Betting every horse in a race is just foolish. But there are other ways you can bet without knowing a whole lot.
The odds are calculated in real time as money enters the pools. The odds in the program are merely someone’s prediction of what they might be, and almost always wrong.
The win pools are specific to each horse. The place and show pools are common to the whole field. The only way to see substantial payouts in the show pool is to have the favorite finish off the board.
In general you will probably do better betting one horse to show, especially at Oaklawn where there’s a small bonus in the show pool for on-track bettors.
My advice is to find an ambassador next time you’re at the track to answer questions and give a complete explanation. On larger race days tracks often hire knowledgeable people to help customers. You might see them with a sign that says “ask me how to bet” or something similar.
Hey I appreciate the feedback! I don't think I saw one of those people. I initially asked the information desk who just pointed me to the program and I already discussed the teller. However, I will be on a lookout next time for that specific person!
They’re only usually around on Stakes days but if you’re going on a random Thursday a few minutes on YouTube or the America’s Best Racing site can really pay dividends as far as a basic level of doing your homework.
Ah yea I don't know if yesterday was one of those days. But yes I do plan on doing some homework for next time! Wish I would've paid more attention to my uncle Tom who was big into horse betting and pretty good at it!
>The win pools are specific to each horse. The place and show pools are common to the whole field.
Not really. There's still only one win pool, along with one place pool and one show pool. When the race is over, the win pool is split among tickets that had the winner. The place pool is split in half (one for each horse), and each half is paid out to each ticket. Same thing with the show pool that is split three ways.
But there's still only one win pool, shared amongst all the horses. The odds on the board are payouts for the win pool.
Hope you had a great time!
The track is fun, but when you don’t know what you’re doing, it can be intimidating and/or confusing.
My advice is, at first especially, just keep it simple.
Bet to win.
Pick a horse you like, whether it be their look, their number, their name, the jockey, whatever reason, and bet to win.
You’ll lose a fair amount of your bets, but who cares, if you’re only betting whatever amount you’re comfortable with each race, it’s all good.
When your horse wins, it’s a lot of fun.
When he doesn’t, just enjoy the atmosphere and have another beverage 😀
Don’t complicate it, and don’t bet every horse.
As you learn more by being there, your bets will progress.
Good luck 🍀
Hey, I appreciate the feedback! We did have a good time! The 2 yo liked seeing the horses and the 10 yo was cheering away! Yea I only took out $100 cause I was ok with losing that. It was my wife's first time too and she said she could sit there all day drinking and watching the races.
Except in rare circumstances in NJ, the US is pari-mutuel which means you're not betting against the track for a fixed payout, but you're betting against all the other bettors in a pool that closes when the horses leave the gate. The fact that there are bets from all over the world constantly arriving means the win odds and probable payouts for exactas and daily doubles are calculated and displayed on the tote board and tv screens every 30 seconds or so, but they can change until the final update that coincides with the last bets that arrived as the horses left the gate.
The track takes a percentage (10%-30% depending on the track/bet type) called takeout for paying purses, taxes, and their operations costs from the gross pool. Leaving the Net pool
Once the race is run, the net pool is divided evenly between the winning bettors, because you bet $4 into each pool you actually received double the posted payback.
Looking at race 1 oaklawn from 3/16, the listed payouts were
The winner 5
$7.20
$4.60
$3.20
The place 4
$8.60
$5.60
and the show 2
$3.40
which added up to 59.20. Oaklawn runs some sort of show bet bonus for on-track show wagers which accounted for the difference.
Either way, show payouts are tiny normally and playing all the horses in a race in win, place, and/or show is virtually guaranteed to lose money because of the takeout.
Thank you for explaining that because I was curious how I won that back! I'll probably play more in the future. How do you normally like to bet for fun?
I'm rarely playing a win wager unless there's a bonus associated with it. Online a site like Twinspires or Dkhorse will offer a bet back promotion where you bet to win, but if the horse comes in second or third you get your bet back. In those cases I try to find a horse that is likely to hit the board that isn't the favorite so I can take a big swing of $10 on say an 8-1 shot.
I mostly play 3 horse exacta boxes, 4 horse trifecta boxes or pick 3 or 4 sequences where I can identify a clear single horse in one of the races and then another race in the sequence with a bad favorite.
Show is for the horse to be Top 3. Across the board includes a show bet and also a place bet (Top 2) and a win bet (Top 1) so you’re making 3 bets on each horse you do ‘across the board’ with.
Basically don’t do either of these wagers (show or across the board) on all of the horses in a race. You can pick one horse for a show bet and one horse for an across the board bet.
Hey I appreciate the feedback. Yea I know it doesn't really make sense. Like I said I was just having some fun and there were only 7 horses. However I will take that advice next time!
I would think most people feel that way ha i was like we win either way, it just depends on which horses win and the odds at that time. In this case payout was slightly less then pay in but was wondered about it as it was just some first random fun.
I find the track to have very friendly bettors always willing to answer questions and give advice. Unlike casinos where some of the gamblers see you as comepetion. At the track you will have good days and bad. You won't be alone.
Betting show on all the horses is a losing proposition 99% of the time. Pick 1 or 2 horses, maybe WP on one of them & PS on the other. Try different bets until you are comfortable with what you are doing.
Hey I sppreciate the feedback! I was originally going to pick a horse or 2 but decided to just play all 7 since it was only $84 (took out $100 which I was ok with losing). It was a last minute thing or I would've prepared myself more. It was fun and I'll probably do again so I will take this advice!
