How do you read horse racing form?
- I’ll explain everything you need to know about reading horse racing form in this quick easy guide. The recent form of the horse is most commonly looked at by punters. It’s listed on the race card as a sequence of numbers letters, with the most recent race represented by the rightmost character.
How do you analyze a horse racing form?
Picking a winner by reading the form
- The numbers 1-9 indicate the position the horse finished in the race.
- The number 0 indicates that the horse finished outside the first 9.
- The symbol – separates racing seasons.
- The symbol / indicates a longer gap, for example if the horse missed an entire racing season.
How big is a race track for horses?
A race may be as short as 4.5 furlongs or as long as two miles, but most Thoroughbreds run between 6 furlongs and 1 ¼ miles. Race tracks are found in all regions of the country, and each track has its own history and offers a unique experience. Visit our track pages to learn more.
What is the best horse racing form guide?
The Best Places To Find Racing Statistics
- ProForm Stats are easily the best provider of horse racing data out there.
- TimeForm has some vital tools that most horse racing punters will need to study horse racing form.
- BetWise is for the most advanced data hunters!
What is the most profitable bet in horse racing?
Accumulator. The Accumulator and other multiple horse bets (pick 6) are the most profitable horse racing bets and the riskiest. To win an Accumulator bet, you have to correctly forecast the winner of six races before the start of the first race.
How do you read a race form?
Form is arranged chronologically from left (oldest) to right (newest). So, in the example above, the horse Mill Reef gained a fourth place, followed by a third, then took some time out from racing, then gained a second followed by falling in the next race, and its latest result was a win.
How far is one lap around a horse track?
Aqueduct’s track was 1 1/2 miles. Most of the old ‘Leaky Roof Circuit’ tracks were 1/2 mile. Originally Answered: How long is a horse race track? Most thoroughbred tracks are 1 mile oval tracks.
What is average distance in horse racing?
Individual flat races are run over distances ranging from 440 yards (400 m) up to two and a half miles (4 km), with distances between five and twelve furlongs (1.0 and 2.4 km) being most common.
What does TS mean in horse racing?
Finally, we have TS which stands for ‘ Top Speed ‘ which indicates how fast a horse can run, and RPR which is the Racing Post Rating. This is different from the OR in that the RPR takes into account how well a horse will run in the specific conditions of the race.
What does a slash mean in horse racing form?
You’ll see a slash symbol (/) beside Jack Hobbs’ name, which indicates a longer gap, for example, if the horse missed an entire racing season. Other letters to look out for in the form are. P or PU – indicates the horse was pulled up by the jockey and did not complete the race. F – indicates the horse fell.
What does l mean on horse racing form?
L – left at start. O – horse ran out. P – pulled up. R – refused. S – slipped up.
Is owning race horses profitable?
Most racehorse owners intend to win money by racing their horses. From horses’ earnings, jockey and training fees are paid. After monthly expenses and fees are paid, there is usually very little profit remaining for the horse owner. As an example, in a race with a purse of $10,000, the winning horse owner gets $6000.
Are horse races rigged?
In addition to the accepted rigging, horse races are not infrequently rigged by outsiders, using bribes, drugs or other tactics to influence the outcomes. In some jurisdictions, notably Hong Kong, there is strong effort to combat rigging, and races are relatively honest. The UK is not as good, but better than the US.
How to Read a Racing Form
Documentation Download Documentation Download Documentation Typically offered at racetracks, racing forms are independent publications that contain a full history of the horses who will be competing in forthcoming races. They are available for purchase online. They are a very useful tool for “handicapping,” which is the process of calculating the likelihood that a horse will win a race. They are, on the other hand, extremely sophisticated technical texts.
- 1Check the header for errors. Each race’s general information will be provided at the top of each Racing Form, which will be labeled “General Information.” In addition, it will be placed above other information in larger fonts, and it will be separated from the body of the text by a line. 2Find the race number and write it down. Large font will be used to display this information, which will be displayed on the left-hand side of the header. Due to the fact that most tracks host many races per day, this is used to distinguish between the various events. It will almost always be a number between one and 10. Advertisement
- s3 Look up the name of the track. Except for the race number, which will be to the left of the text, this will be in especially big and bolded font above all other information in the header. 4 Find all about the race’s conditions. It is expected that the track description will be around three lines long and will appear beneath the track name. This will begin with the length of the race, the track record, and the amount of money that will be awarded to the winning horse. It will also provide a breakdown of the requirements that the horses have to meet in order to qualify for the event.
