Accelerate Your Betting Know‐How with These Betting Basics
What Are Odds in Horse Racing?
Odds tell you how much money is being bet on each horse to win. The more money bet on a horse, the shorter the odds. Dark Horse™ shows both the odds and the bet amount for each horse in the race ‐ so you can use which makes the most sense to you!
The horse that has the highest bet amount and shortest odds is called a Favourite. There is always one Favourite in every race. Sometimes you will hear a horse being called Long Shot. This is a horse that is expected to have a really low chance of winning the race – and therefore has very high odds. If you win a bet on a long shot – expect your payout to be a good one!
Bet Types Explained
There are many different bets that can be made on horse races. Below are a few of the most popular bet types and the ones you’ll see in your Dark Horse™ strategies.
Basic Bets
Win
This is the easiest and most popular bet. You collect money if your horse is the winner of the race.
Place
A place wager collects money if your horse finishes in either first or second position.
Show
A show wager collects money if your horse finishes in either first, second or third position.
Exotic Bets
There are also several types of bets that can be made involving the selection of multiple horses within a race. These bets require you to pick more than one horse in the correct order. The odds of winning these bets are more difficult, but the potential for reward is much greater.
Exacta
A wager in which you select two horses that must finish first and second in that exact order in a race.
Trifecta
A wager in which you select three horses that must finish first, second and third in that exact order in a race.
Superfecta
A wager in which you select four horses that must finish first, second, third and fourth in that exact order in a race.
*Additional Exotic Bets can include Boxes:
Box
A wagering term denoting a combination bet whereby all possible numeric combinations are covered.