Betting the ponies can be an intimidating endeavor for the uninitiated. It involves not only an extensive and arcane vocabulary, but the possibility of losing your hard-earned lucre looms large. Fortunately, with the application of a little good sense, you can have plenty of affordable fun even if you fail to win. And, trust us, a horse race is a whole lot more fun when you have a horse in the race. Before you head over to the track for the first time, we offer some vocabulary and a little advice.
Begin with a budget! If you’re disinclined to follow the simple admonition to allot no more than you can afford to lose, and to never lose more than you’ve allotted, then do yourself a favor and enjoy the races far away from the betting windows! But, sufficiently disciplined (a straight bet in any race to win, place, or show costs as little as $2), human nature, and a little bit of skin in the game will have you rooting like you trained the horse yourself.
BETTING SYSTEMS
Everybody who bets the horses has one—even if it’s just based on the colors the jockey wears. To learn information that successful “punters” typically find more useful, like “past performance,” refer to the “racing form.” Available at the track, the racing form contains a wealth of data on the past performance and current status of all the horses that will be racing. Of course, if you’ve never read a racing form it will likely appear as inscrutable as ancient hieroglyphics. However, among a wealth of arcane data there are some key facts that are more or less easily interpreted.
- Jersey Colors – The jockey’s jersey colors don’t actually affect the outcome, but if your system depends on them, the racing form will clue you in.
- Prior Record – A series of numbers to the left of the horse’s name indicating past finish position, with the oldest races first. For example, 3022 indicates that the horse finished second in its two most recent races, out of the money in the third, and third in the fourth most recent race.
- Specific Codes – Letters alongside the horse’s name are used to more specifically define past performance. C = previous win on this track; D = previous win at this distance; CD = previous win on this track at this distance; BF = beaten favorite in last race.
- Trainer and Jockey names
Of course, there are people who have studied racing forms their whole lives, and some who make a living doing so, employing systems that rely on Caltech-worthy mathematics. The form contains additional info of course, but simply taking the above factors into account can greatly improve your chances of success. Along with the individual odds, this information can lead you to the bets with the best value. While no guarantee, past success of the horse—overall, and particularly at the track and distance being run—along with the trainer and jockey records, are good indicators of probable future success.
A NOVICE SYSTEM
A straight $2 bet on a horse to win pays the stated odds if that horse wins. It also pays place (second) and show (third) bets. If the horse places second, it pays place and show, and if it finishes third, only show bets are paid. A simple system is to pick your favorite for all three spots and bet “across the board.” If your horse wins, you win three ways; you cash place and show if he finishes second; and you win something even for a third-place finish.
While a seasoned handicapper will generally avoid straight place and show bets, for the novice they may better serve to keep you in the game. If you don’t want to place a straight bet to win, an across-the-board wager may be a novice handicapper’s best bet. Otherwise, keep your finger in the wind and your ear to the ground. Maybe you’ll get some “late mail” on a “long shot.” Probably still not a good idea to “bet the farm.”
POSSIBLE THOROUGHBRED HORSE WAGERS
| Bet Type | Explanation | ||
| Show | Your horse must finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd; modest payoffs | ||
| Place | Your horse must finish 1st or 2nd; payoffs better than to show | ||
| Win | Your horse must finish 1st; payoff determined by the win odds | ||
| Quinella | Your horses must finish 1st and 2nd in either order. | ||
| Exacta | Your horses must finish 1st and 2nd in exact order; riskier than a quinella. Odds determine payout, but can be lucrative. | ||
| Trifecta | Your horses must finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in exact order; riskier than an exacta, and can be expensive to “box” (see below). Big payoff possible. | ||
| Superfecta | Your horses must finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th; expensive to bet. Payout commensurate with big risk. | ||
| Daily Double | Your horses must win the two consecutive races; often the first and second race of the day. | ||
| Pick 3 | Your horses must win three consecutive races. | ||
| Pick 4 | Your horses must win four consecutive races; chance for a big payout, but $1 bet increments make it affordable. | ||
| Pick 6 | Your horses must win six consecutive races; very expensive to play. This is the home run of bets. Payout can be huge. |
HOW TO BOX A BET
Boxing a bet means to cover all possible combinations of finish for multiple horses. For a boxed two-horse exacta, you would bet that Horse A wins and Horse B places, and also that Horse B wins and Horse A places.
In that way you cover either possible finish order for your chosen horses. As this is in effect two bets, boxing an exacta will cost you $4. Should you wish to box a trifecta, which requires precisely picking the three-horse finish—you can do so for $1 per bet, i.e., $6 to cover the six possible finish orders of your three chosen horses. (Visit pasadenamag.com for a description of “trifecta keys,” which can increase your odds when placing such “exotic” wagers.)
Facebook Comments