For most fans a day at the races is a way to get out and let loose, brag about their winnings, and just enjoy themselves. The job of the racetrack is to put on a show that lets the fans have a great time, and part of that is keeping them informed. Spectators and bettors alike need to be able to identify the players and evaluate the horses and then bet on the winners. We have therefore created this section of the site to make it easy for you to find the information you need, no matter your level of understanding.
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Conventional wisdom holds that a fan will do OK at the racetrack if he or she grabs a tip sheet or a local newspaper and follows the picks of the pros. That may or may not be so, but it is not nearly as much fun as making your own selections and trying to outsmart everyone else at the track. This is the essence of pari-mutuel wagering: each bettor is wagering against all the others making the same type of bet.
Pari-mutuel means that bets by race fans go into a common pool, which is then distributed to the winning ticket-holders after the track's takeout for the race's purse, taxes, and track profits, is subtracted. The more fans holding a winning ticket, the less the pay-out will be. This spawned the term "favorite", which is used to describe the horse that has taken the most money. However, favorites win only about 30 percent of the time. It makes sense for the bettor to study the program with the day's racing information before making a pick.
Picking winners at the track is one of the most fun and exciting forms of entertainment around, as long as you bet with your head. Those who want to minimize betting risk should stick to less aggressive bets. Those looking to "hit the big one" usually opt for the exotic wagers, such as a trifecta or a pick three. All bets can be fun and profitable if managed correctly. Like playing the stock market, the key words are money management, performance, and value. Use the section below to aid your understanding of betting terminology and rules.
And remember, never bet more than you can stand to lose.
Graded stakes and handicap races are the highest level of racing and offer the best purse money. Consequently, the best horses usually compete in stakes competition. The owner must pay nomination fees and entry fees in order to run their horse. An example of an early nomination fee is the Kentucky Derby, when horses are nominated to all three Triple Crown races in mid-January, although the races are run in the Spring.
Normally, nominations are due a few weeks before the race is scheduled to run. The owner also has to pay a fee to enter and run the horse as well. These fees are usually paid back in the purse in the form of "added" money. Added meaning in addition to the announced purse. The nominations generally include more horses than will run in the race. A horse may not be entered, even though they have paid to nominate, if the owner or trainer thinks the race will be too difficult to win, the horse is injured, or is entered in another race. If a stake is overfilled (more horses entered than are allowed to run), the conditions of the race will determine who gets to race.
With handicap races, preference is given to those horses that have been assigned the most weight. The Racing Secretary assigns weights to horses in a handicap race, with the horses who have accomplished the most according to their past performances carrying the highest weight, while the least competitive horses will carry a lower weight. Assigning different weights is an attempt to level the playing field between competitors. There are also weight breaks for younger horses or for a filly racing against colts. Like any type of race, a stakes or handicap race will also contains age conditions like "two-year-olds" or "three and up."
It is only natural for a person new to thoroughbred racing to assume that the best horse will win the race. Deciding which horse that might be doesn't seem like too difficult a task. The program is loaded with information to assist them in making that decision. The problem is that while the best horse may win, more often it is another who gets his picture taken in the winner's circle. Were it otherwise Triple Crown winners (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes) would be common rather than being an almost extinct species.
There are many reasons for this phenomena. They have to do with form, tactics, and other matters that those new to racing don't need to understand in order to have a fun day at the races and having fun is the most important thing. Of course, collecting money is much more fun than tearing up tickets so betting a few winners would be very nice. As long as we don't get to greedy that really isn't very difficult.
The first thing that we need to do is admit that we don't know enough about the mysterious "art form" called handicapping to try to decide which horse to bet on our own. We need help, and fortunately help is available in terms of the "tote board". The "win" odds it displays for each horse are based upon how much money has been bet on them. As such, it represents the weighted hopes and fears of all those playing the race. Since they are more experienced than us, the "tote board" is a logical pace to find the help we need.
We could just let the "tote board" do our handicapping and bet the favorite in every race. In all likelihood that would let us cash some tickets. The favorite is usually the most likely horse to win, it does make mistakes. After all, the favorite only wins about 35% of the races. Not all of the losers can be chalked up to legitimate excuses such as bad racing luck. A good plan for those who are new to racing is to back the favorites who deserve to be favored and avoid those who are suspected of being mistakes.
This can be accomplished by following a few simple rules. Back the favorite unless:
1. His jockey hasn't won at least 8-10% of his or her races (overall - not just at the current meet.) We want a capable rider but not necessarily the meet's top rider. The horse's trainer should pass the same test.
2. The race's distance isn't within a sixteenth-of-a-mile (one furlong) of being the same as the distance of the horse's previous race, or a distance at which the horse recently won (or almost won.)
3. The horse's last race was more than 35 days ago.
4. The jockey isn't the same fellow who rode the horse in his last race unless the trainer is switching to a jockey who won (or nearly won) aboard the horse in the past.
