How To Play Exacta In Horse Racing

What if the statistical data is telling me the #1 horse is a strong play to finish first? To maximize the ROI and still keep the same bet cost of $10, I change the $5 Exacta Box bet to a Weighted Exacta bet like the following. Ticket #1: $7 Exacta, #1 over #2 which costs $7. Ticket # 2: $3 Exacta, #2 over #1 which costs $3. You play four horses. You chose one horse to win, called the key horse, who must come in first followed by the other three horses second, third, and fourth in any order to collect. You may play more than three horses in second, third, and fourth, which means any three of those horses can finish in. If you play a 3-5 Exacta, the #3 horse must finish first and the #5 horse must finish second. There is a $2 minimum for a straight Exacta. Exacta Box: When you ‘box’ your horses in an Exacta wager,they can finish in any order. If you play a 3-5 Exacta Box, you collect if the finish is 3-5 or 5-3. There is a $1 minimum when using an Exacta Box.

Betting on a horse race for the first time — even the first few times — can be an intimidating endeavor. What are all of these options? Here’s all the lingo you need to know before you place your first bet:

The Basics

Winbet – A bet on a horse to finish first.

Place bet – A bet on a horse to finish first or second.

Show bet – A bet on a horse to finish in the money; third or better.

In the money – A horse that finishes first, second, or third.

Horse

Across the board – A bet on a horse to win, place, and show. If the horse wins, the bettor collects three ways; if second, two ways (place, show); and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets. It’s actually three bets.

Morning line – The odds that the track handicapper predicts a horse will go off at.

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Exotic (bet) – Any bet other than win, place, or show that requires multiple combinations. Examples of exotic wagers are exacta, trifecta, Pick 6, Pick 4.

Daily Double (or Double) – Type of bet calling for the selection of winners of two consecutive races.

Exacta – A wager in which the first two finishers in a race, in exact order of finish, must be picked.

Box – A betting term denoting a combination bet whereby all possible numeric combinations are covered for certain horses.

Exacta box – A wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are selected. For example, an exacta box using horses 2,4,6 would produce a winning ticket if any two of those three horses finished first and second, regardless of the order (2-6, 4-2, 6-4, etc.).

Quinella – Bet in which the first two finishers must be picked in either order.

Trifecta – A bet in which the first three finishers must be selected in exact order.

Trifecta box – A trifecta wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are bet upon.

Pick (6 or other number) – A type of multi-race bet in which the winners of all the included races must be selected. Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Pick 6 are commonly used by tracks in the United States.

Brush Up on Gambling Lingo

Bounce – A racehorse’s especially poor performance on the heels of an especially good one.

Chalk – Betting favorite in a race.

Chalk player – Gambler who wagers on favorites.

Key horse – A single horse used in multiple combinations in an exotic bet.

On the board – Finishing among the first three.

How To Play Exacta In Horse Racing

On the nose – Betting a horse to win only.

Exacta Box 3 Horses Cost

Overlay – A horse whose odds are greater than its potential to win. Professional bettors target overlays, meaning they target bets that offer better than fair value odds.

Underlay – A horse whose odds are less than than his potential to win. Betting horses whose odds are worse than fair value is a poor strategy.

Parlay – A multi-race bet in which all winnings are subsequently wagered on a succeeding race.

Exacta Bet In Horse Racing

Speed Figure – A metric that rates a horse’s performance in a race, which is determined by a combination of the horse’s performance and the level of competition he/she competed against.

Horse Racing Exacta Systems

Wheel – Betting all possible combinations in an exotic wager using at least one horse as the key.