- Participants in races are frequently restricted by a need to indicate the gender, age, and record of the horses. In the race conditions, these class specifications will be listed
- Alternatively, you will see an alpha-numeric code to the right of the track name and above the race conditions, indicating the class. The majority of the information contained in the racial description is conveyed through the usage of these codes. This makes it feasible for professionals to check the header for race information in a short period of time.
- 5Review the track diagram for accuracy. One of the images from the course may be found in the header on the far right-hand side of the page. Because certain horses do better in certain sorts of races than others, this might be a useful tool to have. Advertisement
- Examine the track diagram once again if necessary. One of the course’s images may be found at the top of the page, on its far right-hand side. Because certain horses do better in certain sorts of races than others, this can be a useful tool. Advertisement
- Examine the track diagram once again. A image of the course may be found on the far right-hand side of the header. This can be a useful tool because certain horses do better in particular sorts of races than others. Advertisement
- 5Review the track diagram once more. On the far right-hand side of the header, you can see a picture of the course. This can be a useful tool because certain horses do better in certain sorts of races than others. Advertisement
- The initials B for bay, Blk for black, Ch for chestnut, Dkb for dark bay, Br for brown, Gry for gray, and RA for roan will be used to indicate color in the first line of the column
- The color initial will be followed by a second indicating the gender of the horse
- The color initial will be followed by a second indicating the gender of the horse. These are the ones to look out for: C represents a colt, F represents a filly, G represents a gelding, M represents a mare, and R represents a ridgling. It is the horse’s age that is the final factor in the first line. This is an example of how I structured it: “4 (May),” where 4 represents the age of the horse and May represents the month in which the horse was born. The age of a horse is not determined by the number of birthdays they have celebrated, but rather by the number of New Year’s Days they have witnessed. Upon the first day of January, a horse born on December 31st will be considered one year old
- 4 Career averages may be seen in the far right column. To the left of the column, in big letters, you will see a letter and a number, which indicate whether or not the horse is taking any drugs and how much weight it is likely to be carrying. The rows will be structured to represent the horse’s career statistics, which you will see at the bottom of the page. The first number is the total number of career starts, followed by the first, second, and third-place finishes in the race. There are career earnings and the horse’s best Beyer Speed displayed to the right of this information.
- In this way, the horse’s performance under various conditions is represented in a handful of rows that are organized in this way. The horse’s career record is displayed in the first row, starting in the upper left corner. The three numbers represent this horse’s performance this year, the previous year, and for the course of its career at this track. Counting down from top right to bottom left, the rows represent the horse’s record on different types of tracks: dirt fast tracks, wet tracks, synthetic tracks, turf tracks, as well as the horse’s record on surfaces and distances that are similar to those of the race under consideration. The Beyer speed is a measure of a horse’s average speed in relation to the average speed of the tracks on which it has competed. For a $25,000 race, the average Beyer numbers would be in the low 90s, for a $10,000 race, the mid 80s, and for a $2,500 race, the average Beyer numbers would be 57. Some of the best horses may have Bayer numbers in the 120s. Tomlinson Rating: The number in parenthesis next to the wet, turf, and distance symbols represents the number of times the symbol has been wet. This illustrates how well a horse competes on the many sorts of tracks that are available. Having a wet turf or distance rating of 320 or above indicates that the horse is expected to do exceptionally well on a wet track or surface. When a horse has a ranking of 280 or higher on the turf, it implies that the horse has a competitive edge.
- Observe and analyze how the horse has performed in recent races. If you look beneath the basic horse information, you will see a list of the horse’s previous race results. Detailed and exhaustive information will be provided in each of these rows, which will be preceded by a date indicating the race. 2 Find out about your race’s defining characteristics. The date of the race, an acronym denoting the track, and the race number for that day are all shown at the start of each row, starting with the first. This will be followed by an abbreviation representing the overall state of the track, as seen below. Before the fractional times the distance measured in furlongs, there is one last piece of information to consider.
- Track conditions are denoted by acronyms such as fr for frozen, fst for fast, gd for good, hy for heavy, my for muddy, sl for slow, sly for sloppy, and wf, among others. In the case of wet-fast
- 3 Go over fractional times one more time. These provide you with an idea of how the horse paces itself throughout a competition. The first number represents the horse’s time at a quarter of the course’s distance, the second represents the horse’s time at a half-mile, the third represents the horse’s time at three-fourths of a mile, and the last number is the horse’s final time
- Times are represented in the following way: “2:04 3,” where “2” represents minutes, “04” represents seconds, and “3” represents fifths of a second.
