The types of Horse Racing bets in Horse betting have remained as prevalent as ever in spite of the increase in other types of sports betting. There are now more horse racing betting options than ever before.
On this page, you can gain knowledge on 30 of the most common types of horse racing bets used today.
30 Unique Horse Racing Bet Types Explained
| Bet Type | Short Description | Key Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Win | Single bet on a horse to finish 1st | Returns only if your horse wins; dead-heat rules may reduce payout; stake is lost if horse does not win. |
| Place | Bet on a horse to finish in the places (e.g. top 2/3/4) | Place terms depend on field size and race type; reduced odds compared to win; dead-heat rules can apply. |
| Show | Bet on a horse to finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd (mainly US) | Pays if horse finishes in top 3 (sometimes top 2 in small fields); odds are lower than place bets. |
| Each-Way | Two-part bet: win and place on the same horse | Stake is split equally between win and place; place part settled at fraction of win odds; either or both parts can return. |
| Across the Board | US-style each-way: win, place, and show on one horse | Stake is split into 3 equal parts; you can collect on any or all of win/place/show portions depending on finishing position. |
| Exacta | Pick the 1st and 2nd in exact order | Both horses must finish exactly 1st and 2nd; any other order loses; usually pool-based with variable dividends. |
| Quinella | Pick the 1st and 2nd in any order | Both selections must finish 1st and 2nd in either order; generally lower payout than an exacta. |
| Trifecta | Pick the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in exact order | All three horses must finish in the precise order; very hard to hit but high potential returns. |
| Superfecta | Pick the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in exact order | All four positions must be correct; any mistake loses; often allows very small unit stakes. |
| Straight Forecast | Bookmaker-style exacta on 1st and 2nd in order | You nominate 1st and 2nd in correct order; settled using forecast odds or a computer straight forecast formula. |
| Reverse Forecast | Two bets covering both orders of 1st and 2nd | Stake is doubled (one for each order); any order of your two horses finishing 1st and 2nd returns. |
| Tricast | Pick the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in exact order (bookmaker) | All three must finish in the nominated order; usually only available on certain race types and field sizes. |
| Combination Tricast | Covers multiple tricast orders with chosen horses | You choose 3+ horses; all possible 1-2-3 orders are backed; total stake = number of combinations × unit stake. |
| Jackpot | Select the winners of a set sequence of races (e.g. 6) | All legs must win for a full dividend; available on specified meetings; pool-based with rollovers possible. |
| Placepot | Select a horse to be placed in each of several consecutive races | At least one selection in each leg must place; number of survivors affects dividend; pool-based bet. |
| Quadpot | Select placed horses in a shorter sequence (often 4 races) | Similar to a placepot but over fewer legs; usually covers races 3–6 at a meeting; pool-based with place terms per race. |
| Daily Double | Pick the winners of two specified races | Both legs must win; can be early or late double; fixed odds or pool-based depending on operator. |
| Pick 3 | Pick the winners of three consecutive races | All three selections must win; often low minimum stakes; multiple tickets can be used to cover combinations. |
| Pick 4 | Pick the winners of four consecutive races | All four legs must win for full payout; consolation payouts may exist if offered by the operator. |
| Pick 5 | Pick the winners of five consecutive races | High difficulty and high potential return; may have carryovers and minimum guaranteed pools. |
| Pick 6 | Pick the winners of six consecutive races | Very hard to hit; often features big jackpots and rollovers; all six legs must win unless consolation rules apply. |
| Patent | Multiple bet with 3 selections, covering all singles and multiples | 7 bets in total: 3 singles, 3 doubles, 1 treble; any single winner returns something. |
| Trixie | Multiple bet with 3 selections, doubles and treble only | 4 bets: 3 doubles and 1 treble; at least 2 winners needed to get a return. |
| Yankee | Multiple bet with 4 selections, no singles | 11 bets: 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold; at least 2 winners required for a payout. |
| Canadian (Super Yankee) | Multiple bet with 5 selections | 26 bets: 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds, 1 fivefold; at least 2 winners needed for a return. |
| Heinz | Large multiple with 6 selections | 57 bets: 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds, 1 sixfold; at least 2 winners required for a payout. |
| Super Heinz | Large multiple with 7 selections | 120 bets: 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfolds, 21 fivefolds, 7 sixfolds, 1 sevenfold; at least 2 winners needed. |
| Goliath | Very large multiple with 8 selections | 247 bets: all doubles up to eightfold; extremely high stake if unit size is large; at least 2 winners to return anything. |
| Lucky 15 | Yankee plus singles on 4 selections | 15 bets: 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 fourfold; often includes bonus for one winner or all winners. |
| Lucky 31 | Canadian plus singles on 5 selections | 31 bets: 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds, 1 fivefold; bookmakers may add bonuses for few or all winners. |
The Main Types of Horse Racing Bets Explained
You have two categories of bets to choose from when you bet on horses: Straight bets and exotic bets. For a beginner, it’s advisable that you stick with straight bets. They are simple and cheap. You only pick one pony to come in first, second, or third.
