Horse Racing Betting In The US

Horse Racing Wager Types

In order to enjoy the full gamut of legal Triple Crown betting in the US, you need to make sure you understand the basic wager types. There are a few specific terms you’ll need to know, but for the most part, your betting options are going to be relatively straightforward. Even better, these terms are all totally institutionalized. Nearly all racetracks, OTBs, and offshore betting sites use identical terms. The only difference you’re likely to come across between various betting outlets is how they advertise their odds. Most in-person venues will use fractional odds, while most racebooks on the Internet will use moneyline odds. (A select few European outlets still use decimal odds, but you will rarely come across these as a US bettor.)

Thanks to the Interstate Horseracing Act, the market for betting on horses legally has been expanding. There are two main types of horse racing wagers: straight bets and exotic bets. These cover everything but futures bets and specials. Overseas books are the only sites to offer futures and specials and only do so for the biggest races on the calendar.

Horse Betting Straight Wagers

You will find four kinds of straight wagers when researching how to bet on horses. You can place Win, Place, Show (aka W/P/S or WPS) and “across the board” (ATB) bets.

1. Win – A “Win” bet means that you simply pick a horse to win the race. If the horse wins, you win, and if the horse loses, you lose. Simple.
2. Place – “Place” bets require you to pick a horse, and if that horse finishes in 1st or 2nd, you win.
3. Show – A “Show” bet means that you pick a horse, and if that horse finishes in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, you win.
4. Across the board – ATB bets are similar to the above, but you’re betting on all three WPS results for a specific horse. For example, let’s say you pick a horse “across the board”. If that pony wins outright, you receive all of the Win, Place, and Show amounts. If the horse finishes in 2nd, you get the Place and Show amounts. If the horse finishes in third, you get the Show amount. The more chances a given wager gives you to win, the more expensive that ticket is. Where this really comes into play is with exotic bets.

Horse Racing Exotic Wagers

Exotics are akin to parlay bets in sports wagering. Essentially, you are wagering on multiple horses and multiple outcomes, all on the same ticket. If you want to make big money with your horse racing bets, exotic wagers are what you need to stick to. There are two main categories of exotics, commonly called “horizontal” and “vertical.” Horizontal exotics are wagers that pertain to one single race. Vertical exotics refer to wagers that cover multiple races on any single day at a given track.

Horizontal Exotics

The main horizontal exotics are the exacta (aka perfecta, in some markets), trifecta, and superfecta. These types of exotic bets can also be “boxed,” which is a strategy many horseplayers use.

1. Exacta/Perfecta – If you place an exacta bet, you are picking two specific horses to finish in 1st and 2nd place, in that exact order. You can “box” an exacta, allowing the horses you choose to finish in either order, but you will be wagering a set amount for each possible winning outcome. You can also box an exotic wager with more horses, but again, this increases your chances to win and therefore costs more to place the bet. For example, if you “box” an exacta with three horses, only two must finish in first or second, in either order. As there are six possible winning outcomes, you will pay six times what a single exacta ticket would cost. The more horses you box, the larger the price of the overall wager.
2. Trifecta – A trifecta is exactly like the exacta above, except that you are picking three horses to finish in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, in the exact winning order. You can box a trifecta bet with as many horses as you wish, but the price gets steep in a hurry. For example, in the Kentucky Derby, a $1 trifecta win might earn you $100. That’s a nice payout. But if you box your trifecta with six horses, at $1 per possible winning combination, you’d spend $120 on the ticket. Even if your six-horse box trifecta hits, you’re still out $20!
3. Superfecta – A superfecta is the same as an exacta or a trifecta, but here, you’re picking the four horses to finish in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, in order. A $1 superfecta bet can be boxed, and a winning ticket can pay upwards of $20,000 or more. Again, however, boxing these can get pricey in an instant. A 13-horse boxed $1 superfecta has 17,160 different winning combinations, so it will cost you $17,160. Even if the payout is $20,000, that’s a pretty outsize risk for most gamblers.

Vertical Exotics

Vertical exotic wagers are commonplace. They allow bettors to place a single wager covering several different races’ results. The most common vertical exotics that you’ll find are Pick 3, Pick 5, or Pick 6 wagers. Pick 3 bets require you to choose three of the day’s races at a particular track and correctly pick each of those races’ winning horses. Pick 5s work the same way, except you’re picking 5 different race winners. Pick 6s are again the same, only you’re selecting 6 different races’ winners.

Not all tracks have Pick 5s and Pick 6s, but just about every single horse racing bookmaker will have Pick 3s. Pick 2s are even more common, although they are usually referred to as Daily Doubles. Some tracks will let you pick the races you’re betting on, while others will mandate specific races that such vertical exotics apply to. Daily Doubles almost always require you to wager on two consecutive races, making them quite a lot tougher than they might otherwise be. Vertical exotics have huge moneymaking potential. Many lucky bettors have won hundreds of thousands of dollars hitting on comparatively inexpensive Pick 5 or Pick 6 bets.

