Horse racing journalist and handicapper who covered the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont and Breeders’ Cup for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
HORSE BETTING GUIDE · STRATEGY
Reviewed by the Horse.bet Team
What is the best way to bet exactas and trifectas in horse racing? — explained: After the handicapping is done, there is still lots of work ahead to determine which races look conducive to exacta or trifecta wagering.
After the handicapping is done, there is still lots of work ahead to determine which races look conducive to exacta or trifecta wagering. Exactas , as you likely know, require the bettor to correctly select the top two finishers in order, while trifectas cover the top three placings.
Such bets are popular because a winner can quickly translate into a good day at the races, but they also can lead to long losing streaks that can mess with your mind. It is a good long term strategy .
The road to profit on both bets is to be selective and look for races that lend themselves to either approach. For example, in a race where you think a long shot is competitive, it may make sense to combine it with some of the favorites in both wagers. In other cases, you may really like a 20-1 shot to win, in which case you might want to build a ticket where you use that horse in the win slot, then add more horses in the second or third tiers.
Two of the main techniques used to improve your odds of winning are: “boxing” multiple horses – or betting them back and forth to ensure your 1-2 exacta doesn’t come in 2-1, for instance – and “keying” a single runner to several other contenders.
To calculate the cost of such a ticket, you need to figure the number of combinations included.
There are a number of online calculators that can help with the heavy lifting, though the simplest way is to use your preferred online wagering platform to enter your selections and see if the cost of the ticket is in your comfort zone.
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