Considering betting on the Kentucky Derby but don’t know what all the different terms mean? Here’s some good info for beginning bettors in terms of what types of bets there are:
STRAIGHT BETS
With straight bets, you are betting on one horse to do a specific thing – Win, Place, or Show. Straight bets require a minimum risk of $2 on track. If you were to bet a board across the board you would bet them for win, place, and show. Below are the types of straight bets as well as a brief description of each. Go to our betting strategy page for a more complete description of each type of bet.
Win – You win if your horse finishes 1st.
Place – You win if your horse finishes 1st or 2nd.
Show – You win if your horse finishes 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.
EXOTIC WAGERING
Some people like to be a little more daring in their betting. Exotic bets offer a chance to turn a small amount of money into a much larger amount of money.
Exacta – You win if you select the 1st and 2nd place horses in a race in the “exact” order.
Trifecta – You win if you select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place horses in a race in the correct order of finish.
Superfecta – You win if you select the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place horses in a race in the correct order of finish.
Daily Double – Daily Doubles require that you pick the winner of two consecutive races before the running of the first race in the sequence of races. Daily Doubles are usually offered on the first and last two races of each racing card.
Pick 3 – You win if you select the winner of three consecutive races. The bet must be placed prior to the running of the first race in the sequence.
Pick 4 – You win if you select the winner of four consecutive races. The bets must be placed prior to the running of the first race of the Pick 4 sequence.
