Betting on the ponies is not as complicated as most think. While UK Online Roulette betting is simplest, one does not actually need to be a genius to figure out and get the most out of horse betting.

So, what exactly does horse race betting involve? Time to read on and find out.

Different Types Of Horse Racing Bets

There are essentially a couple of different categories of horse racing bets that potential bettors should be aware of. These are the Straight Wager and the Exotic Wager.

The Straight Wager is usually recommended for novice bettors, as it is both simple and cheap. This type of wager involves betting that a horse will cross the finish line in first, second or third. Usually, the minimum that can be wagered on this type of bet is a couple of pounds, or even less.

Exotic Wagers are quite different from Straight Wagers. They are much more difficult to grasp and implement, especially for novice bettors. They necessitate a fair amount of skill and some knowledge for the best possible execution.

This type of wagers involves making multiple bets on more than one horse and on a single wager. They are more expensive than the Straight type and make up for it by sporting bigger payouts.

Straight Vs Exotic

Straight Wagers – As it has been already stated, this kind of wagers involve making a simple bet on a single horse. Within this bet are the following sub-categories:

• Win – In this case, the bet is that the horse will clinch first place. Should this happen, the bet wins.

• Place – Betting on a place means that the expectation is on the horse coming in either first or second place. Should this happen, then, a payout can be collected. However, this payout is less than the one offered for a   Win wager.

• Show – This refers to a bet that is made when the horse is expected to place first, second or third. This kind of bets spread the risk, but have a correspondingly lower payout than the Place and Win wager.

• Across The Board – This is a comprehensive bet that is made when the horse is expected to Win, Place and Show. It is also referred to as a combo straight wager and costs much more than the other Straight type bets detailed above. Since they are essentially three bets in one, making an Across The Board bet will cost £6, as the player is making three £2 bets for Win, Place and Show combined. Should the chosen horse romp into a first place win, the player will receive the win, place and show money. A second place finish gets the bettor awarded the place and show money, with a third-place finish meaning the bettor will receive just the show money.

• Win/Place, Place/Show – This is similar to the bet detailed above. In this, the player is within a single bet making multiple straight wagers. For the Win/Place bet, the bettor is expecting his/her chosen horse to both win and place. Should the horse romp to a win, both the win and place money is collected, while a second-place finish means just the place money can be collected. A Place/Show wager, on the other hand, means that the bettor expects the horse to both place and show. Should the horse come in second place, the place and show money is collected, while a third-place finish means only the show money can be collected. As multiple wagers on a horse per bet are being made here, the bet can be expensive. Therefore, a £2 Win/Place wager will cost £4, since the bettor is betting £2 that the horse will win and £2 that it will place.

Exotic Wagers – Exotic wagers enable bets on multiple horses and can boost the potential profit. They are however more expensive than straight wagers and invariably require more skill and knowledge to successfully pull off.

Types of Exotic Wagers:

• Exacta – Here, players bet that two horses will romp across the line first and second exactly as intended. As an example, by placing a £2 Exacta wager on horses two and four, a payout can only be collected if horse two comes in first before horse four. Such types of bets can be quite lucrative, and can also be “boxed”. Boxing an exacta bet means that the two horses chosen by the player can appear in whatever order in the top two spots and still qualify as a win. However, a boxed exacta bet costs twice as much as a straight exacta bet.

• Quinella – The Quinella bet involves betting that a couple of horses will be first or second in whatever order. So as long as the selected horses make it to the two top spots in whatever order, the bet wins. The Quinella bet is essentially the same as the boxed Exacta bet. However, the Quinella is around 50% cheaper than the boxed Exacta bet, though the boxed exacta bet has a higher payout.

• Trifecta – The Trifecta bet involves betting that three horses will cross the finish line in a precise order. Thus, by making a Trifecta bet on 1-3-5 means that a payout is possible only if horse #1 finishes first, horse #2 finishes second and horse #3 finished third. The Trifecta bet can also be boxed, so that a win is guaranteed should the three selected horses finish first, second and third in whatever order. However, this option will drive up the cost of the bet.

• Superfecta – Here, the bet is that 4 selected horses will finish first, second, third and fourth in a precise order. This type of bet can also be boxed at an extra cost.