Horse Racing: What Are Wheeled Bets?

A wheeled bet means that you place a wager on a specific outcome, and then a range of further outcomes in addition to it. Here’s how Bovada explains it:
Example: If you wheel the #2 horse with the #4, #5 and #7 horses (2 / 4,5,7), your bet is a success if the first two finishers are 2-4, 2-5, or 2-7. Conversely, if you wheel the #4, #5 and #7 horses with the #2 horse (4,5,7 / 2), the grade for your bet will be a win if the first two finishers are 4-2, 5-2, or 7-2.
Effectively, this allows you to hedge. You can make one strong prediction, and then several weaker predictions. Therefore, you receive a payout if the strong prediction and one of your weak predictions pan out.

Horse Racing: What Are Boxed Wagers?

Boxed bets allow you to hedge a little bit by giving you wiggle room on an Exacta. For example, you can wager on the first and second horses in a race to finish first and second. But, if you aren’t sure of the order, you can box the wager so it doesn’t matter what order they finish in, as long as they both finish first and second.

Horse Racing: What Is A Coupled Entry?

Sometimes, horses trained by the same trainer, or from the same stable, can be bet on as a unit. Handicapped a bit, these odds are a nice way to wager on a stable of top-tier horses for a profit.

Horse Racing: What Happens When A Horse Is Scratched?

When a horse is scratched from the running, racebooks remove them from the board. They are still visible as a participant, but the horse racing site will not accept wagers on the horse. Most sportsbooks gray them out.

Other Ways To Legally Bet On Horse Races

Outside of the betting types mentioned earlier, there are even more options like futures, prop bets and two-way betting. Online racebooks, both regulated and international, and physical racetracks all offer betting lines such as these and more. You will find there is no shortage of ways to wager on horse races. Particularly during the Triple Crown, events you will find a slew of odds and betting lines available.

Where To Bet On Horses From A Mobile Device

Mobile betting on horse races is easier than ever in 2024. The best horse racebooks are going to be the ones that operate internationally, so they offer the most odds at the best prices. This means that you’ll want to use mobile betting sites that take US players instead of apps. They are more widely available than the app-based websites. All you have to do is visit a book like Bovada on your mobile device to get started with horse betting.

Devices That Can Bet On Horse Races

• iPhone
• Samsung Galaxy
• Google Pixel
• Android
• LG Wing
• Microsoft Surface

IPhone Horse Race Betting

You can easily bet on horse races with iPhones when you use mobile websites for horse race betting. To get started, use Safari to visit a website like Bovada or BetOnline. Then, select the Horse Racing option that is clickable on the top bar at most iPhone betting sites.

Android Horse Race Betting

Betting on horse races with Android devices is easy as long as you know how to do it. The first step is to use your browser to visit the website of a trustworthy Android sportsbook like Bovada. Once you’ve done that, you can start betting on horse races by using the horse race section at that sportsbook. Note that Bovada does NOT have an app!

Horse Racing Props

Horse racing prop bets are akin to proposition wagers in other sports. The book provides you with any number of scenarios, and you choose whether or not that scenario will happen. Horse racing props typically come in the form of a yes/no or over/under wager. Like futures, these are almost always exclusively house-banked rather than pari-mutuel. As such, you can only really find a comprehensive slate of horse racing props at offshore racebooks.

Some examples of horse racing props you might come across include if a given pony will beat the course record, how many lengths the winning horse will win by, or if a given trainer’s horse(s) will podium. Prop wagers are always a ton of fun, and in some ways, it’s a shame that they’re only really available online. However, they’re a great reason to join an offshore racebook, even if you have easy access to a local track or OTB.

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Common Terms Used During Horse Races That All Bettors Should Know

Often when listening to commentators as you’re watching a race, they will use terms that only seasoned horse racing goers would understand. It’s important to know what these terms mean when it comes to betting on a horse. If you’d rather pick a horse based on what you’re seeing rather than it’s listed odds, these words will help you all the more.

Made All – When they say that a horse “made all” it means that they got themselves into first place during a race and remained there till the end.

Dwelt – Basically meaning when a horse trots at their own speed and does not try to get ahead in the race by galloping at a faster rate.

Supplement – To supplement a horse means that the horse has entered the competition during its final rounds. To supplement a horse means the owner will typically have to pay in order to get the horse a spot.

EW – When EW is referenced in horse betting it stands for Each Way bet. This bet has two sections; for the horse to win and then for the horse to place.

Quinella – Two horses are chosen and if those horses finish first and second is either order, you win. Secondary term for an exacta box.