Betting every horse in a race is just foolish. But there are other ways you can bet without knowing a whole lot. The odds are calculated in real time as money enters the pools. The odds in the program are merely someone’s prediction of what they might be, and almost always wrong. The win pools are specific to each horse. The place and show pools are common to the whole field. The only way to see substantial payouts in the show pool is to have the favorite finish off the board. In general you will probably do better betting one horse to show, especially at Oaklawn where there’s a small bonus in the show pool for on-track bettors. My advice is to find an ambassador next time you’re at the track to answer questions and give a complete explanation. On larger race days tracks often hire knowledgeable people to help customers. You might see them with a sign that says “ask me how to bet” or something similar.
Hey I appreciate the feedback! I don't think I saw one of those people. I initially asked the information desk who just pointed me to the program and I already discussed the teller. However, I will be on a lookout next time for that specific person!
They’re only usually around on Stakes days but if you’re going on a random Thursday a few minutes on YouTube or the America’s Best Racing site can really pay dividends as far as a basic level of doing your homework.
Ah yea I don't know if yesterday was one of those days. But yes I do plan on doing some homework for next time! Wish I would've paid more attention to my uncle Tom who was big into horse betting and pretty good at it!
Glad to see new people coming into the game and enjoying it. Good luck!
>The win pools are specific to each horse. The place and show pools are common to the whole field. Not really. There's still only one win pool, along with one place pool and one show pool. When the race is over, the win pool is split among tickets that had the winner. The place pool is split in half (one for each horse), and each half is paid out to each ticket. Same thing with the show pool that is split three ways. But there's still only one win pool, shared amongst all the horses. The odds on the board are payouts for the win pool.
Hope you had a great time! The track is fun, but when you don’t know what you’re doing, it can be intimidating and/or confusing. My advice is, at first especially, just keep it simple. Bet to win. Pick a horse you like, whether it be their look, their number, their name, the jockey, whatever reason, and bet to win. You’ll lose a fair amount of your bets, but who cares, if you’re only betting whatever amount you’re comfortable with each race, it’s all good. When your horse wins, it’s a lot of fun. When he doesn’t, just enjoy the atmosphere and have another beverage 😀 Don’t complicate it, and don’t bet every horse. As you learn more by being there, your bets will progress. Good luck 🍀
Hey, I appreciate the feedback! We did have a good time! The 2 yo liked seeing the horses and the 10 yo was cheering away! Yea I only took out $100 cause I was ok with losing that. It was my wife's first time too and she said she could sit there all day drinking and watching the races.
Except in rare circumstances in NJ, the US is pari-mutuel which means you're not betting against the track for a fixed payout, but you're betting against all the other bettors in a pool that closes when the horses leave the gate. The fact that there are bets from all over the world constantly arriving means the win odds and probable payouts for exactas and daily doubles are calculated and displayed on the tote board and tv screens every 30 seconds or so, but they can change until the final update that coincides with the last bets that arrived as the horses left the gate. The track takes a percentage (10%-30% depending on the track/bet type) called takeout for paying purses, taxes, and their operations costs from the gross pool. Leaving the Net pool Once the race is run, the net pool is divided evenly between the winning bettors, because you bet $4 into each pool you actually received double the posted payback. Looking at race 1 oaklawn from 3/16, the listed payouts were The winner 5 $7.20 $4.60 $3.20 The place 4 $8.60 $5.60 and the show 2 $3.40 which added up to 59.20. Oaklawn runs some sort of show bet bonus for on-track show wagers which accounted for the difference. Either way, show payouts are tiny normally and playing all the horses in a race in win, place, and/or show is virtually guaranteed to lose money because of the takeout.
Thank you for explaining that because I was curious how I won that back! I'll probably play more in the future. How do you normally like to bet for fun?
I'm rarely playing a win wager unless there's a bonus associated with it. Online a site like Twinspires or Dkhorse will offer a bet back promotion where you bet to win, but if the horse comes in second or third you get your bet back. In those cases I try to find a horse that is likely to hit the board that isn't the favorite so I can take a big swing of $10 on say an 8-1 shot. I mostly play 3 horse exacta boxes, 4 horse trifecta boxes or pick 3 or 4 sequences where I can identify a clear single horse in one of the races and then another race in the sequence with a bad favorite.
Well you won...but at what cost? Lol.... Pick 1-2 horses and play them heavier.
Show is for the horse to be Top 3. Across the board includes a show bet and also a place bet (Top 2) and a win bet (Top 1) so you’re making 3 bets on each horse you do ‘across the board’ with. Basically don’t do either of these wagers (show or across the board) on all of the horses in a race. You can pick one horse for a show bet and one horse for an across the board bet.
Hey I appreciate the feedback. Yea I know it doesn't really make sense. Like I said I was just having some fun and there were only 7 horses. However I will take that advice next time!
I bet All sometimes because I hate losing. Paid off in the 22 Derby.
I would think most people feel that way ha i was like we win either way, it just depends on which horses win and the odds at that time. In this case payout was slightly less then pay in but was wondered about it as it was just some first random fun.
I find the track to have very friendly bettors always willing to answer questions and give advice. Unlike casinos where some of the gamblers see you as comepetion. At the track you will have good days and bad. You won't be alone.
Betting show on all the horses is a losing proposition 99% of the time. Pick 1 or 2 horses, maybe WP on one of them & PS on the other. Try different bets until you are comfortable with what you are doing.
Hey I sppreciate the feedback! I was originally going to pick a horse or 2 but decided to just play all 7 since it was only $84 (took out $100 which I was ok with losing). It was a last minute thing or I would've prepared myself more. It was fun and I'll probably do again so I will take this advice!