• Horse Betting Odds Explained. Welcome to the horse betting odds page here on ExplainBettingOdds.com.When it comes to betting on horse racing and other forms of pari-mutuel betting, many folks are confused about all of the different ways one can win, calculate odds and determine their payouts.
  • Should Horse A win the race, we will receive a payout of $54 for our $10 bet. If Horse C won the race, we will receive $108 for our $10 bet.
  • But the big winner was a bettor who hit the winner in the first five races. That 50 cent bet paid out $524,966.50, the fifth-highest payout for a 50 cent wager in U.S. Horse racing history, according to Ed DeRosa, director of marketing for Brisnet. It’s also the third-highest payout for a non-jackpot.

Making a bet can be confusing. Follow these simple steps to figure out how much to bet. Select a bet amount in the left column. Select a bet type in the right column. Select the horses to include in the wager. The total cost of the ticket will appear next to the words Ticket Cost. If you bet to place, the horse can finish first or second. The most conservative wager is the show wager where a horse can finish first, second or third giving you three chances to cash your ticket. Odds on the toteboard are for win wagers only and are approximate with the final payoff based on the final count of wagers from all simulcast outlets.

The Exacta is a horse racing wager that you NEED to know. It’s more straightforward than most of the other exotic wagers, and it’s one of the least difficult to get right. It’s still harder than a straight bet, but the potential payouts more than make up for that. Because when you win an Exacta, you can expect to see a decent return!

Don’t get too excited just yet though; we’re not saying that it’s EASY to win money from Exactas. We’re just saying that it’s easier than some of the alternatives. The more advanced exotics (such as Trifectas and Superfectas) offer even bigger payouts, but they are VERY tough to get right. Exactas provide the perfect balance between risk and reward in our opinion.

We’re clearly not the only ones who think this way, as Exacta betting is extremely popular among horse racing bettors. In fact, there are many who view Exacta betting as THE best way to make money. Are they right? It’s tough to say for sure, but they certainly have a case.

No matter how you look at it, knowing how Exacta betting works will definitely be useful. And we can teach you everything you need to know right here. We go over the Exacta wager in detail, including information on the different variations of it.

What Is A Horse Racing Exacta?

A horse racing Exacta is a wager on which two horses will finish in the first two positions. You need to get both the horses and their finishing positions EXACTLY right, hence the name.

Let’s use an example to demonstrate how this wager works. Here’s what the Exacta betting menu looks like at one of our preferred online horse racing betting sites.

As you can see, there are seven horses in this race. We’ve got to decide which one we think will finish first, and which one we think will finish second. After studying the race, we like the favorite (the #2 horse) to win. We think that the #7 horse will come second. To place on Exacta on this outcome, we’d have to check the “1st” box next to the #2 horse, and the “2nd” box next to the #7 horse. Then we’d add the wager to our betting slip, using the button at the bottom right.

This is known as a 2-7 Exacta, because we’re backing the #2 horse to win and the #7 horse to come second. If the #2 horse goes on to win, with the #7 horse in second, then we win our wager. ANY other outcome means we lose. Just picking the first two horses is not enough, as we HAVE to get them in the right order too.

That’s a basic overview of how an Exacta wager works. Well, it’s how a STRAIGHT Exacta works. There are some other types of this wager, as we’ll explain later in this article. First, we need to explain how the stakes and payouts work.

We used a betting site in the above example, but you can also place Exactas at racetracks, bookmaking shops, off track betting bureaus and other locations (depending on where you live). Although the wager always works in exactly the same way, the process for placing it may vary. The NAME of the wager may vary too. This same wager may be referred to as an Exactor, Perfecta or a dual forecast, so don’t let that catch you off guard.

Exacta Stakes & Payouts

The “standard” Exacta stake is $2. This doesn’t mean you have to stake exactly $2 though. You can stake more if you want, and you can usually stake less. $1 Exactas are available at most locations these days, while some places offer even cheaper stakes.

Payouts for these wagers are calculated using the pari-mutuel system. This is a form of pool betting, where there are no fixed odds involved. All the Exacta stake money for a race goes into a prize pool, which is distributed among all winning tickets.

This is not as complicated as it might sound. In fact, it’s very straightforward. Here’s an example of how it works.

