Getty/Patrick Smith
This Saturday 20 horses will enter the gate at the 2018 Kentucky Derby, looking to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.
Often called “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports,” the Kentucky Derby is one of the most compelling events of the year, for both casual viewers and even more so for bettors.
Betting on horse racing can be intimidating — filled with insider language and with so many ways to bet, it’s not surprising that some might be hesitant to head to the betting window. But you shouldn’t be!
Gambling on horses is surprisingly easy, extremely fun, and offers bettors the rare option of winning a lot of money with a minimal bet, should they be lucky enough to have an eye for the right horses on a given day.
Below, we’ll go through everything you need to know so you can head to the betting window with confidence and hopefully make some money on the “Run for the Roses” this Saturday.
Betting to Win, Place, and Show
Rob Carr/Getty Images
The easiest way to bet a horse race is, unsurprisingly, merely picking a horse to win. Like I said, easy! You can do this on a whim wherever you happen to be watching the race as long as you have another person who’s game to put something on the line.
You can bet on a horse to Win at the track and off-track betting parlors, but there are plenty of other ways to bet your favorite horse in the race while still keeping things simple. For instance, you can bet on a horse to Place, which is to come in first or second place, but your return on a winning bet will be a bit lower than on a bet to win. Similarly, you can bet on a horse to Show, meaning it finishes in the top three, with an even lower return.
Finally, you can elect to bet Across the Board on a horse, which is technically three different bets on the horse to win, place, and show. So, betting $ 2 Across the Board on a horse would cost you $ 6 — this is what is known as a “combo straight wager.”
Depending on how much faith you have in your horse and how much return you’re willing on your bet, picking a win, place, or show bet is a simple way to dip your toe in the waters of horse racing.
Exactas, Trifectas, and Superfectas
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
While these bets are harder to hit, they’re where bettors can start to make big money on smaller investments.
An Exacta is a bet on two horses to come in first and second in the race in exact order. If you’re confident in two horses racing, but aren’t as sure on the order they’ll come in, you can place an Exacta Box, which is essentially placing two bets — one exacta with one of your horses finishing first and the other second, and a second bet with their order reversed. Because both of these bets have multiple horses in play, they’ll net you much more, but are also tougher to hit.
Taking this thinking to another level, gamblers can bet a Trifecta, picking three horses to finish first, second, and third (Win, Place, and Show) in order. These can deliver huge payouts to bettors, especially if a longshot that you have on your ticket sneaks into the top three — at the 2017 Kentucky Derby, a $ 2 winning trifecta bet on Always Dreaming, Looking at Lee, and Battle of Midway won bettors a whopping $ 8,207.20.
Since these bets are tough to hit, and worth so much money that you as a gambler would be extremely disappointed to have picked the correct top three horses in the incorrect order, many gamblers choose to bet a Trifecta Box. Like the exacta box, you’re betting three horses as a trifecta in every possible order, technically resulting in six different bets. Thus, a $ 2 box trifecta will cost you $ 12 at the betting window.
And for the truly brave of heart, there is the Superfecta, which follows the same logic as the trifecta, but with the top four horses to finish. These feel all but impossible to hit, but if you have a vision on race-day morning, there’s plenty of profit to be made.
How to place your bet
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Placing your bet at the betting window is not as complicated as the insider language of horse racing makes it sound. Follow a simple formula, and you’ll be set to go. Lead with the racetrack you are betting and the race number you are betting on — in the case of the Kentucky Derby, you can say that, but when off-track betting parlors are showing numerous races on days other than Kentucky Derby Saturday, you would have to clarify.
Then, state the amount you want to bet, the type of bet you want to make, and the numbers of the horses you’re picking.
Example: “Churchill Downs, Race 12. $ 1 trifecta box — 6-7-14.”
You would then hand the person behind the counter $ 6 for your bet — remember, a trifecta box is actually six bets — and take your ticket once it was printed out.
Also, always remember to tip your ticket-taker — in the world of picking ponies you can use all of the good karma you can get.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Kentucky Derby 2018: Everything you need to know about the 20 horses racing in the ‘Run for the Roses’
- American Pharoah’s Hall of Fame jockey reveals the intense diet and workout routine he follows to stay ready for races
- Kentucky Derby 2018: Post positions and odds for the first race of the Triple Crown
