Betting on Horse Racing
One of the favorite pastimes of sports fans is horse racing. Betting on horse racing can add excitement to the experience of watching the race. Lady Luck Deals endeavors to bring you some of the best options for betting on horse racing. Whether in person, on TV, or following reports online, cheering on the horse you picked can be a lot of fun, especially in the home stretch. Fans bet billions of dollars a year on horse racing. If you are new to it, follow below for brief explanation of the types of bets placed on horse racing.
Before we get into the types of betting, a key component is the odds. Let’s look at the form below.
The colored numbers on the left are the saddlecloth the horses wear. They line up with the post position in the starting gate. Next is the odds to win, follow by information about the horse and jockey. The bottom horse, American Saint, is the favorite with 5-2 odds. This means for every $2 you bet, you win $5 plus your $2 back for a total of $7. Tumbles, the number 6 horse is the longshot paying 20-1, so bet $1 and win $20 plus your $1 bet back. It is important to note, the odds change right up until post time.
Several Types of Bets:
We will discuss the kinds of bets you can place. The types of bets placed are straight, exotics, (horizontal and vertical), and boxed.
A straight bet is picking a specific horse and where it finishes, first/win, second/place, or third/show (W/P/S). In the above race, betting American Saint to win is an example of a straight bet. Another example, My Royal Vow to come in second/place.
Exotic bets tend to be horizontal or vertical. Horizontal bets require you picking the winner in several races in a row. Vertical bets are selecting the horses in one race.
A horizontal bet would be to pick the winner of a specific number of races in a row. They are often referred to as the Daily Double, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Pick 6. These are considered parlays. A parlay bet is just picking specific winners for a series of races or games.
The vertical bet is picking the finish in one race. An exacta is W/P, trifecta is W/P/S, and the superfecta is top 4 finishers. To win, you must pick the order in which they finish.
A way to increase your chances of winning a vertical exotic bet is to “box” the horses. In the race above, let’s take American Saint, Tumbles, and American Vow to finish in the top three places. We are not sure of what the order is they will finish. One way to increase our chances of winning is to box them. When we box our exotic vertical, we do not care what place they finish, as long as the specific horses chosen are the top three. It costs more to place this bet.
Cost to box the trifecta with three horses for a $2 bet is $12. This covers $2 for every possible combination of finishing. The example we used has the number 4, 6, and 8 horses. They can finish in these possible positions:
- 468
- 486
- 648
- 684
- 846
- 864
There are a total of six possible combinations and each one is $2. There are many more possible combinations to box a race. This is just a clear and simple scenario to explain how the math works in determining the cost. A superfecta adds a fourth horse and to box it would cost $48.
Betting on horse races can be a lot of fun. It adds excitement down to the wire cheering on your favorite horse. It is important to remember to only bet the amount you are comfortable with losing. Gambling can be exciting and fun, but also be an addiction. Bet with your head, not over it.
