Pari-Mutuel
This type of wagering is best described as pool wagering. Every player places their bets into a pool, the track takeout is then subtracted from the total and the remaining money is returned to the players that have the winning combinations.

Base Unit
This is the minimum amount of money per combination for this exotic wager.

Force Out
This is when there is a mandatory payout for a pool. The individual with the most current combination will be awarded the pool if there are no correct combinations.

Basic Wagers

These are the oldest and most generic types of wagers.

Win
A Win bet is wagering that your selection will win the race. You cash if the horse wins.

Place
A Place bet is wagering that your selection will finish in either First or Second place. You cash if either occurs however you only receive the place payout. Typically on the order of half the win payout as there are twice as many winners.

Show
A Show bet is wagering that your selection will finish will finish either First, Second or Third. You cash if this occurs however you only receive the show payout. Typically on the order of a third of the win payout as there are three times as many winners.

WPS
This wager stands for “Win”, “Place”, “Show” which is also known as “across the board” This places a win, place and show bet on your selection and is three (3) wagers. If your selection wins then you cash the win, place AND show payouts.

WP
This wager stands for “Win” and “Place”. This places a win, and place wager on your selection and is two (2) separate wagers. If your selection wins then you cash on the win and place payouts. If your selection runs second then you cash only the place payout.

WS
This wager stands for “Win” and “Show”. This places a win and place wager on your selection and is two (2) separate wagers. If your selection wins then you cash on the win and show payouts. If your selection runs second or third then you cash only the show payout.

Exotic Wagers – Single Race

Exacta
You must select the first two finishers in the exact order.

Exactor
This is the Canadian equivalent of the exacta bet.

Perfecta
This is the same as an Exacta wager however some tracks use this lingo instead namely Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino.

Exacta Box
This means that your selections can finish in either first or second place, however the cost of the wager increases exponentially when you add more selections to the box. A 2 selection box has 2 possible combinations, while 3 selections have 6 combinations and 4 selections have 24 combinations. There is a $1 base unit for this wager.

Exacta Wheel
If you are sure of either the first or second place finisher but unsure of the other spot you can “key” one horse. For example the 4 “with all” to finish in the other position.

Exacta Partial Wheel
Like the wager above only instead of “with all” you key your chosen horse and bet that with a selection of others to finish in the other position.

Quinella
You must pick the entrants that finish first and second. Either one can be first and the other one second. This bet essentially functions exactly the same as the “Exacta Box” while the payoff can vary substantially from said wager. There is no such wager as an exacta box, this is really two separate bets on one ticket.

Trifecta
You must select the first three finishers of a race in exact order.

Triactor
This is the Canadian equivalent of the Trifecta.

Trifecta Box
Like the Exacta Box, this would actually be 6 bets on one ticket if you are using 3 selections. You are betting all the possible combinations of a 3 horse wager. For example. 3,4,5 – 3,5,4 – 4,3,5 – 4,5,3 – 5,3,4, - 5,4,3. The more selections you box, the more combinations you must cover and it in turn becomes more expensive.

Trifecta Partial Wheel
Same as the trifecta Wheel however instead of betting “with all”, selected combinations are placed in the other two positions.

Superfecta
You must select the first four finishers of a race in exact order. The base wager for this pool is on the order of $0.10 cents, $0.50 cents or $1 depending upon the race track and jurisdiction.

Super Hi-Five
You must select the first five finishers of a race in exact order. This is a significantly difficult wager to hit and can be quite expensive to play however when it is hit the payouts are quite generous. This is a new wager that has a carryover component if the exact order of finish is not selected by any player in the pool.

Exotic Wagers – Multi Race

Daily Double
This is essentially a parlay bet involving two consecutive races, usually the first two races on a card and the last two races on a card however many tracks are beginning to have rolling Daily Doubles in every race. You must pick the winner of two consecutive races.

Daily Double Wheel
This is similar to the exacta wheel, if you are sure of the winner of one of the two races, you can key that horse to win and bet “with all” on the other race in the bet.

Daily Double Partial Wheel
This is similar to the above wager except you would use various selections instead of “with all” in the leg where you are not certain of the outcome.

