How do you bet on a race horse?

Question

Me and my boyfriend are going to Mountaineer in West Virginia this weekend for my 21st Birthday. They have slots and then they have a race track there. I want to bet on a horse just for the fun of it but I have no idea at all how it works. I don't want to go in looking like a complete idiot. Do you have to bet a lot and how much do you win and how do you go about doing it. Any advice will help!

Answer 1

If you dont know anything about horse racing and you are just going for fun, bet 2 dollars to show on whatever horse you like, whether you are picking it by the horses name or which one is the prettiest or has the nicest color. Trying to explain the racing form to a first timer would be futile. Suffice to say if you bet two dollars to show you wont make a lot of money but you can have fun cheering your pick and you will get money back if it finishes 1st, 2nd or 3rd. As an aside to datres, you are giving way too much information to a novice, sometimes called information overload. And if you have complete confidence that your horse is going to win, you wouldnt bet it across the board, you would bet it str8 to win, or you would key it on top in exactas and trifectas.

Answer 2

I'll keep this basic for you since it's your first time.  The most you need to spend is $2.  You can bet on a horse to win, come in 2nd (place), or come in 3rd (show).  Let's say you're looking at the horses for the first race and you fall in love with # 4 because you love gray horses.  You think he's going to win.  Just go to the window and tell the person that you want to bet $2 on # 4 to win.  If he/she wins, you'll collect!  How much will you collect, you ask.  Well, the amount you win is based on the amount of total money bet by everyone on that horse.  If a lot of people bet on it, you'll see an odds board that will have it at like 2-1 or 5-2.  If not many people bet on it, you might see 10-1 or higher odds.  The higher the odds, the more you will make, but it's also less likely that the horse will win...at least, that's what most of the people think.  The payout can usually be expected to be a ratio in relation to whatever odds the horse was when the race started.  So if you bet $2 on a 2-1 horse, you can expect to get $4 back.  If you bet $2 on a 10-1 horse, you can expect to get $20 back.  

Now, let's say you like #4 but you don't think he's gonna win.  You pick him to finish 2nd.  That's called 'place'.  This increases your chances of collecting at the window because if you pick the horse to place and he wins, then you still collect.  However, you'll only receive the 'place' amount which is always much less than the 'win' amount, even if it's a longshot horse.  Same goes for the 'show' bet -- you pick the horse to finish 3rd but it finishes 2nd, you'll collect, but not all that much.

One other thing you can try -- if you have COMPLETE confidence that your horse is going to win, you can pick him to win, place, and show (called 'betting across the board').  Each of those bets is a minimum of $2 so if you put $2 'across the board' on #4, you'd be spending $6.  And then if it wins, you'll collect a lot.  If it comes in 2nd or 3rd, you'll still be able to cash a ticket but not for that much.

I hope that helps.  Good luck and enjoy the races!!

Answer 3

Study the odds and bet a Trifecta BOX.

The Trifecta requires you to select the first three finishers in order. But by betting a box  your selections can come in in any order and you still win.

So here is what you would do:

Select the horses that you think have the best chance to finish in the top 3.

Go to the betting window and tell the clerk which track and race you wish to bet on

Tell the clerk "$1.00 trifecta box 1, 2, 3, " (or whichever horses you selected).

Make sure your ticket is what you want

cheer like crazy for your picks

Have Fun!

$1 is generally the minimum wager on a trifecta box but you can wager a larger amount if you like.

Oh and keep in mind that if you bet a $1 box it will cost $6 and a $2 trifecta box will cost you $12 and so on.  

Good Luck!!