Find Out How Horse Racing Works:

The following types of horse racing bets are accepted in Canada and the United States:

• Win: picking one horse to win the race.
• Place: picking one horse to finish first or second.
• Show: picking one horse to finish first, second or third.
• Exacta, Perfecta, or Exactor: picking the first and the second horse.
• Quinella or Quiniela: picking two horses that will finish first and second in any sequence.
• Trifecta or Triactor: picking three horses that will finish first, second and third, specifying the sequence.
• Superfecta: picking the first, the second, the third and the fourth horses.
• Double: picking the winners of two successive races. (Double wagers are normally taken for the first two races on the program (the daily double) and on the last two (the late double))
• Triple: picking the winners of three successive races. (Triple wagers can be taken as rolling triples or triples on any three successive races on the program, which is then called the Pick Three option.)
• Sweep: picking the winners of four or more successive races. (Sweeps can be of two types: Pick Four and Pick Six. Pick Six wagers normally pay consolation prizes to the winners who correctly guess five out of six winners and have rollover jackpots that accumulate bets until someone picks all six winners correctly.)

Win, place and show wagers are called straight bets, and other wagers are called exotic bets. Most bettors make multiple wagers on exotic bets, because of low odds of each wager.

Straight bets gamblers may use various strategies, like betting both win and show bets on the same horse, so if the horse comes at least third, the bettor gets his money back. Betting equal sums on win, place and show makes player lose a bit if the horse comes third, but win more if the horse comes second or first.