You are at the racetrack, the sun is shining, and the people about you are buzzing. Gorgeous, strong horses are racing on the ring, and you want to become a part of the fun and bet on something… Yet, when you flip up the betting board or the program you are carrying in your hand, it might as well be written in a different language.
You haven’t stumbled into a secret society of geniuses; you’ve just found that horse racing has its own unique and wonderfully complex world of wagering. This guide is here to translate the baffling into the basic, as we’ll walk through the most common bets, from the simple to the seriously challenging, so you can place your next wager at National Casino with confidence.
The Simple Stuff
These are the bets that are easy to understand and a perfect place to dip your toes into the betting pool.
Win, Place, Show
This is the classic trio. It’s the bread and butter of horse racing.
- Win: This is as simple as it gets, as you are betting that your chosen horse will finish first. If it does, you collect. If it finishes second or third, you lose. It’s a straightforward bet on a winner.
- Place: In this one, you are wagering that your horse will either win or be second. The chances of winning are greater than with a Win bet, but your payout is usually less. It is a less dramatic, less dangerous play.
- Show: This is the least dangerous of the three. You are placing a stake that your horse will come first, second, or third. Once again, you have an even better chance of success, but the payout will be even less.
Stepping Up Your Game
The Exacta and Trifecta: Getting the Order Right
This is the point at which accuracy begins to be rewarded.
An Exacta bet means that you are supposed to pick the first two horses to run, in that order, and therefore you have to pick the winner and the second-place horse. It is more difficult than a Win/Place/Show wager, but a great jump-off point into multi-horse bets.
A Trifecta goes a step further, where you are required to pick the first three horses to complete, in that order. It is actually a challenge to identify the winner, the second-place, and the third-place. The payouts are enormous, though, particularly when some of the long-shot horses (long odds horses) can somehow find their way to the top three.
The Superfecta: The Ultimate Order Challenge
If the last one was a challenge, the Superfecta is the ultimate test of handicapping skill, and demands that you select the first four contenders to finish, in the exact order. Hitting a superfecta is a rare feat, and often involves a lot of luck. But when it hits, especially with longshots in the mix, the payouts can be life-changing. It’s the wager you see in headlines about someone winning tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars from a small wager.