- 4 Reevaluate the horse’s position. A number following the times indicates the horse’s Beyer’s speed, which can be found after the timings. This is followed by the horse’s position at the starting line, the first call, the second call, the third call, the stretch call, and the finish
- After that, it is over.
- If the exponent for the number is more than one, it indicates that the horse was behind the race leader by a certain number of lengths (an approximate estimate of the length of a horse). On the far right-hand side of the website, you will see a figure that shows the number of people who have signed up so far. This is critical for determining how advantageous the horse’s position is. It is unlikely that a third-place finish will mean much if there are only four starters. Take a look at the comments. A remark line may be found on the far right of the page, immediately before the number of starts. Even though it is brief, this will generally provide some information about the horse’s performance that would otherwise be difficult to determine only from the figures
- 1, beat the odds. When a horse is favored to win, the odds are set up so that bets on that horse will not reward as much as they should. To put it another way, you shouldn’t think of yourself as betting on a horse, but rather as betting against the odds makers. Try to forecast when a horse is likely to do better than the oddsmakers expect by using the Racing Form. 2Consider the Beyer Speed Figure. A high Beyer Speed Figure, especially in recent races, is the conventional metric for estimating a horse’s odds in a wagering situation. However, if your goal is to outperform the odds, you should pay close attention to any indications that the Beyer Speed Figure may be inaccurate. Is it possible that the horse’s abnormally low performance in a recent race was caused by track conditions? If this is the case, it is possible that the oddsmakers are underestimating its prospects. Check out the efficiency of the horse’s trainer. A skilled trainer may be able to take a horse with a poor record and motivate it to perform better in the current situation. It is crucial to observe the trainer in order to predict when a horse is likely to surpass the odds. 4Estimate the abilities of the horse’s jockey by looking at the name of the horse, which is in bold text, underneath the horse’s name. The jockey’s statistics cover the same time period as the trainer’s data
- Thus, they are comparable. Incorporate the course into your considerations. In the past, some horses have only performed well on specific courses. Examine the horse’s performance at the track to see if it might have an advantage there.In addition, consider whether the horse has performed well on similar types of courses and distances in the past. Sixth, check to see whether the horse has been given additional medicine. Horses treated with Lasix for the first time typically do better than predicted. This will be indicated by a large “L” next to the horse’s average Beyer Speed Numbers. A white “L” in a black circle will be used to identify a horse who has just taken it for the first time (as opposed to a horse that has previously taken it). 7Experiment with position handicapping. Determining how a horse interacts with other horses is one of the most difficult aspects of horse betting. Does it want to attempt to stay in front or does it want to make a break for it towards the end? Examine the horse’s position on the track in relation to other horses to determine its type, and then evaluate how it could interact with the other sorts of horses competing in the race on that particular day. Embrace expert opinions.”The Closer Look” portion of the Racing Form is a brief narrative about each horse written by a professional handicapper and is included in the Racing Form. It frequently provides critical pedigree information, pointers to exercise habits, and insights into prior races.Advertisement
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Create a new question
- Question What is the location of the eighth pole? When you reach the eighth pole, you are 1/8 of a mile from the finish line on a racetrack with a green pole. Question What are the symbols that represent the difference between the race distance and the first fractional time? The sign you see for the race on February 16 at Aqueduct denotes that the event was held on their winter track, which contains a component that makes it less likely to freeze during the winter months. More frequently, you will see a T symbol to indicate races that were run on turf, a diamond symbol to indicate races that were run on synthetic surfaces, or an X symbol to indicate a race that was originally scheduled to be run on grass but was moved to dirt due to the inability of the grass course to hold the race. Question Is there a difference between the online race form and the printed version? It’s true that the online version of the newspaper, DRF Formulator, contains more features than the print version. There are several resources available online, including the Formulator Closer Look, sire ratings, dam reports, moss speed estimates, and much more. The formulator is $4.95
- The calculator is free. Question What exactly does the letter f stand for? The letter F stands for filly (female horse age 4 or younger). It is included in the following lettering: A = official age
- S = sex
- M = mare (female horse age 5 or older)
- F = filly (female horse age 4 or younger)
- H = horse (intact male age 5 or older)
- C = colt (intact male age 4 or younger)
- G = gelding (castrated male of any age). Question What is the significance of the stars in the form of a jockey’s name? The number of stars next to a jockey’s name often indicates how excellent they are. Do you know what five-star ratings are? It’s almost as though the message is like that. They will receive 4-5 stars if they are excellent or exceptional, or even if they are merely really good. If they’re satisfactory, give them 2-3 or a half star rating. If it’s not nice, there are no stars, or only one, half, or two
- Question What is the significance of the “W” following the claiming price? A horse is entered in a claiming race with a waiver, and the horse is unable to be claimed for a variety of reasons, including injury. One is that it has been off for a long period of time and this is its first race back after being laid off from previous competition. If a particular track has a judgment on limited races, it is related to that
- Otherwise, it is not. Question What is meant by the term “height of the rail”? Maliah OnealeharrisAnswer from the Community The height in question is 4,025 millimeters. The height and breadth of the standard regular trains are 4,025 mm and 3,240 mm, respectively. Question The number in front of the horse’s last track race is what you need to know. Answer from the hobbitandtinkerbell kCommunity The number represents her chances of winning as well as the number of times she has won.
