Betting 101
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/20826431/160855386.0.jpg "Baseball betting 101")
How Do Odds Work in Horse Racing?
The Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide to Sports Betting. Anyone has the potential to be a sharp sports bettor with the right info. That’s why SBD put all the fundamentals into our introductory series for new bettors: Sports Betting 101. Learn about the types of sports bets.
Wagering on horse racing is done through parimutuel betting. Whereas sports betting is essentially the sports book vs. The bettor, parimutuel wagering pits bettors against one another. Money for each wagering type (i.e. Win bets, exacta bets, etc.) get placed into individual pools. The track takes. Simply put, covering the spread is the goal of every bettor who has placed a point spread bet. This SI Gambling 101 feature explains what it takes to cover the spread. What is a Point Spread? Whereas sports betting is essentially the sports book vs. The bettor, parimutuel wagering pits bettors against one another. Money for each wagering type (i.e. Win bets, exacta bets, etc.) get placed into individual pools. The track takes out their administrative fees, and the remaining pool gets returned to winning bettors.
Horse racing odds are fluid leading up to the race because they are dictated by the amount of money in the pools. Prior to every race day, a track official will release the morning lines. Those morning lines are a projection of where the odds for each horse will finish when the race goes off, and do not have any direct impact on potential payouts. Using those morning lines as a starting point, as more money comes in on certain horses, their odds will go down. Horses that aren't attracting a lot of money in the win pool will have their odds go up. Those odds will remain fluid all the way up until the moment the gates open and the race begins.
The most important thing to note is that the odds/payout you will receive are based on when the race starts, not when you place the bet. If you bet on a horse at 5-to-1 three minutes before the race and he goes off at 3-to-1, you're going to get paid based on those 3-to-1 odds. Conversely, if you bet on a horse at 5-to-1 and he goes off at 8-to-1, you're looking at a nice increased payout.
BETTING BASICS
A Beginners Guide to Betting on Horse Racing
+ BETTING 101
- Decide how much you want to betThe minimum “basic” bet is $2 but you can bet more.
- Pick your horseHave some fun with it, pick your horse based on name, number or colour. If you’re a little more serious about your pick, a race program is available to give you information on every horse and for every race being held. From this you can base your pick on a jockey or driver’s record or the horse’s past performance.
- Pick your basic betWIN: Your horse must finish firstPLACE: Your horse must finish first or secondSHOW: Your horse must finish first, second or third
- Placing your betOnce you’ve decided on the dollar amount, horse and bet type, you’re ready to place your bet. You can bet at the betting window or at a self-serve terminal.
At the Betting Window:
Racetrack Name: Hastings RacecourseRace Number: Race #1Bet Amount: $2Horse Number: #7Bet Type: Win
Put it all together and say:“Hastings, race 1, two dollars on number 7 to win.”
At a Self-Serve Terminal:
Follow the step-by-step directions at the terminal. Be sure to check your ticket to confirm it’s the bet you want!
AFTER THE RACE
When the race is “official” take your ticket and check it against the official results to see if your ticket is a winner.
PLAYING THE ODDS
The Favorite: The more favored a horse is by bettors, the lower the odds and the lower the payout.The Longshot: Less popular horses have higher odds and a higher payout.
Odds are the numbers appearing beside the horse’s number, they are displayed on the TV monitors around the track, on the in-field board or within the racing browser on the website.
An example of how a $2 bet pays out at various odds:
| ODDS | 1/2 | 8/5 | 2/1 | 7/2 | 5/1 | 10/1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAYS | $3 | $5.20 | $6 | $9 | $12 | $22 |
Once you’ve mastered the basic bet you’re ready to try exotic bets and boxed exotic bets for the chance to win more money
+ EXOTIC BETS
Exotic bets are similar to making a basic bet, but a lot more fun with the chance for bigger payouts!
Payouts are determined by how much money is bet into each of the pools, so watch for payouts of these exciting bets on the TV screens as soon as the race is declared “official.”
Exacta
Pick the top 2 finishers in a race in the exact finish order.
$2 Exacta – horse numbers 1,2 = Cost $2
Trifecta
Pick the top 3 finishers in a race in the exact finish order.
$2 Trifecta – horse numbers 1, 2, 3 = Cost $2
Superfecta
Pick the top 4 finishers in a race in the exact finish order.
$1 Superfecta – horse numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 = Cost $1
Daily Double
Pick the winners of two consecutive races.
$2 Daily Double – horse numbers 1, 1 = Cost $2
Pick 3
Pick the winners of 3 consecutive races.
$1 Pick 3 – horse numbers 1, 1, 1 = Cost $1
Pick 4
Pick the winners of 4 consecutive races
$1 Pick 4 – horse numbers 1, 1, 1, 1 = Cost $1
+ BOXED EXOTIC BETS
Betting 101 Odds
When you “box” an exotic bet your scheduled finishers can finish in any order. With a typical exotic bet you must identify the exact order the horses will finish in order to win.
Sportsbook Betting 101
Exacta Box
Pick the top 2 finishers in a race.They can finish in any order within the top two positions$1 Exacta Box – horse numbers 1, 2 = Cost $2
Trifecta Box
Pick the top 3 finishers in a race.They can finish in any order within the top three positions.$1 Trifecta Box – horse numbers 1, 2, 3 = Cost $6
Superfecta Box
Pick the top 4 finishers in a race.
They can finish in any order with the top four positions.$1 Superfecta Box – horse numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 = Cost $24
+ TIPS
When you bet on horse racing, you should always keep the following statistics in mind:
Favorites WIN only 32% of the time.
Favorites PLACE (come in first or second) only 53% of the time.
Favorites SHOW (come in first, second or third) only 67% of the time.
101 Betting Tips
These tips are intended as a guide only. These tips are based on historical results and do not represent actual or implied future performance.
Online Sports Betting 101
You must be at least 18 years of age to bet.