Advanced wagering-Exotic bets.

The Exacta

The most common exotic bet . In order to win an exacta bet you must correctly select the first and second place finishesr in exact order. For example if you take a $2 dollar exacta 3-4 the 3 must win and the 4 must run second. That ticket will cost you $2. If the 4 wins and the 3 runs second you would lose your exacta unless you took an exacta box. The exacta box means your horses need to run first and second in any order. If you take a $2 exacta box 3-4 that will cost you $4 because it is two seperate wagers. The exacta is also called the perfecta or the exactor at different tracks but the wager is the same.

The Trifecta

As the prefix tri suggests you need to pick the top three finishers in exact order. If you like three horses in a race and think they will finish 1-2-3 you can take a $2 straight trifecta and that ticket will cost you $2. Picking the exact order of the top three horses is difficult and most players either use a trifecta box or a trifecta key. The trifecta box works just like the exacta box. As long as your selections run 1-2-3 in any order you win. If you box three horses in a $1 trifecta box it will cost you $6 because that is 6 combinations 4 horses in a tri box = $24 (24 combinations) 5 horses in a tri box =$60 (60 combinations) A trifecta key would be used if you like one horse more then the rest For example: you really like the #3 to win but think four other horses all have a chance to finish second and third. You could take a $1 trifecta key using your top horse with your four other selections. That ticket will cost you $12, your top or key horse must win and as long as two of your other four horses run second or third you win. $1 dollar trifecta key 8 with 5-7-4-2 the 8 must win and the 5-7-4 or 2 must run second and third. Trifecta key using three other horses $6. Trifecta key using four other horses $12. Trifecta key using five other horses $20.

The superfecta

You guessed it, the superfecta means you must correclty select the top four finishers in exacta order. You can also box the super or key the super. The cost for a 4 horse super box is $24 is is figures like 4x3x2 x$1 =$24 5 horse super box 5x4x3x2x$1=$120. The cost to key a horse with 3 others in a super is $6. The cost to key a horse with 4 others is $24. The cost to key a horse with 5 others is $60.

Multiple race bets: The Daily Double, Pick 3,Pick 4 and the Pick 6.

The Daily Double

The Daily Double was the first exotic wager at the track. You must select the winner of two races in a row. The Double used to be only the first two races of the day. Over time the double has grown to also include the last two races and some tracks offer a "rolling" double which means it can be any two races in a row.The double payoffs are alwasy shown on the TV screen or if you are using an online betting service like www.youbet.com or www.brisbet.com you can see the payoffs by clicking on the exotic button then double.

The Pick 3 (our bet of choice).

The pick 3 entails picking the winner of three races in a row. For example several tracks offer a rolling pick three linking races 1-3, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6,5-7 6-8 and so on to the end of the card. For our money the pick threes offer the best return on investment. We use three horses per race so our ticket cost is $27. To figure the ticket cost for a pick 3 wager you take the number of horses used in leg 1 x number used in leg two x number used in leg three times $1. Using three horses per race woud be 3 x 3 x 3 x $1=$27 Using two horses per race 2 x 2 x 2 x $1=$8 You can use a differnt amount of horses in each race and if you really like a horses to win in one of the races you can key him and cut down your ticket cost for example: 1 x 3 x 3 x $1= $9.

The Pick 4

Just take the pick 3 and add one race. The pick four is usually the first four races and the last four races. We still use 3 horses per race so our ticket cost is $81. 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x $1-$81 If you key a horses in one of the races: 3x3x1x3x$1=$27 There are many tracks that offer a guaranteed pick 4 wagering pool. Churchill Downs for example guarantees a $100k pool on the week-ends and a $50k guaranteed pick 4 pool on the week-days. Remember the more money that is in the pool the higher the payoff.

The grand daddy of them all THE PICK 6

The Pick 6 offers the biggest payouts in racing. It has paid millions of dollars and often times pays hundreds of thousands of dollars. To hit the pick 6 you must select the winner of six races in a row. The pick 6 often has a carryover, meaning if no winning tickets are sold one day the amount bet carrys over and the jackpot continues to grow until somebody hits it. It is best to wait for a big carryover before playing the pick 6 that way if you hit it you know you will make a big score. To figure your pick 6 ticket cost you take the number of horses you are using in each race, multiple them together and then multiple that my $1. Note some tracks only offer a $2 pick 6 so you would have to multiple by $2. For example if you are going to use 2 horses per race your cost would be 2 x 2 x2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x$1 =$64. There are many people that play thousand dollar tickets and groups of people that get to together and play hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to catch one of the big jackpots. My father and Pete Rose were partners and played an 8k pick 6 ticket at Churchill and hit for $300k!