Help the Noob: Placing a bet!

[Heliodoro]

So the derby is this weekend, I usually watch, but never a fanatic follower. However, I have a connection with one of the touted “top contenders” and I would like to put a small wager(is that even right?) down for pure fun. I know there are OTB places around, but never been in one or placed any bet in my life, so it’s a little intimidating! You’re talking to the gal who took 3 tries to get her Mega Millions ticket right, as she’d never played the Lotto before either:cool:!

So if I want to pick 3 for the top spots, do I have to be specific and say Horse A win, Horse B place and Horse C show or can it just be a combination of the 3? Or even just pick one horse to place better than 3rd is that possible?

I have one horse (the connection) that I really want to place the bet on, but 2 others seem to have caught my eye as well. What is the easiest route for a noob like me?

[caffeinated]

All things are possible!

To bet that one horse will come in 3rd or better, you place a single bet “to show”. So if you think #4 will win, or be 2nd or 3rd, you place a bet on 4 to show. You get something back if the horse comes in in any of those places. (if you do a “place” bet you get winnings if the horse comes in 1st or 2nd. Obviously, if you bet to win the horse must win.)

To bet on the top three on ONE ticket, you place a trifecta bet. You can either put them in a specific order, and place a single bet, or you can “box” it, so that you’re actually placing six bets (every possible order that the horses could come in). I believe the minimum bet is $1 for a trifecta (correct me if I’m wrong!). So if you box it, you pay for each of the combinations. I would recommend doing a box, because I had the top three horses in the preakness several years back and would have walked away with about $800, had I just boxed the bet. I was short a few bucks so played several combinations instead, insisting that one never goes to the atm at the track.

If I were you, I’d place a single bet on the horse you like, then if you want to play, pick your top three and do a trifecta box.

Also, I find that most of the tellers at tracks and OTBs are quite helpful if you’re clueless

[Bacchus]

You can bet any horse to win, place and/or show.

A trifecta is betting on three horses to finish 1, 2, 3. If you bet them straight, they have to come in that order. If you box all three, they can come in any order, but have to come in 1, 2, 3 – this is more expensive. You basically pay your bet (say, $2), for each possibility. There are other variations.

Just bet them to win, place and/or show, which is the easiest. I’m betting my long shot “across the board,” which means I win if he comes in 1, 2 or 3.

[Glimmerglass]

From a basic perspective … $2 is the minimum bet when dealing with non-exotic wagers.

Win = predicting a horse finishes 1st
Place = predicting a horse finishes 2nd
Show = predicting a horse finishes 3rd

What you’ll see post race (and this helps better visualize that you are wagering on) is a result like this:

Pgm. Horse ____ Win Place Show
4. Salvar ______8.00 3.80 3.00
3. Broken Penny ____XX 7.00 4.60
9. So Fast Sophie ____ XX XX 5.6

In the above #4 Salvar won the race, and paid to those who bet her to win $8, for the those who wagered to place $3.80, and Show bets $3 return. Broken Penny (horse #3) finished 2nd and she paid out $7 to those who wagered on her to Place and $4.6 to the Show betters. So Fast Sophie (horse #9) finished 3rd and only paid back, $5.60, those who bet on her to show.

(All returns shown are based upon a $2 wager)

What will always help the teller and speed up the transaction is to present your wager as: i State the Name of the Track (Churchill Downs), (2) State the Race Number, (3) State the Amount of the Bet, (4) State the Type of Bet, (5) State the Number of the Horse[/i]

So, for example:

Saturday @ Churchill Downs, Race 11 (which is the Kentucky Derby), $2, Show, #4 (which is Union Rags)

A horse can finish 1st (or 2nd or 3rd) and you wagered on him to finish 3rd (Show) - you’ll still make money. In the above example if Union Rags did win you’d still get money as he will pay out for all three position including your show wager. The odds and return obviously will be far less then those who took a greater risk with him to Win.

Stating “Across the board” simply means you’re making a Win/Place/Show wager.

So if you say “Race 11, $2, across the board, #4” … that will cost $6 ($2 + $2 + $2) to cover Union Rags to either win, place or show. If the horse wins you’ll get money for all three positions

Exacta wagers mean you are trying to predict the 1st and 2nd place finish in that order. It’s assumed it will be a “straight” exacta unless you say “Boxed”. Simply saying exacta means - and very important here - the 1st horse you state will win and the second horse you state will be placed.