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About This Article
To begin reading a racing form, begin by scanning the top header for basic information about the event. Find the race number, which is normally a number between 1 and 10 on the left-hand side of the header, and write it down. Then look for the track name to the right of the race number on the results page. It is expected that a brief description of the race conditions will appear beneath the track name. Following that, you’ll see three columns of horse information, each of which contains the horse’s gender, age, pedigree, and previous performance records.
Did you find this overview to be helpful?
Did this article help you?
To begin reading a racing form, begin by scanning the top header for basic information about the race. Afterwards, look to the left side of the header for the race number, which is usually a number between 1 and 10. Then, to the right of the race number, look for the track’s name. It is expected that a brief explanation of the racing circumstances would appear underneath the circuit name. Following that, you’ll see three columns of horse information, each of which contains the horse’s gender, age, pedigree, and previous performance history.
- Were you able to benefit from this overview?
- We appreciate you taking the time to write this page.
- I then began reading the Form and attempted to put up a few small wagers using the information I had gathered.
- There is no other type of gambling that can compare to the thrill I get when I’m betting on horses.
Cracking The Horse Racing Code
Yes, I have been absent for an extended period of time. In the past, I’ve hinted that I had something valuable under my sleeve, but it hasn’t been ready to be put into words as of yet. Until now, that is. I’ve been doing study on horse racing for several months. Although it was inevitable that great horses, jockeys, and trainers would emerge as a result of the research, it was also done to gain a better understanding and respect for the tradition, which was a glorious byproduct of the process.
- So I approached horse racing with a gambler’s eye as well as a magnifying glass, a Daily Racing Form, and a calculator, in order to see how close I could come to predicting the outcome of a horse race on a regular basis.
- If the racetracks are unable to generate revenue, they will cease to host events.
- But in all seriousness, it doesn’t have much farther to go.
- What was the name of the horse that won the Kentucky Derby last year?
- The fact that you are unfamiliar with Street Sense is unimportant to him, but Calvin Borel should be disappointed.
- If, on the other hand, the betting public expresses an interest in the sport, the odds will rise.
- Is it possible that the MIT blackjack team destroyed cards?
In reality, the game of blackjack saw a renaissance in the years after the MIT blackjack team’s victory.
People only need to believe that they are smarter than the game and that they are capable of winning.
If people believe they have a competitive advantage over the house, they will pay close attention to the situation.
The home is always built with the goal of winning in mind.
They are going to get their rake regardless of what happens.
People would feel like they had a significant advantage if they had a system that could choose horses better than they could by simply glancing at the morning line odds.
Academic journals served as the foundation for my investigation.
My project’s information was discovered in the paper “Searching for Positive Returns at the Track: A Multinominal Logit Model for Handicapping Horse Races,” by Ruth N.
Chapman.
During their research, Bolton and Chapman sought to determine which criteria were the most significant to consider when judging the horses in a race and forecasting the outcome.
For me, the most surprising thing was that jockeys, post positions, and weight were all judged insignificant for the most part.
With this new information in hand, it was time to put together my own equation for the first time.
I changed the “lifetime win percentage” to “lifetime in the money percentage” in the case of a Maiden race in which none of the competing horses had ever won a race in their lives.