Should this process identify a favorite as suspect, we suggest you apply the same tests to the second favorite and so on until a horse to play is found. Some of the horses eliminated will win, of course, but not at the same rate that those who are not eliminated.
This process will eliminate some winners! Those eliminated, however, will not win as often as those who are not eliminated.
Print out this guide to reading the racing program (.pdf)
Playing the horses is all about managing risk. When we buy a ticket we are accepting the inherent risk that it will wind up in the trash. We do so because we believe that the reward offered should our ticket win justifies that risk. There is more to it than that, however. We must also manage our funds effectively throughout the day, if we are to give ourselves the best chance to do well financially while having a pleasant afternoon.
It is almost impossible to manage our money effectively unless we have a plan. The best plan in the world, however, won't do us much good unless we follow it. That means that it must have some flexibility and take our personality into account. It should a guideline; not a noose. There are several principles that it should incorporate, however.
1. Our risk should be spread our over several, if not all, of the races.
2. When things aren't going well we should never double up to catch up. Doubling up is more apt to lead to a financial disaster, and preventing disasters is a major reason for having a plan. The time to "catch up" is tomorrow!
3. Should we get off to a good start we must resist the temptation to increase our betting level on the grounds that we are "playing with their money". Trust us. Title passes once we collect! It won't become theirs unless we give it back to them. Raising our betting level simply increases the chances that a potential good day will be squandered away.
4. Never bet a lot to win a little.
5. Don't be afraid to lose. Losing is part of winning. It is the price we pay for the winners that come our way.
A simple but effective plan can be devised by following the following steps:
1. Decide how much the afternoon's entertainment is worth. So long as we limit our betting to that amount (less expenses such as the program, etc) we can't lose. Even if we don't cash a ticket all day we will have gotten our monies worth.
2. Determine a potential betting level per race. Whether that is $2 or $100 doesn't really matter, but it should be high enough to hold our interest while not being so high that we will feel any compulsion to win.
3. Create a contingency fund by adding two to the number of races we intend to play. This gives the plan some flexibility so that we can take advantage of any unexpected betting opportunities that might develop.
Sound money management principles also apply to the individual bets we make. When playing the gimmicks, we shouldn't use so many combinations that we may lose even when one of our combinations wins. "Insurance" bets should be used sparingly. When our primary bet wins, they dilute our winnings, and when it loses, they too often simply add to our loss. Because of the way the mutuels are computed, it is usually best to bet long shots to win only. The potential place and show mutuels usually don't justify their risk, because they are diluted by the shorter priced horses with whom they share the pool.
Never play a long shot in the first race of a double with a favorite in the second race. It is much better to simply bet the long shot to win. Combining a favorite in the first race with a long shot in the second, however, is okay. The reason for this apparent contradiction is simple. In the double, we are betting the proceeds that a win bet would have returned in the first race with a horse in the second race. It is one bet but think of it as two. If we actually collected the funds that winning 20-1 shot would pay, would we bet it all that a 6-5 favorite would win the next race? Of course not! To do otherwise would violate the "never bet a lot to win a little" principle. That isn't the case when the 6-5 horse wins the first race and the long shot is running in the second.
Another bet that should never be made is a two horse exacta box combining a favorite with a long shot. Once again we are actually making two bets. There is nothing wrong with the favorite wins with the long shot half of the box, but the other half violates sound money management principles. When a long shot wins with the favorite running second the exacta mutuel isn't great enough to justify the risk that the long shot will win but that the favorite won't run second. Besides, there is nothing quite so discouraging as to identify a winning long shot but lose because the favorite ran poorly. A much better way to handle the situation is to simply bet the long shot to win and back that bet up with a straight favorite-long shot exacta.
Allowance races are exactly like their name implies. Allowances are made or "conditions are set" in order for the horse to be eligible in that race. Examples of allowance races are: Non-Winners of 2 races other than maiden or claiming or Non-Winners of 3 races other than maiden or claiming. A horse that has never won two races might have a hard time winning a race against horses that have won three. There are often other conditions like "of a race since September 20, 2001". Sometimes there are monetary conditions, such as "Non-Winners of $11,000 lifetime" or "Non-Winners of $20,000 twice since June 1, 2002."
A good handicapper will make note of these conditions and which horses in today's race fit them best. Some horses entered in the race may be competitive against Non-winners of three, but not against the Non-Winners of $20,000 twice. It depends on the trainer and owner, but often a horse will be run through all of their conditions before they are ever entered in a stakes race. (Two year olds are a common exception to this rule, due to the fact that their conditioned allowance races do not often get enough entrants when entries are taken for the race; ultimately leading to two year olds going from a maiden win straight into a stakes race.) Some feel that it is important to season a horse by going this route. Others feel that it is better to go after the better purses in stakes level racing. Some horses can't make the cut and go from the allowance to the claiming ranks and back over their careers.
