How to Place (or “Call”) Your Bets:

  1. State the name of the racetrack.
  2. State what number race you are betting.
  3. State the dollar amount of your bet.
  4. State the type of wager. (see below for types of wagers)
  5. State the number or numbers of the horse(s) you are using.
  6. CHECK YOUR TICKET BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE WINDOW.
Horse racing

Wagers types and explanations

Type of Wager

Chances of Winning

Explanation/Description

Show

Very Good

Your horse must finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. Modest payoffs.

Place

Good

Your horse must finish 1st or 2nd. Payoffs are better than to show.

Win

Average

Your horse must finish 1st. The payoff is determined by win odds.

Quinella

Average

Your horses must finish 1st and 2nd in either order.

Exacta

Hard

Your horses must finish 1st and 2nd in exact order. A riskier bet and the payout depends on the horses’ odds.

Trifecta

Very Hard

Your horses must finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in exact order. This wager can be expensive if you play a lot of horses in the bet.

Superfecta

Extremely Hard

Your horses must finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. A big bet with a big risk but a big payout.

Daily Double

Hard

Your horses must win the two consecutive races. A chance for a decent payout with mid-priced horses.

Pick 3

Very Hard

Your horses must win three consecutive races. Keep it affordable by keeping your bets reasonable.

Pick 4

Extremely Hard

Your horses must win four consecutive race. Chance to win big with modest bets.

Pick 6

Genious Level!

Your horses must win six consecutive races. Expensive, but HUGE payoffs are possible.

Boxes

A wager can be “boxed” to create more opportunities for winning. Boxing a bet covers all the possible combinations in the bet, so the cost is more expensive than a straight wager.

This type of wager can be used with quinella, exacta, trifecta, or superfecta bets. You can purchase most boxes for $1 per combination, which cuts the box cost in half from a $2 wager. Be aware though, this also reduces the payoff to half of the posted payoff.

Wheels

If you have a selection that you think will win the race, you can wheel this selection with other combinations. Your selection must finish in the position that you’ve designated in order to win. The advantage of wheeling, or “keying” as it is also known, is that you get multiple combinations at a lower cost than boxing.

EXAMPLE
To wheel in trifecta, select a horse/dog to win and two more others. You win if your “key” selection finishes first, and two of the other choices finish second and third in either order. You can also key your selection to finish second or third.

If you Keyed horse #3 and wheeled it with #4, #5, & #6, you are a winner if the race finishes 3-4-5, 3-4-6, 3-5-4, 3-5-6, 3-6-4, or 3-6-5.