As a result, the first two, which I will name “$/race” and “AVSPDRT,” have been assigned the value of four, while the final, “LifeWin percent,” has been assigned the value of two.
Each horse is then given a rating based on his or her previous results in contrast to the other horses in the competition.
Horse1 receives three points for having the greatest AVSPDRT, while horse2 receives two points and horse3 receives one point for having the second highest AVSPDRT.
Okay, are we still on the same page with this one?
It took me a few tries to get it right.
Are we in good shape?
Consider the scenario in which the equations were run for all of the horses in a five-horse race that was scheduled.
The horses numbered 3 and 5 have both been assigned a 2 in the final column since they share the same LifeWin percent.
That was the key.
Subtract from their total number of points in each category the numbers they were assigned previously.
The points earned through AVSPDRT are multiplied by four.
Now, let’s have a look at how they compare.
This is your own own, autonomous method of calculating the horses on your own timetable.
The information in that last table allows you to compute what proportion of the total points each horse has, as well as a general estimate of what percentage of the race each horse has a chance of winning.
Is it better if we put it on a table?
Percentage likelihood of winning with Horse Number_ 1 17.5 percent of the population 2 25.6 percent 2 25.6 percent 2 25.6 percent 3 13.5 percent 3 13.5 percent 3 13.5 percent 3 13.5 percent 4 24.3 percent is equal to 4 24.3 percent.
Important Note: Morning line odds can also be expressed as percentages, as seen in the table below.
Make a one-time addition, and then divide 100 by that amount.
Exemple No.
(2.5+2=7 7/2=3.5 100/3.5=28.57) Following the conversion of all odds to percentages, you must total up all of the percentages.
For the proportion to be restored to one hundred percent, divide one hundred percent by the total of the morning line odds percentages.
25 percent is reduced to 20 percent in this example.
If you have a horse that you believe has a 35 percent chance of winning, and the track believes it has a 25 percent chance of winning, you will make more money betting on it correctly than you would if you were betting correctly on a horse that the track believed was better than your evaluation of its chances of winning In addition, when betting on exotic bets like as exactas, trifectas, and superfectas, it is important to consider the “lifetime in the money percentage” of each horse.
- A horse may not win many races, but he or she will frequently finish in the top three.
- If you are still unable to decide which horse is the favorite after conducting all of this research, you could consult the jockeys and trainers for assistance.
- If they have been an afterthought up until now, it would be good not to overlook them when you require just one more variable in your equation or model.
- In a way, yes.
- Every day that Saratoga is open, it is virtually certain that I will be executing this strategy, and a definitive answer should be available by the beginning of September.
One horse finished in the money on a technicality, because I picked both the 1A horse and the 1 horse placed, but because they are tied together, I would have still received money), and the morning line odds predicted that 14 1/2 of a possible 27 horses would finish in the money (they get a half point because three horses scratched, leaving four horses to run in the second race).
The two of them ended in the bottom two, but because one had to finish third, they were both correct on a technicality.
Only time and more races will be able to tell which method is truly superior, and because I have time to fine-tune mine before Saratoga, I am confident in my ability to come out on top in this competition.
In the event that everything goes according to plan and people become aware of and begin to use my system, racing may regain some of the interest that has been eroding slowly since Affirmed last won the Triple Crown in 1978. If I were you, I’d bet on this horse to come out on top.
Everything you need to know to bet on horse racing
During the months of May and June, everyone’s thoughts shift to the three Triple Crown events — the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes — as they prepare to watch horse racing, if only for a few weeks at a time. Therefore, it occurred to us that for those who are only casual observers of the sport, it may be difficult to know where to go for all of the relevant facts and statistics. Consider this a primer to help you seem clever, wow your friends, and perhaps even make a few cash in the process of selling your items.
While some players only look at past performances, others are pure physical handicappers (meaning they watch the horses prior to the race and pick out which ones look the best), while others play pedigrees, others compile their own speed and pace figures, and still others come up with novel and inventive ways to choose their horse.
- If you’re seeking for raw data, which is the lifeblood of horse racing handicapping, you’ll want to become familiar with a few websites, like theDaily Racing Form, Equibase, and Brisnet.
- In most cases, submissions (together with morning line odds), scratches and changes, as well as results charts, are all completely free.
- You do not need to register in order to view entries, changes/scratches, and results charts on the Equibase website.
- The signup is completely free.