The term "maiden" refers to a horse that has never won a race. There are two types of maiden races: maiden special weight and maiden claiming. The maiden special weight race, also called a maiden allowance, is the highest quality. A horse cannot be claimed out of a maiden special weight race. As a general rule, the maiden special weight races have the best youngest horses on the racetrack and also often some of the best bred horses. The purses are also better than in a maiden claiming race. In maiden claiming races, all the horses are for sale at the price stated in the program. Claiming prices vary from track to track, and can range from $5,000 to $150,000.
A claiming race means that the horses may be purchased by a licensed owner for the claiming price listed for that race. Every track has certain claiming guidelines, but generally there are certain rules that apply. As well as being licensed, the person making the claim also must have enough money in their horsemens' bookkeeper account to pay for the horse, and they must have a trainer to pick up the horse after the race. To make the actual claim, the owner or his authorized agent will fill out a "claim slip" with the relevant information (date, race, horse name, owner name, etc.) and deposit the slip in the claim box. There is usually a deadline to drop your claim, generally 15 minutes to post. In the event of more than one owner drops a claim on the same horse, the racing official in charge of claims, the claims clerk, will conduct a "shake" to determine who will become the new owner. The shake involves putting numbered pills, one representing each owner, in the pill bottle and pulling out a winning number. The horse is then picked up by its new owner/trainer after the race.
As mentioned when discussing a horse's class, not all horses are good enough to be top competitors in stakes level races. Claiming races are the great equalizer; basically the owner is setting the market value of the horse. If the horse is entered for a price that other trainers think is a good value, it is likely to be claimed. Conversely, if he is entered for too much, the horse often ends up being a long shot and having a slim chance of winning. Depending on the track, a horse may be entered anywhere from $5,000 to as high as $150,000. There is also another type of race called the optional claiming/allowance; a type of hybrid race that combines claiming horses with those still eligible for allowance conditions. In this case, the horses may be eligible to be claimed or they may be running for allowance conditions, and therefore are not eligible to be claimed. This type of race helps the Racing Secretary have a fuller field of horses and gives trainers a couple of options when their desired race does not fill when entries are taken.
Similar to an allowance race, a horse entered in a starter allowance race cannot be claimed. The horse, however, must have run at or below a certain claiming level (for example "$8,000 or less") during a designated time period (for example "in 2002-2003"). A starter allowance can bring together a wide range of claiming and allowance horses. If the race is a handicap, then the Racing Secretary assigns weight to each horse similar to a stakes handicap.
The minimum straight win, place or show wager is $2. The final winning prices are all based on a $2 wager. For example, if you bet $10 to win, and the win price was $5.00, you would collect a total of $25. The math works like this: [$10(amount bet) multiplied by $5.00(winning payoff) divided by $2(minimum bet denomination) = $25.00].
Win - Your horse must come in first. (On average 30% of favorites win.)
Place - Your horse must come in first or second. (On average 45% of favorites win or place.)
Next to the win bet, the Place wager is one of the oldest and most traditional. With a place wager, your horse must finish first or second. The wager pays the same whether your horse wins or not.
The place wager is a conservative wager, as you are giving yourself room for error since your horse can finish first or second. However, the payoffs are a bit lower since you are sharing the place payoff with another horse. Place wagers are most commonly used along with other wagers, such as "win and place", "across the board" or "win, place, and show", or "place and show".
Place payoffs and results
Place payoffs typically pay between $3.00 and $10.00, but can pay more with longshots and less with overwhelming favorites. Since the money you win in a place bet is generated by all of the money bet on the losing horses, the more horses in the race the greater your chances for a larger place payoff.
Below are the win, place and show payoffs for the 2004 Kentucky Derby:
| 2004 Kentucky Derby payoffs | $2 Win | $2 Place | $2 Show |
| 15 Smarty Jones | 10.20 | 6.20 | 4.80 |
| 3 Lion Heart | | 8.20 | 5.80 |
| 10 Imperialism | | | 6.20 |
For reference, the win odds were 4-1 on Smarty Jones, 5-1 on Lion Heart, and 10-1 on Imperialism.
Reading the Tote Board
One important distinction is that the Place pool is an entirely different pool than Win. This means that horses may be bet differently in each of the pools. In a place wager, because you don't know which other horse will place, it is difficult to predict your potential place payoffs. But, by comparing the place dollars to the win dollars, you can check the percentage of dollars on your horse to place.
