet more affordable.
Superfecta
The Superfecta takes the Trifecta one step further, requiring bettors to pick the top four finishers in exact order. Superfectas can usually be played for as little as 10 cents, so a four-horse box could cost just $2.40. Of course, this wager is among the hardest to hit in horse racing.
Multi-race Wagers
The Daily Double is the simplest of the multi-race wagers, requiring the bettor to pick the winner of two consecutive races. The Pick Three pays off if the bettor correctly identifies the winner of three straight races. There are also Pick Fours, Pick Fives and Pick Sixes offered in select spots on the cards of most racetracks.
