Types of Bets in Horse Racing Betting

Many horse racing betting beginners are instantly disheartened from betting on horses when they see all the types of bets available. This article is intended to help those that have never had the courage to get into horse racing betting.

It’s true that some of the wagers are too complicated for a beginner. But, there are some that are plain, straightforward and simple enough to start acting on those Cheltenham tips that you see around. Therefore, much of this article will be devoted to straight bets, which are simplest to understand.

Straight Bets

North American Straight Bets

There are four common straight bets. Win is probably the most straightforward of these. It’s when you bet on a horse that you think will be the winner. If the horse wins, you win the bet.

The place bet is the second most popular among beginners. It’s a much easier bet than the win bet because the horse that you picked has to finish in the top two, not necessarily win. However, the payouts are lower for this bet.

The show bet is the easiest of these three. You win if your horse finishes in the top three no matter at which spot. Again, the payouts are lower, much lower than the win and place bet, but the chances to win are significantly greater.

Across the board may be the most interesting of all straight bets. You have a chance of winning the entire bet or just parts of it depending on where your horse finishes. If your horse wins, you win your entire bet. If your horse comes second, you win only money for place and show. If it comes third, you only win the show money.

Rest of World Straight Bets

The biggest difference between the North American and Rest of the World straight bets is with place bet. When you make a place bet outside of North America, you bet that your horse will finish in the top two, three or somewhere even in the top four positions depending on the number of horses that participate.

Also, outside of North America the across the board bet is called each way bet. It’s a combination of the Rest of the World win and place bets.

Advanced Bets

If you are a beginner we advise you to stick to the straight bets until you get proficient in horse racing betting. After that you can start making more advanced bets, also called exotics. The most popular exotic bets are exacta, trifecta, reverse exacta, reverse trifecta, superfecta etc. There are also multiples like win double, win treble, pick 3, pick 4 and so on.

If you want to get into advanced betting, it’s probably best to start with accumulators first, also called parleys. It’s when you make several selections and the odds of all selections are combined into one. If any of the selections you’ve made doesn’t come up, you lose the entire accumulator. However, the payouts are much greater if you win.

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