How to place a bet on horse racing

The three most common horse racing wagers are Win, Place and Show bets.

Win
A Win bet is just as it sounds—you're selecting the horse that you think will finish the race in first position. You'll win if the horse wins.

Place
Not feeling quite so confident? With a Place bet, you'll win if the horse you select finishes the race in either first or second position. A Place bet normally pays less than a Win bet on the same horse because the entire pool is split between two groups of people—those whose horse finished first and those whose horse finished second.

Show
A more conservative option is a Show bet, where you'll win if the horse you select finishes the race in first, second or third position. The Show bet pool is split between three groups of people and normally pays less than a Win or Place bet on the same horse.

Quinella Wagers
A Quinella wager, where you select the first two finishers in a race, is essentially a box or combination bet. Because the order of finish doesn't matter, selecting two horses gives you two chances of winning. For example, if you place a Quinella wager on the #3 and #8 horses, you'll win if the first two finishers are 3-8 or 8-3.

Exacta Wagers
An Exacta wager requires that you select the first two finishers of a race in the exact order of their finish. For example, if you select the #3 horse to finish first and the #5 horse to finish second, they must finish in that order.

Trifecta Wagers
A Trifecta wager requires that you select the first three finishers of a race in the exact order of their finish. For example, if you select the #3 horse to finish first, the #5 horse to finish second and the #2 horse to finish third, they must finish in that order.

Superfecta Wagers
A Superfecta wager requires that you select the first four finishers of a race in the exact order of their finish. For example, if you select the #3 horse to finish first, the #5 horse to finish second, the #2 horse to finish third and the #1 horse to finish fourth, they must finish in that order.

Daily Double Wagers
A Daily Double wager requires that you select the first place finishers of two consecutive races, which are usually the first two or the last two races of the day. If one leg of the wager is a loss, the entire wager will be deemed a loss.

Technorati tag(s): Horse Racing Wagers