Twin Trifecta
This is when you must hit the trifecta in two consecutive races. For every correct combination in the first leg you are awarded (1) entry into the second pool. This is typically a jackpot wager that has a large payout if you are able to hit the second trifecta. This pool is only offered on Greyhound races and these pools have “force outs” each week.

Tri Super
This is when you must hit the Trifecta(first 3 finishers) in the first race of this multi-race sequence and the Superfecta(first 4 finishers) in the second leg. For each unique correct combination in the first race leg of the pool, the player will be awarded (1) entry into the second pool for which they must guess the superfecta in correct combination. These pools are frequently forced out so players can hit these jackpot pools by correctly selection the most correct finish.

Pick 3
This wager includes picking the first place finishers of three consecutive races. If one leg of the pick 3 is a loss then the entire wager is a loss. This wager typically carries a $0.50 or $1 base unit.

Pick 4
This wager includes picking the first place finisher in four (4) consecutive races. This must be placed prior to the running of the first race in the pick 4 sequence. If one leg of the pick 4 is a loss then the entire wager is a loss. This wager typically carries a $0.50 or $1 base unit.

Pick 5
This wager includes picking the first place finisher in five (5) consecutive races. The popularity of this wager has been significant since tracks began offering it with a $0.50 base. The lower base unit allows players to cover more combinations and give them a greater chance of winning.

Pick 6
This wager includes picking the first place finisher in six (6) consecutive races. This must be placed prior to the running of the first race in the pick 6 sequence. This wager typically has a consolation payout for those missing one less than the winning combination. If the sequence is not hit then the majority of the pool will “carryover” until the next time the pool is offered. This is a significantly difficult wager to hit and generally demands a large investment. Four figure payouts are typical however do not tread lightly as this wager is not easy and should be avoided by novices. $2 minimum base wagers were the industry standard however some tracks have altered this wager to $1 minimums and new wagers. See below.

Fortune 6 Wager
This is a Pick 6 wager where the player must pick the winners of six (6) consecutive races at Beulah Park. In order to win the entire pool there must be one (1) unique winning ticket of all six winners. This wager carries a $0.25 cent base. There will be a 60% carryover combined with wagers on the next card if there are no unique winning combinations. On days that there are multiple Fortune 6 winners, 40% of the pool is shared equally among those who have selected the highest number of winning horses. Players receive a full refund for horses on the ticket that are late scratches.

Classix
This is a Pick 6 wager where the player must pick the winner of six (6) consecutive races at Oaklawn Park. If nobody picks all six winners, those picking five out of six will split 25% of the total Classix pool. The remaining 75% “carries over” to the next racing day, and will continue to do so each day until someone correctly selects six out of six.

Rainbow 6
This wager carries a $0.10 cent base unit. The player must select the first place finisher in each of the (6) six races. The entire net Rainbow 6 pool and carryover, if any, shall be distributed to a unique wager selecting the first place finisher in each of the selected six races. If there is no unique wager selecting the first place finisher in each of the races then 60% of the pool should be paid out to the winners with 40% to be carried over until the next day’s pool. There is a mandatory payout on the last day of the race meet.

Grand Slam
This wager was devised by NYRA in 2006 and now also exists at Sunland Park.
You must have your selections finish first, second or third in each of the first three legs and then get the official winner of the fourth and final leg to win. In the first 3 legs, equal weight is awarded to the winning selections; for example a 10-1 winner has the same value as a 2-1 that runs second. In the event of a late scratch in any leg of the Grand Slam, the bettor will receive the actual betting favorite.

Place Pick 5
This is a wager where the player’s selection must run in either first or second place in 5 consecutive races. This wager pays out each day to whoever is able to achieve the most correct combinations. There is no carryover contingent associated with this pool. Sunland Park offers this wager

Place Pick 6
This is a wager where the player’s selections must run in either first or second place in 6 consecutive races. This wager pays out each day to whoever is able to achieve the most correct combinations. There is no carryover contingent associated with this pool. Monmouth Park offers this wager.

Place Pick All
This is a wager where the player must pick either the first place finisher or second place finisher or both in every race on the card. This wager pays out each day to whoever is able to achieve the most combinations. There is no carryover contingent associated with this pool. Many tracks in California and the Midwest typically offer this wager.