Types of Horse Racing Bets

Horse Racing is a popular and exciting sport, but for a first time bettor the variety of wagers available can be quite bewildering.  We will outline some of the more common bets in this article.

The basic bets include:

1. The Straight / Single Bet: This is the most common form of bet, and it is, quite simply, a bet that your chosen horse will be the one that wins the race.

2. Place Bet: This bets that your chosen horse will either be first or second. You would win less if your horse came first under this kind of bet than you would if you had just  
placed a straight bet on them.

3.Show: A 'show' bet is a bet that your chose horse will come first, second or third. Again, the payout on this would be lower than on a straight bet.

You can also bet on multiple horses:

Combination Bets: A combination bet is a bet that will cover two or more (usually up to four) horses to come in in a certain order.

Pick 3 or Pick 6: These bets require that you pick the winners of 3, or 6 consecutive races.

Quiniela: A bet that two horses will finish occupying first and second place – the order they finish does not matter.

Perfecta: A perfecta is similar to a Quiniela, but you are predicting that one horse will finish first, and the other will finish second.

Trifecta: A trifecta is similar to a Perfecta, but you are betting on three horses to finish in a certain oder.

Parlay / Accumulator: This is a multiple bet where you let any winnings ride from race to race. If you lose one of your bets, the number of bets in the parlay is reduced. Parlays can be very profitable if you win all of the bets included.

Future: A future bet is a bet made on a future event. Odds are often given for events that are several weeks or months away. If you have a good knowledge of the event, horses, and jockeys, you can often get much more generous odds making a future bet than you would if you waited until closer to the time.