The trifecta requires picking the horses that come in first, second, and third in the race in order. The first exotic horse racing bet is the trifecta. Knowing how each of these bets work is key to knowing how to bet on horse racing. There are other bet types in addition to simple win, place, and show. This corresponds to the bets being easier to land. More people win because two horses lead to payouts in a place bet and three lead to payouts in a show bet. Place bets and show bets typically have smaller payouts, though, because the pot is split more ways. A show bet is successful if the horse finishes in the top 3. Betting on a horse to place is successful if that horse finishes in the top 2. Similarly, you can also bet on a horse to place or to show. a $20 bet wins twice as much as a $10 bet. The amount you get is proportional to the size of your bet, i.e.
Taking off 10-20% for the “house fee” (kind of like a rake in poker)ĭistributing the remaining money to all those who correctly picked the winning horse. The amount you win by successfully picking the winning horse is computed by:Īdding up all money bet on all horses to win Betting on a horse to win means that you only win the bet if the horse finishes first.