- You may purchase a Racing Form in paper at your local newsstand or petrol station (there is a Form Finder on their website), or you can download a Racing Form from their website using their Formulator tool, which can be found on their website.
- For the most part, these sites will provide samples of their product pages, and it is a good idea to look around and see what is available to you before deciding whether or not to purchase this type of information.
- Tip sheets, data programs, betting strategies, pedigree analysis, and the list goes on and on and on and on.
If you’re just getting started in this game, take it slow at first.
As you become more experienced in the game, you will learn to distinguish between information that is useful and information that is simply a waste of money.
Even if you decide to use other methods to handicap a race in the future than past performances, learning how to read a racing form will provide you with a solid foundation of handicapping knowledge.
A “How To” guide explaining what all of the symbols and numbers on their forms mean is usually included with every company that sells past performance.
Learning to read a racing form will assist you in comprehending the four fundamental pillars of handicapping: speed, pace, form, and class, among other things.
In order to place a winning bet, the player must decipher the clues provided by a set of past performances, which provide clues to all four of these handicapping pillars.
As soon as you have a solid grasp of what the data means, you can move on to determining how much importance you want to place on various factors when making wagering decisions.
In order to watch live racing from the comfort of your own home, you have two options: you can either watch on one of the two television channels that broadcast racing, or you can watch live streaming video over the internet.
In addition to broadcasting live simulcast feeds from the tracks, both networks have on-air personalities who handicap the races throughout the day on both networks.
If you do not have access to TVG through your cable or satellite provider, you can still watch all of the action on the internet, thanks to the wonders of the modern age.
As an example, you can go to the website of Tampa Bay Downs and watch all of the races that are taking place there, in real time.
Live steaming is also available at Keeneland during their spring and fall meets.
The following section is devoted to wagering websites, also known as ADWs.
If you want to bet on all of the action but don’t want to go to your local track or off-track betting facility AND you reside in a state that permits ADW (Advance Deposit Wagering), you may gamble over the internet or over the phone through one of numerous sites that accept wagers.
It varies from site to site; some offer free video streaming, while others charge a monthly cost or a “per wager” fee based on your handle, while some offer refunds based on how much you gamble.
Many ADWs are switching to no-wagering fees and free video, but you should always do your research before making a big jump into a new career.
Always verify which tracks each site allows you to bet on before signing up, since you don’t want to end up with an ADW that doesn’t let you to bet on Keeneland if you enjoy betting on the track.
The following is a short list of the most prominent and well-known ADWs. There are other more available, some of which are excellent, while others are less so. Neither we nor anybody else can vouch for any of them; some of them we’ve used in the past, while others we’ve never used.
Betting Terminology
To get this out of the way, let’s go over some of the terms used in betting on horses, as well as some of the many sorts of wagers that may be placed on them. On Derby Day, Churchill Downs will be offering a cornucopia of wagering choices, as detailed below: The term “win” refers to a wager on a horse to win (if you don’t know what this means, you shouldn’t be betting). A wager on a horse to finish first or second is known as a place bet. SHOW:A wager on whether a horse will finish first, second, or third.
- They are straightforward and straightforward in design, and they are simple to calculate the cost of and to construct.
- The following are the exotic wagers that will be available at Churchill Downs this weekend: EXACTA: A wager on who will finish first and second in a race is known as an exacta.
- A wager on who will finish first, second, third, and fourth in a race is known as a SUPERFECTA bet.
- PICK 3: This is a wager in which the winners of three consecutive races are selected.
- PICK 5: A wager in which the winners of five consecutive races are selected.
The odds: how much you will win
Horse racing wagering is done through pari-mutuel wagering, which is a type of gambling in which each participant is betting against other players rather than against the house. After taking a portion of the entire pool (typically 15 to 20 percent), the remaining funds are distributed to all participants who have purchased winning tickets. The odds show the proportion of the total pool that each horse will get from the betting pool. In most cases, the total is greater than 100 percent due to the inclusion of the track take.
The amount you’ll receive if you win your win bet may be calculated by dividing the odds by their denominators, multiplying that number by the amount staked, and adding the total of the amounts bet.
The return on a $10 win bet on a horse with 7/2 odds is 3.5 x 10 + 10 = $45 Place and Show payments are more difficult to compute because the odds on such wagers are not displayed on the track’s website.
Exotics payouts are a mixed bag; while tracks show the “Will Pays” for exactas and daily doubles, you won’t know how much your trifecta, superfecta, Pick 3, and other exotics will pay until the sequence is completed and the results are announced.