For example, looking at the #1 horse below, we can see that he has approximately 10% of the win pool, with $2,011/$20,000 = 10%. If we use the Win odds to as a yardstick, we would expect that the #1 would have about 10% of the Place pool bet on him, or $1,000 of the $10,000 Place pool. However, we can see that #1 has only $622 bet to place, or closer to 6% of the pool. This means that the #1 is paying better odds in the Place pool. The #1 is 8-1 to Win, but he is being bet like a 14-1 in the Place pool and will pay more accordingly.
This is like bargain shopping, when we get the value of a larger payoff when it "should" offer a lesser payoff. The "should" is based on the assumption that the Win odds are more correct that the Place odds. This is a logical assumption, however, since the Win odds are easier to see and more attention is paid to them, it is more likely that the Win odds are a truer reflection of the horse's chances. Keep in mind that if the #1 wins he will still pay more to win than to place (because Place has to be divided with another horse), but the #1 is a good value in the Place pool. In this case, it might make sense to bet the #1 only to Place.
| Odds | Win | Place |
| 1 | 8 | $2,011 | $622 |
| 2 | 10 | $1,656 | $1,042 |
| 3 | 5 | $3,602 | $1,857 |
| 4 | 5-2 | $6,855 | $3,114 |
| 5 | 10 | $1,543 | $755 |
| 6 | 18 | $892 | $402 |
| 7 | 9-2 | $3,441 | $2,208 |
| | | $20,000 | $10,000 |
Show - Your horse comes in first, second, or third. (On average 65% of favorites win, place or show.)
Across the board - You are betting win, place and show on one ticket. You'll collect all three pay-outs if the horse comes in first; place and show if the horse comes in second, and show only if the horse comes in third.
These bets require you to pick more than one horse in the correct order, so they are generally harder to win than a straight wager. However, the potential for reward or the "big score" is much greater.
Daily Double - Your horses must come in first in two consecutive races. You place your bet before the first of the two races -- it's all or nothing. Example: Tell the clerk, "Give me a $2 double 3-7."
Exacta - You must select the first two horses in the exact order of finish. A favorite bet because of the potentially big payouts. Example: Tell the clerk, "Give me a $1 exacta, 3-7."
Quinella - You win when your horses finish first and second, in either order. Example: Tell the clerk, "Give me a $2 quinella, 3-7." In order to win, #3 and #7 may finish first and second in either order.
Place Pick All - The Pick All is a wager made on eight, nine or ten consecutive races. In order to win you must correctly pick horses that finish either first or second in all the races. The Pick All offers an interesting twist. You may purchase your tickets using either your own selections or those randomly generated by the mutuel machines. Your wager must be made before the start of the first race, and remember, even if you get beat by a nose for first place, you still have a chance to win.
Trifecta - You must select the first three horses in the exact order of finish. It's tough to pull off, but in addition to a huge potential payoff you get bragging rights for the next 24 hours, as in "I hit the trifecta!"
Superfecta - You must select the first four horses in the exact order of finish. (See Trifecta for bragging rights.)
Pick Three - You must select the correct first place finisher in each of the three consecutive races that make up the Pick Three. The bet must be placed before the first race on the Pick Three.
Pick Four - You must select the correct first place finisher in each of the four consecutive races that make up the Pick Four. The bet must be placed before the first race on the Pick Four.
Pick Six - You must select the correct winner in the six successive races that make up the Pick Six. The bet must be placed before the first race on the Pick Six.
Keys - For all exotic wagers, you may key a single horse in any race or in a certain finishing position. When you feel that one of your selections will finish in a certain position, either first, second, third or fourth, the horse you select to finish in a certain position is your "key" horse. The other horses you have picked may then finish in any order and you are a winner. For example, look at a trifecta with the #1 the "key" horse in the race. Remember, to cash a trifecta ticket you must also have the second and third-place finishers, in order; and for this example, say the #3, #7 and #10 all look like possible contenders. In this situation, the #1 is "keyed" on top (to win) with the #3, #4 and #5. If #1 wins and any of the other selections finish second and third, you win. Example: Tell the clerk, "Give me a $1 trifecta key 1 with 3/7/10 with 3/7/10." To calculate the cost of the bet, multiply the number of possible horses in each position by the dollar amount bet. In the above example, the cost would be 1x3x2x$1=$6.
Box - The term "box" tells the mutuel clerk that you want all possible combinations of the horses selected in wagers such as exactas, trifectas and superfectas. Example: Tell the clerk, "Give me a $1 trifecta box numbers 1, 3, and 7. If you box your selections, as long as the horses you have picked finish first, second, and third in any order, you win.
As the number of horses in the bet are increased, the key and box bets can quickly become very costly:
Exacta boxes:
| Number of horses in box | Cost for $1 bet |
| 3 | $6 |
| 4 | $12 |
| 5 | $20 |
| 6 | $30 |
Trifecta boxes:
| Number of horses in box | Cost for $1 bet |
| 3 | $6 |
| 4 | $24 |
| 5 | $60 |
| 6 | $120 |