Exotic bets
The Exotic bet allows you to make multiple bets on multiple ponies in a single bet. Exotic bets are usually much more difficult to win than straight bets; they require a high degree of expertise and knowledge in pony picking, and are more expensive. However, the profit on exotic bets is much more than straight ones.
Straight bets
WIN: You are betting that your pony will come in first place. If your pony finishes in first, you get to collect.
PLACE: When you bet on your pony to “place”, you are betting that your horse will come in first or second. If your pony finishes in first or second, you get to collect. Payoffs for a place gamble is less than a win bet, but you do have the advantage of being able to collect if your pony finishes in the top two positions.
SHOW: You are gambling that your pony will come in first, second, or third. Since you are hedging your wagers, you have a higher chance of winning, but the payoff for a “show” wager is considerably less than a win or place bet.
Multiple Straight Bets
Across the Board (Win/Place/Show) – This is a combination of the WIN, PLACE, and SHOW bets. If you bet on a horse “across the board,” you’re effectively wagering the horse to win, place, and show.
If the horse wins, you get paid out on all three bets.
What if the horse comes in second?
Then you get paid on the place and show bets. If the horse comes in third place, you get paid on the Show wager only.
Since this is actually three wagers combined, a two-dollar wager “across the board” will cost six dollars.
Win/Place, Place/Show– These are simply two wager combinations of Win/Place and Place/Show, respectively. For a two-dollar wager, they cost four dollars.
Exotic Wagers – Single Race
Exacta/Perfecta/Exactor – One of the simplest single types of horse racing bets is the exotic wager.
The Perfecta is the combination of predicting the winning pony and the second-place pony, in order. The proceeds are higher than wagering on either of the ponies to win or place betting options.
QUINELLA: With a Quinella wager, you are gambling on two ponies to come in first and second in any order.
As long as your ponies finish in the top two positions, you win.
So if you staked a two-dollar Quinella wager on ponies 1 and 6, you can collect if pony #1 and pony#6 come in first and second in any order.
The main difference between a quinella and a box exacta bet is cost: a two-dollar quinella wager costs two dollars, while a two-dollar box exacta wager will cost you four dollars.
The payout for a box exactor is usually more than a quinella wager.
TRIFECTA: You bet that three ponies will finish in first, second, and third place in an exact order.
If you stake a two-dollar trifecta wager on 1-5-7, you can only get paid if pony #1 comes in first, pony #2 comes in second, and pony #7 comes in third.
There is also an option of boxing your trifecta wager so you can win if your three ponies come in first, second, and third place in any order.
Boxing your trifecta will greatly increase the cost of your wager because there are several combinations.
So, a two-dollar box trifecta wager will actually cost you 12 dollars, or a one-dollar trifecta box will cost you 6 dollars.
SUPERFECTA: You gamble that four horses will finish first, second, third, and fourth, respectively.
As with trifectas and exactas, you can box a Superfecta at an additional cost.
Exotic Wagers – Multiple Races
Double – A double is one of the simplest types of horse racing bets that spans multiple races.
A double requires the punter to pick the winner in two consecutive races. If there is a double available to bet on, there will be a reminder of it on the first leg of the double bet. The two-dollar payout for a double will be displayed on the results for the second race of the wager.
Pick 3/Pick 4/Pick 6– These wagers are all similar to the double bet, only differing in the number of consecutive legs that a punter needs to foretell the winner. The greater the amount, the difficult it is to pick, as well as the greater the payout.
Place Pick All– This wager is similar to a Pick-x wager, except that you need a pony to place (come in first or second) in each leg, instead of to win.
With a Place Pick All wager, you must pick a place pony in every leg on the card (usually eight or nine races).
What is an Each Way Bet?
An Each Way bet is basically two bets, one is for the pony to win, and the other is for the pony to place.
Because it is two wagers, each way rules suggest that you double your stake. You will receive a profit on your wager if your prediction wins, but also if it places.
The place part of the wager will always be a fraction of the odds you have chosen, usually 1/4 or 1/5.
This is one of the safest types of horse racing bets and useful if you are confident in your selection but know it could place as well as win. The odds would normally have to be bigger for it to be effective.
You should hopefully have a better understanding of the different types of horse racing bets out there now.
Choose the type that is more suitable for your type of betting. Do you place larger single bets, or are you more speculative and fancy trying out the Double or Pick 3/4 horses, hoping for a bigger return?
Good luck with the types of horse racing bets that you decide on. Use publications like the Racing Post to check out the daily runners for UK/Irish and USA horse races.