  • A total of 2,000 $2 Exacta tickets are bought for a race.
  • The proceeds from those tickets form the prize pool.
  • 2,000 x $2 = $4,000, so the prize pool has $4,000 in it.
  • 50 of the tickets sold have the correct finishing order of the first two horses.
  • Each winning ticket receives an equal share of the prize pool.
  • $4,000 / 50 = $80, so each winning ticket returns $80.

In practice, the payout wouldn’t actually be $80 here. The prize pool would have a deduction taken from it by the organization operating it. That’s how the bookmakers, racetracks and betting sites make their money on pari-mutuel wagering. There’s no need to try to figure that out though, as the Exacta payout will be announced as soon as the race is over.

The announced payout will always be based on a $2 ticket. So if you’ve staked $4 on a winning Exacta, your payout will be double that amount. If you’ve staked $1, your payout will be half that amount.

Can you see why the Exactas are such a good wager yet? It’s because of the PAYOUTS! An $80 return for a $2 stake is very good, and this level of payout is common. Payouts can be a lot less too, but they can also be a lot higher. In the 2017 Kentucky Derby, for example, the Exacta payout was $336.20. And that’s not even the highest it’s been. In the 2005 Kentucky Derby, the Exacta payout was $9,814.80. That’s nearly a five-figure return for just $2!

What causes such high payouts?The number of tickets sold and the result.

The more Exacta tickets that are sold for a race, the bigger the prize pool. The Kentucky Derby attracts a LOT of betting interest as a major race, so the Exacta pools are usually huge. If there’s an unexpected result, then not many of the tickets bought will have the winning combination. That means there’s a huge prize pool being shared among just a few winning tickets, hence the big payouts.

Of course, it can work the other way too. When the two favorites come first and second in a race, there’ll be lots of winning Exacta tickets. That means a much lower payout. And the payouts are lower in races that attract less betting interest too.

Nonetheless, even an average Exacta payout represents a good return. That’s why this wager is so popular, and why we recommend using it.

Now, let’s take a look at the different types of Exacta.

To place an Exacta Box, we must pick two or more horses that we think could finish first or second. This wager then covers ALL the possible finishing combinations of our selected horses in those two positions. For example, let’s say we placed an Exacta Box on horses #1, #3 and #7. Here’s a list of the exact combinations that would cover.

  • 1-3
  • 1-7
  • 3-1
  • 3-7
  • 7-1
  • 7-3

What we’ve done here is effectively placed six straight Exactas. So the Exacta Box is basically just an easy way to cover multiple combinations of horses in a single wager. It gives us a better chance of winning, but it also costs more. This is because we have to pay for each combination it covers.

Payouts

A $2 Exacta box on three horses costs $12, as it’s covering six combinations. A $2 Exacta Box on four horses would cover 12 combinations and cost $24. Once we start including more horses than that, the costs grow exponentially.

We don’t actually like Exacta Box betting much. It’s not a TERRIBLE option if there are three or four horses that we think have an equal chance of finishing in the top two, but that situation doesn’t arise very often. It’s far more likely that there’ll be one or two horses we think will win, and perhaps a couple of others that we think have a chance of coming in second. In those situations, it’s much more efficient to use an Exacta Wheel.

Horse

The Exacta Wheel is also known as an Exacta Key. We can use it to “key” one or two horses in first position, and cover multiple other horses in second position. It’s more efficient than the Exacta Box because we don’t have to spend so much money.

A “full wheel” means we combine our chosen horse(s) in first position with ALL the other runners in the race. Here’s an example.

Full Wheel Example

We like the #1 horse to win a race where there are six runners in total. A full wheel with the #1 horse as our key would cover the following combinations.

As you can see, we’re just covering our key horse to win with every other horse in second position. This means we’re guaranteed to win the Exacta payout as long as our key horse wins. Since we’re only covering five combinations, this wager would only cost us $10 with a $2 stake.

We can also use a full wheel with two key horses. We’d do this whenever we felt there were two horses with an equal or similar chance of winning. If the two key horses were #1 and #2, the following combinations would be covered.

  • 1-2
  • 1-3
  • 1-4
  • 1-5
  • 1-6
  • 2-1
  • 2-3
  • 2-4
  • 2-5
  • 2-6

We’re up to ten combinations now, so the cost would be $20 with a $2 stake. While this wager is a little pricier, we’re guaranteed a payout if either the #1 horse or the #2 horse wins!

