Straight Wagers

In straight wager, you only bet on one horse.

You’re betting that your horse will come in first place. If your horse finishes in first, you get to collect.

When you bet on your horse to “place,” you’re betting that he will come in first OR second. If your horse finishes in first or second, you get to collect. Payout for a place bet is less than a win wager, but you do have the security of being able to cash in if your horse finishes in the top two spots.

You’re betting that your horse will come in first, second, OR third. Since you’re hedging your bets, you have a higher chance of winning, but the payout for a show bet is substantially less than a win or place wager.

When you bet across the board, you’re betting your horse to win, place, AND show. An across-the-board bet is what’s called a “combo straight wager” because it’s three different bets (win, place, AND show) in one. Because it’s three bets in one, an across-the-board bet is more expensive than a simple win/place/show wager. For example, a $2 across-the-board wager will cost you $6, because you’re making three $2 bets. If your horse comes in first, you get the win, place, and show money. If your horse finishes second, you get place and show money. If your horse comes in third, you just get the show money.

Similar to an across-the-board bet in that you’re making multiple straight wagers in a single bet. In a win/place bet, you’re betting your horse to win AND place. If he wins, you collect both the win and place money. If he finishes second, you collect just the place money. In a place/show bet, you’re betting that your horse will place and show. If your horse finishes second, you collect the place and show money; if he finishes third, you just get the show money. Because you’re placing multiple wagers on your horse in a single bet, a win/place and place/show is more expensive. A $2 win/place bet will cost you $4 because you’re betting $2 that your horse wins and $2 that your horse places.

Exotic Wagers

Exotic wagers allow you to bet on multiple horses in a single bet.

You’re betting on two horses to come in first and second in an exact order. For example, if you placed a $2 exacta on horses 3 and 5, you can only collect if horse #3 comes in first and horse #5 comes in second. Exacta bets are popular among skilled horse handicappers because the payoff can be very lucrative. You can also “box” your exacta bet which means your two horses can come in any order in the top two spots and you still win. Boxing an exacta costs twice as much as a straight exacta bet. So a $2 box exacta on horses 3 and 5 will cost you $4.

With a quinella bet, you’re betting on two horses to come in first and second in any order. As long as your two horses finish in the top two spots, you win. So if you placed a $2 quinella bet on horses 1 and 6, you can collect if horse #1 and horse #6 come in first and second in any order.

You bet that three horses will finish in first, second, and third in an exact order. If you place a $2 trifecta bet on 1-5-7, you can only collect if horse #1 comes in first, horse #5 comes in second, and horse #7 comes in third. You can also box your trifecta bet so you can win if your three horses come in first, second, and third in any order. Boxing a trifecta will significantly increase the cost of your bet because there are many combinations.

You bet that four horses will finish, first, second, third, and fourth in an exact order. As with exactas and trifectas, you can box a superfecta at an additional cost. The minimum bet is often 10-cents, which makes it more appealing to many people.

You bet that your horses will finish in first place in two consecutive races. For example, if you placed a $2 Daily Double on race #1 with horses 3 and race #2 horse #5, you can only collect if horse #3 comes in first place in race #1 and horse #5 comes in first place in race #2 and the total cost of this bet is $2.

You bet that your horses will finish in first place in three consecutive races. For example, if you placed a $2 Pick 3 on race #1 with horses #5 and race #2 horse #4 and race #3 horse #6, you can only collect if horses 5 comes in first place in race #1, horse #4 comes in first place in race #2 and horse #6 finish first in race #3, and the total cost of this bet is $2.

Same as a pick 3 but adding more races.

It is a combination of different straight bets (WIN, PLACE, SHOW, OR ACROSS THE BOARD) where you’re betting horses from different races and/or different tracks. For example, $2 WIN PARLAY Gulfstream Park Race #1 horse 2, Race #5 horse #1, and Tampa Bay Race #1 horse #3. You can only collect if those horses finish in first place on each race, and the cost of this wager is $2.