The exotic horse racing bets are usually the most intimidating to new bettors most likely because they have crazy sounding names and because no one has ever taken the time to properly explain them to anyone. In this guide, though, we’re going to take care of that. We’re going to go over the four different horse racing bets known as exotics and make sure that you’re well equipped to start using these bets at the track or online right away.
The exacta bet in horse racing is a bet where you pick which horse is going to come in first and which horse is going to come in second. If the horse you selected to win the race wins and the horse you selected to get second place gets second, you win your exacta bet. You do have to get both of these right in order for you to win your bet and the horses are not interchangeable. This means that if the horse you picked to win gets second and the horse you picked to get second wins, you lose your exacta bet.
As you can tell by the name, this bet is about being exact. You can also expect to get paid out well for this bet as it does require quite a degree of preciseness.
A quinella bet is very similar to an exacta bet in horse racing except that you now don’t have to be as precise. With a quinella, you select two horses that you think are going to finish first or second in the race. As long as those two horses finish first and second, you will win your bet. As opposed to the exacta, it does not matter which of the two horses gets first and which gets second. As long as both of them finish first and second in either order, you’re going to win your quinella bet.
The payouts for a quinella are not going to be quite as good as an exact because you aren’t required to be as precise. While you do give up something there, you are much more likely to win this wager as you just need your two horses to finish top two in no particular order.
If you like the difficulty level and the associated payouts of an exacta, you’re probably going to love the trifecta bet. With this wager, you have to pick all three horses to finish in the top three in order. This means you will select one horse to win, one horse to get second, and one horse to get third. You have to get all three of those correct or else you lose your trifecta bet. If any of the horses finish out of order, it’s a loss. Things must be exact just like the exacta except you are also picking the third place horse now as well.
Of course, you can probably imagine that out of all the bets we’ve talked about so far, this is the one that pays out the best. You would be correct on that. It’s one of the most difficult to hit, but when you do you’re going to have a real nice payday.
While the trifecta is tough and pays well, it’s still not the toughest or best paying horse racing bet available at the track or online. That accolade belongs to the Superfecta. The Superfecta is exactly like the trifecta except now you are also selecting the horse that is getting fourth place. The horses have to be in exact order and you have to get all four correct to win your bet.
In a race with eight horses, you’re literally predicting the finishing order of four of the horses exactly. Here’s a spoiler; this is not easy. But, the payouts that you receive for hitting one of these are well worth it. Because of the difficulty, a lot of horse racing bettors will fire multiple combinations in a race to try and lower their variance and give them a better shot of predicting a winner.
If you’re looking for bets that are a little easier to win, you’re probably looking for straight bets. Straight bets are the horse racing wagers where instead of picking multiple horses, you are picking just one horse to finish in a certain position. If you’d like to learn more about these wagers, check out our Straight Horse Racing Bets page for that information.
