Horse racing is one of the most popular sports on the various online sports betting websites today. Though it is nowhere near as popular as sports like football (both Association and American), cricket, tennis, or basketball, there is still a large community of horse racing enthusiasts that gather to watch and bet on the latest horse race.
Interestingly enough, since its oldest iteration (back in the Ancient era) horse racing’s popularity has fluctuated. The modern iteration of the sport comes to us from the Victorian era. England introduced a standardized set of rules, most of which are still in use today (though obviously some of them are updated in accordance with the times).
And though the popularity of horse racing veined in the late 20th century, it seems to be picking up steam again. Thanks to newcomers who prefer to bet online, there is a new breath of life in the sport. However, many of these newbies might not know all that there is to know about the sport. So, in this article, we would like to explain horse race betting to the newbies.
Different Bet Types
Win and Place
The first thing that you need to familiarize yourself with are all of the different types of bets you can place on horse racing. Now, the most obvious ones here are the “win” and “place” bets. The win bet is self-explanatory. Punters place a bet on a horse to win a race. If the horse wins, they get the cash. If the horse does not win, they lose the cash.
Place bets are even simpler. Rather than betting on a horse to win, a punter bets that a horse will place either 1st or 2nd. Or rather, that the horse will get a “place”. Depending on how well the horse does, the punter can win a different amount of cash. If the horse does not place at all, the bettor loses the cash they’ve invested.
Last, but certainly not least is the Show bet. Similar to a place bet, the show bet sees punters place a bet on whether a horse will come in the top 3. All it really takes is to select a horse you know is good, place a show bet, and hope for the best. If it were up to us, we would recommend that those who’ve never placed a bet before try a “show” bet before anything else, if you are at all interested in horse racing.
The Exotic Bet Types
Now, what we really want to sink our teeth into are the more exotic bet types. We are talking Exacta, Trifecta, and Quinella bets. Some of you might find these words intimidating, as it is hard to predict what they mean. So, let us explain.
An Exacta bet entails placing cash on a prediction as to which two horses will finish in 1st and 2nd place. This type of bet is difficult to win, as not only does it require you to be correct about which two horses get 1st and 2nd place, but also the order must be correct as well.
A Trifecta is even more difficult than that. A punter must predict the top 3 horses in a race, in the order in which they’ve finished. So, basically, you have to accurately place the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd horse. Needless to say, we recommend this particular bet type to experienced players who don’t mind a high-risk for a higher reward.
Finally, the Quinella horse race bet is similar to an Exacta. With the difference that you don’t have to guess the exact right order. Many punters place Quinella bets on races where the two top horses are obvious, but it isn’t obvious which one will win.
Are the Exotic Bets Worth it?
If you are an experienced punter, you might want to dip your toe into the realm of exotic bet types. The reason these bets draw a large crowd, is because they offer a bigger reward than just a standard “win” or “place” bet. However, with that high reward comes a big risk. It is incredibly difficult to predict with exact accuracy the placements of the 1st or 2nd during a horse race. For newbies, we recommend you familiarize yourself with how the standard bets work, before you delve deeper.