In the event that a superfecta box with a number of low-priced horses pays off, you’re going to be extremely dissatisfied if it pays off. Finding some longer priced horses to play alongside some shorter priced horses is the key to putting together greater winning totals.
How much will it cost?
We have a slew of exotic bets where you are attempting to predict the finish order or the winners of many events, and we have them all. Many first-time bettors believe that to place an exacta (or trifecta, or any other exotic wager), you must utilize just two (or three, or four) horses in your wager. This is not true. There is no limit to the number of horses that can be selected, but the more horses that are selected, the more expensive your ticket gets. First and foremost, knowing how much a given wager would cost is essential in establishing how much a wager will cost in the first place.
- Exacta: $2 for straight bets; $1 for wheels and boxes bets Trifecta:$0.50 Superfecta: $1.00 on Derby Day (the minimum wager is $0.10 on all other days).
- These terms relate especially to exactas, trifectas, and superfectas, and they are defined as follows: It is possible for your picks to finish in any order if you place a BOXED bet.
- It is possible to “BOX” the three horses in an exacta, and you would win if any of those three horses finished first and second in the race.
- For example, suppose you believe the number one will win, but believe the numbers two, three, and four will come second.
- If any of the numbers 2-3-4 win and the number 1 comes in second, you would not have won with that exacta wheel.
- The quick answer is that it is more expensive to box a bet.
- There isn’t a problem here.
Alternatively, it may be phrased as follows: Selections are as follows: 1-2-3-4-5 (five horses) Cost of a $1 Exacta Box: $1 x 5 x 4 = $20 Does that make sense?
As an illustration: Selections are as follows: 1-2-3-4-5 Cost of a $1 Trifecta Box: $1 x 5 x 4 x 3 equals $60.
You can see how the prices begin to increase in a box situation since you are attempting to play every conceivable combination of numbers with those figures.
Consider the circumstances described above once again.
Here’s how you’d figure out how much the bet would cost: Selections: 1-2 to finish first, 1-2-3-4-5 to finish second, 1-2-3-4-5 to finish third Exacta Wheel with a $1 bet Cost: $1 multiplied by two is $8.
If you omitted the horses number one and number two from the second slot but still utilized five horses, the bet would work out like this: Selections: 1-2 to finish first, 3-4-5-6-7 to finish second, and 1-2 to finish third.
Due to the fact that you are playing fewer combinations, you can see that an exacta wheel bet is almost half the price of a box situation right immediately.
As an aside, if you were at the track or an off-track betting facility and wanted to place either of those exacta bets in person, you would walk up to the window and say: “Track Name, Race Number: $2 Exacta Box, 1-2-3-4-5” or “Track Name, Race Number: $2 Exacta, 1 and 2 with 1-2-3-4-5.” Using the word “with” separates horses from the first, second, third, and fourth spots and delivers them to the clerk.
Also, always double-check your ticket before walking away.) The procedure for calculating trifecta and superfecta wheels is the same as the calculation for calculating the exacta bet above.
So now that we’ve covered the vertical exotics (exacta, trifecta, and superfecta), let’s move on to the horizontal bets, which are among the most popular wagers at the track.
An example of a horizontal wager is a Pick 4, in which you attempt to predict the winners of four consecutive races.
If you want to place a wager on more than one horse, the cost of your ticket will grow with each additional horse added to the mix, just like with any other type of wager.
The practice of using only one horse in a specific race, as is done in our example’s third race, is referred to as “singling” a horse.
A vertical wager’s cost may be calculated in a straightforward manner: simply multiply the wager amount by the number of options in each leg.
The importance of the “single” should be self-evident; if we had chosen two, three, or four horses in that third race, the cost of our ticket would have doubled, tripled, or quadrupled, respectively.
Nevertheless, the majority of players want to select one race in which they have a prime single so that they may employ more horses in the races where the field appears to be more wide-open.
Our Pick 4 example above might be played with a $1 base, a $2 base, or any other amount you like.
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of betting alternatives available, you can take comfort in the knowledge that you don’t have to participate in them all.
If you are unable to predict which horse will win a race, you should avoid placing bets on races in which you must also predict which horse will finish second, third, or fourth.
In poker, you must go “all in” when you believe you have an edge, not simply because you want to be involved in the activity.
Since then, the guidelines have been updated and consolidated into a single resource.