HOW THE BETS WORK

Like drunken sorority chicks, horse bets come in two basic categories: straight and exotic. For straight bets, you’re simply betting on one horse, and you choose one of three outcomes: win, place, or show. You cash out on a win bet if your horse comes in first; you’re in the money on a place bet if your horse is first or second; and you’ll recoup on a show bet if your horse finishes in the top three. The biggest payout comes on a win bet, since you’re saying that you believe Ricky Bobby’s adage: if you’re not first, you’re last. You’ll get less on a place bet, and even less on a show bet (even if your horse does comes in first).

Exotic wagers generally involve the longest odds, and consequently the highest payouts. With the exotics, you’re picking the exact finish of the race: with an “exacta” you predict the first and second place horses, a “trifecta” predicts the first, second, and third place finishes, a “superfecta” calls the first four finishers. A typical exotic wager involves just two dollars, but depending on the difficulty of the bet (obviously it’s harder to pick a superfecta than an exacta) and the odds of the horses, the payouts can run into the thousands.

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