Full wheels are definitely more efficient than Exacta Boxes, as we’re only covering the combinations that we think are likely to occur. An even more efficient option would be to place a “part wheel.” This involves combining our key horse(s) with just SOME of the other runners in the race.

Here’s an example of how a part wheel works.

Horse Betting Payouts

Once again we like the #1 horse to win a race where there are six runners in total. This time, however, we think that the #3 horse and the #6 horse have no chance of finishing in the top two. We decide to place a part wheel with #1 as our key horse, combined with the other remaining horses. This would cover the following combinations.

  • 1-2
  • 1-4
  • 1-5

We’ve now reduced the total of combinations to just three, so our cost is only $6 with a $2 stake. We’ve obviously reduced our overall chances of winning too, but we’ve still covered the combinations that we believe are most likely.

This is THE best way to profit when Exacta betting.

You’re not GUARANTEED to make a profit this way of course. We think it’s the right approach though, and definitely better than the alternatives in most situations.

A single Straight Exacta is cheap, but it’s very difficult to win since it only covers one single combination. An Exacta Box covers lots of different combinations and improves our chances of winning, but it comes at a significant cost. Betsson no deposit bonus.

A part wheel is basically a compromise between these two options. We get to improve our chances of winning by covering multiple combinations, but we don’t increase our costs too much. We’re getting the best possible value for our wagers, which is the ultimate goal when betting on horse racing.

So if you’re going to get involved with Exacta betting, we strongly recommend using part wheels. There will be occasions when a Straight Exacta or an Exacta Box is the way to go. For the most part though, part wheels are the best option.

Another option worth considering is the Quinella. This is another exotic horse racing wager that’s very similar to the Exacta. To learn more about it, feel free to check out the page listed below.

Money wagered and the horses’s odds affect the payout amount.

The greater the risk, the greater the reward. Horses facing long odds payout more than favorite horses. Check the odds listed next to your horse. A small number indicates a favored horse. A large number indicates a long shot.

Games like myvegas slots. In most cases, odds are listed next to the horse’s name. Wager type, odds and pool size determine final payout amounts. See our discussion of various ways to bet on horses for more information.

Horse
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The following are two charts: payouts for $2 and $1 wagers.

Payout on $2 Horse Racing Bet – $2 Horse Bet Payouts

Horse Betting Odds and Payouts: $2 Bet
Odds$2 Bet Pays
1:9$2.20
1:5$2.40
2:5$2.80
1:2$3.00
3:5$3.20
4:5$3.60
1:1$4.00
6:5$4.40
7:5$4.80
3:2$5.00
8:5$5.20
9:5$5.60
2:1$6.00
5:2$7.00
3:1$8.00
7:2$9.00
4:1$10.00
9:2$11.00
5:1$12.00
6:1$14.00
7:1$16.00
8:1$18.00
9:1$20.00
10:1$22.00

OddsPayout on $1 Horse Racing Bet – $1 Horse Bet Payouts

Horse Betting Odds and Payouts: $1 Bet
Odds$1 Bet Pays
1:9$1.10
1:5$1.20
2:5$1.40
1:2$1.50
3:5$1.60
4:5$1.80
1:1$2.00
6:5$2.20
7:5$2.40
3:2$2.50
8:5$2.60
9:5$2.80
2:1$3.00
5:2$3.50
3:1$4.00
7:2$4.50
4:1$5.00
9:2$5.50
5:1$6.00
6:1$7.00
7:1$8.00
8:1$9.00
9:1$10.00
10:1$11.00
OddsDefault > Bet Now

The odds and payouts above are the most common in horse races. Different odds and payouts are offered for large races. This includes Kentucky Derby Betting. Long shot horses in the Kentucky Derby frequently face 30:1 to 50:1 odds. The extreme competition and large field make some horses less probable to win.

Feel free to print this page out. Use it as reference when learning how to bet on horses.

Good Luck and don’t forget to visit our recommended horse racebooks!

Horse Betting Payouts Calculator

See Also
How to Bet On Horses
Win Place or Show Betting
Online Horse Betting Sites