Anyone who follows horseracing has at least considered making bets on their favorites. Betting on horses has a long history and is now something which anyone can do, not just those who own horses themselves. Before you make any horseracing bets though, it’s a good idea to get better informed about how betting on horses works. The idea of betting on horses is something which is simultaneously simple and complicated, so knowing the facts about horserace betting will let you make bets which have a better chance of paying off.
The idea behind betting on horses is simple enough – the winner takes it all. However, there are different types of horseracing bets, which fall into two broad categories: straight and exotic bets. To learn more about how these bets work and placing well considered wagers, read on!
WIN BETTING – You bet on a single horse and if this horse comes in first, your bet will pay off.
PLACE BETTING – With place betting, you place a wager on a horse coming in place position (this is second place). If your horse comes in as the first or second horse, then you will get a payoff; it’s a smaller payoff than if you had placed a win bet, but your odds of winning will be improved.
SHOW BETTING – Your bet is placed in a horse placing third (also called show). If the horse you have placed a bet on finishes in any of the top three positions, then you will make some money. The winnings won’t be as high as those in win or place betting, but you have yet better odds of placing a winning bet this way.
WIN PLACE BETTING – In a win place bet, you bet on a horse taking the first or second position. If the horse you have bet on comes in at first place, you will get the win payoff as well as the place payoff. If your horse is in place position, then you get the payoffs for place and show. While you’ll of course want to see your horse come in as a winner, you will make some money whether they place first or second.
ACROSS THE BOARD BETTING – With an across the board bet, you’ll win if your horse comes in first, second or third place. If the horse you have wagered on is the winner, then you will receive the payoffs for all three top positions. If they come in second, then you win the place and the show payoff. If your horse should come in third, you will just receive the show payoff. Across the board betting lets you at the very least recoup some of your original bet if your horse comes in third and can mean big winnings if they take first place.
Exotic bets come in two varieties: intra-race bets and multi-race bets. In an intra-race bet, you wager on multiple horses in one race. With a multi-race bet, you bet on horses which are competing in consecutive races that are on the same ticket.
Understanding how horseracing bets work helps you make winning bets more consistently. You can of course lose as well as win, so you should be careful with your wagers and never risk more than you are comfortable with losing. Now that you’re ready to start betting, you just need to get to the track and enjoy a day at the races!