So if you say to the teller: “Churchill Downs, Race 11, $2, Exacta, #4 (Union Rags), #14 (Hansen)” … it means the wager will cost you $2 and you will only get paid out if Union Rags wins and Hansen takes place.

If you do a Boxed Exacta that means you are picking the two horses but are unsure if they’ll [e.g. Hansen & Union Rags] will finish as Hansen 1st then Union Rags 2nd or Union Rags 1st then Hansen 2nd.

Boxing costs more obviously as you are effectively doubling up your bet.

So if you say to the teller: “Churchill Downs, Race 11, $2, Exacta Boxed, #4 (Union Rags), #14 (Hansen)” … it means the wager will cost you (2 x $2) or $4 and you will get paid out if the win/place is Hansen-Union Rags or Union Rags-Hansen

One of the more easy wagers to make is a $1 Exacta Box (which costs $2) and lets you pick a pair of horses without sweating it out too much.

So if you say to the teller: “Churchill Downs, Race 11, $1, Exacta Boxed, #4 (Union Rags), #14 (Hansen)” … it means the wager will cost you just $2 and you will get paid out if the win/place is Hansen-Union Rags or Union Rags-Hansen

[Heliodoro]

Alright so I think I got this, it certainly is a science!

So I’m thinking I’ll go with a trifecta box for my 3 contenders and a win for my (hopefully) lucky horse. We’ll see how I do in front of the teller!

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=Heliodoro;6291749]
So I’m thinking I’ll go with a trifecta box for my 3 contenders and a win for my (hopefully) lucky horse. We’ll see how I do in front of the teller![/QUOTE]

So, Saturday @ Churchill Downs, Race 11 (which is the Kentucky Derby), $2, WIN, [state the horse’s number]

and for the trifecta box:

Saturday @ Churchill Downs, Race 11 (which is the Kentucky Derby), $2, Trifecta Box, [state all three horses numbers]

(That tri-box will cost, if you wager $2 and box it, $12)

Keep in mind you can have more than three horses in a trifecta box at an extra costs … so for example:

Number of Horses @ $2 Trifecta Box
(3) Cost: $12
(4) Cost: $24
(5) Cost: $120
(6) Cost: $240
(7) Cost: $420

best of luck!

ETA: Here is the payouts from 2000 through 2011 for the $2 Win, $2 Exacta, $2 Trifecta, $2 Superfecta

[Glimmerglass]

One other tip - always double check your horse picks with their official cloth number - here is the 2012 Derby field

[Mali]

[QUOTE=caffeinated;6291489]
All things are possible!

To bet that one horse will come in 3rd or better, you place a single bet “to show”. So if you think #4 will win, or be 2nd or 3rd, you place a bet on 4 to show. You get something back if the horse comes in in any of those places. (if you do a “place” bet you get winnings if the horse comes in 1st or 2nd. Obviously, if you bet to win the horse must win.)

To bet on the top three on ONE ticket, you place a trifecta bet. You can either put them in a specific order, and place a single bet, or you can “box” it, so that you’re actually placing six bets (every possible order that the horses could come in). I believe the minimum bet is $1 for a trifecta (correct me if I’m wrong!). So if you box it, you pay for each of the combinations. I would recommend doing a box, because I had the top three horses in the preakness several years back and would have walked away with about $800, had I just boxed the bet. I was short a few bucks so played several combinations instead, insisting that one never goes to the atm at the track.

If I were you, I’d place a single bet on the horse you like, then if you want to play, pick your top three and do a trifecta box.

Also, I find that most of the tellers at tracks and OTBs are quite helpful if you’re clueless :)[/QUOTE]

Wish I would’ve known this back in 1997! I placed a trifecta bet on Silver Charm, Touch Gold and Freehouse and boxed it. It thought boxing it meant they had to finish in that order. I don’t know what it paid, because I tore up the ticket thinking I had lost. I had placed a $20 wager

[Flashy_Gray_VA]

OP, as others have said, if I’m on my own I also like to single a personal favorite horse and do a trifecta box.

Good luck with that in this year’s Derby - such a wonderfully deep field! Am figuring out what to do with my top 4, who I really must pare down further: Creative Cause, Bodemeister, Union Rags, and Gemologist.

I actually hit the trifecta in the Santa Anita Handicap (“the big 'Cap”) earlier this year. Forgot to box it per my usual practice but I didn’t need it!

Thank you Bill Mott and Ron the Greek!