Betting on a horse race for the first time — even the first few times — can be an intimidating endeavor. What are all of these options? Here’s all the lingo you need to know before you place your first bet:

The Basics

Winbet – A bet on a horse to finish first.

Place bet – A bet on a horse to finish first or second.

Show bet – A bet on a horse to finish in the money; third or better.

A Show Bet is a bet for your horse to finish either first, second or third in a horserace. This term ‘Show Bet’ is unique to North America. In most of the rest of the world there is a simple choice between a win bet and a place bet. In North America, the Place Bet means to be placed just 1st or 2nd only while the Show Bet means to be placed.

1. Show: If you wager $2 to Show, your horse must finish first, second, or third.But remember, you only collect the Show payoff. Many experts consider playing a horse to Win to be the best bet in horse racing. Before placing a Win bet a horseplayer can see the odds on the tote board and then determine if those odds.
2. The takeout rate on a Win bet (as well as Place and Show wagers), that is the amount of money the track removes from each pool to cover expenses, is generally 15-20% depending on the track. The remainder is then distributed to those that hold Win tickets on the first-place horse. (The Win pool is separate from the Place and Show pools.).
3. Take a look at the Win Bet Payout Table below to find out the minimum win bet payouts depending on the post time odds of a horse. The Win Bet Payout Table will show you the minimum payout for a $2, $5 and $10 win bet, the decimal and fractional odds along with the post time odds ranging from from a 1/9 heavy favorite all the way to a 99/1 longshot.
4. Odds are simply the way prices and payouts are shown at a horse track. The numbers displayed as 4-7 or 2-5 tell you what you pay and how much you get back if the horse you bet on wins. The first number tells you how much you could win, the second number is the amount you bet. So, if the odds are listed as 2-1, you’ll get $2 for every $1 you bet.

In the money – A horse that finishes first, second, or third.

Across the board – A bet on a horse to win, place, and show. If the horse wins, the bettor collects three ways; if second, two ways (place, show); and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets. It’s actually three bets.

Morning line – The odds that the track handicapper predicts a horse will go off at.

Ready for the Next Step?

Exotic (bet) – Any bet other than win, place, or show that requires multiple combinations. Examples of exotic wagers are exacta, trifecta, Pick 6, Pick 4.

Daily Double (or Double) – Type of bet calling for the selection of winners of two consecutive races.

Exacta – A wager in which the first two finishers in a race, in exact order of finish, must be picked.

Box – A betting term denoting a combination bet whereby all possible numeric combinations are covered for certain horses.

Exacta box – A wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are selected. For example, an exacta box using horses 2,4,6 would produce a winning ticket if any two of those three horses finished first and second, regardless of the order (2-6, 4-2, 6-4, etc.).

Trifecta – A bet in which the first three finishers must be selected in exact order.

Trifecta box – A trifecta wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are bet upon.

Pick (6 or other number) – A type of multi-race bet in which the winners of all the included races must be selected. Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Pick 6 are commonly used by tracks in the United States.

Brush Up on Gambling Lingo

Bounce – A racehorse’s especially poor performance on the heels of an especially good one.

Chalk – Betting favorite in a race.

Chalk player – Gambler who wagers on favorites.

Key horse – A single horse used in multiple combinations in an exotic bet.

On the board – Finishing among the first three.

On the nose – Betting a horse to win only.

Horse Racing Odds Win Place Show

Overlay – A horse whose odds are greater than its potential to win. Professional bettors target overlays, meaning they target bets that offer better than fair value odds.

Underlay – A horse whose odds are less than than his potential to win. Betting horses whose odds are worse than fair value is a poor strategy.

Parlay – A multi-race bet in which all winnings are subsequently wagered on a succeeding race.

Speed Figure – A metric that rates a horse’s performance in a race, which is determined by a combination of the horse’s performance and the level of competition he/she competed against.

Wheel – Betting all possible combinations in an exotic wager using at least one horse as the key.

Get up to a $500 New Member Bonus

BUSR is the best site to bet on horses. Why? Because, all new members will get up to a $500 bonus for joining and you can also qualify for an extra $150 bonus!

Start your horse betting with BUSR today!

Horse Betting Odds Win Place Show

Show - Your horse comes in first, second, or third. (On average 65% of favorites win, place or show.)

How to Place a Show Bet

Show - Your horse comes in first, second, or third. (On average 65% of favorites win, place or show.) The payout will be the same in either of the three positions. Also referred to as in the money.

Show bets are typically much more fun for new bettors. Since it is the most conservative bet at the track, the payouts will be the lowest, however it offers you the highest probability of winning. At the ticket window just say: “$2 to show on number 5”. At US Racing it is as easy as selecting your horse and wager amount.

Show bets are more profitable when field size is large, preferably 8 or more.

The objective of betting on horses is to win. Show bets offer the highest chances of winning out of all the bets thereby making this wager the best for those new to racing.

Show Bet Strategies:

Show Parlay. This is when make a show bet on a horse and then wager the winnings of that wager on another race. Also, the winnings can be divided up and to place two show wagers on different races.

Sometimes, a group people will all put in $5 to wager show bet to win dinner that evening. The winnings of this 'table bet' can be parlayed into another wager.

Horse Betting Odds Win Place Show Results

Insurance Bets. Sometimes bettors use show bets for insurance. They will wager $50 to win on a horse but then back it up with a $20 show bet in case the winner loses.

Horse Betting Odds Win Place Shower

Also, at times, the estimated show payoff will be the same or larger than the place payoff. In that case, why not bet to show and take advantage of an aberration in the betting pools?

Horse Racing Odds Payouts Win Place Show

Better Pools. Be sure to check the show pool amount as it maybe larger than the place pool.