1. Exacta Horse Bet
2. Exacta Betting Horse Race
3. Types Of Horse Racing Bets
4. What Is Exacta Horse Bet
5. Exacta Horse Bet Payout

What is a Exacta Bet?

Exacta betting requires you to pick the first two finishers in a race in exact order – hence the name exacta. Also known at some tracks as the exactor or perfecta, exactas are attractive betting propositions to many players because of the potential for large payoffs. Exacta wagering also offers an opportunity to make a good profit on race in which a heavy favorite makes win betting a poor value proposition.

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.

• Exacta bets, also referred to as perfecta or exactor bets, involve a bettor choosing two horses he thinks will place in the top two positions. Unlike the popular quinella bets, exacta bets require you to select the correct finishing order of the top two horses.
• Exotic Horse Racing Wagers – Exacta Betting 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.
• With an Exacta Box you will win your bet if the horses you pick finish in first and second place in either order with as many horses as you wish. The minimum amount that can be wagered is $1 per combination. So a 2 horse exacta box at $1 will cost a minimum of $2.
• Boxing horses just means you are playing every possible exacta combination of the horses you choose, so a $2 exacta box of Horses A and B would cost $4 total, because you are actually placing two separate bets: a $2 exacta with A in first and B in second, and a $2 exacta with B in first and A in second.

Whereas a horse might only pay $5 to win for a $2 bet, an exacta combining that winner with a longshot could pay substantially more. Some players like to bet exactas not only because of the potential for high payoffs, but also because the tote board at most racetracks will show the probable exacta payoffs before a race runs. Being able to see what you can win before a race runs is a very appealing option to many bettors. Additionally, exacta boxes of two or more horses are an option used by many bettors when their handicapping can’t separate the winner from their top contenders.

There are basically three different exacta wagering options, some more efficient than others.

Straight Exacta Betting

The first exacta wagering option is the straight exacta bet, generally offered in minimum denominations of $2. A $2 straight exacta bet 3-4 would require that horse 3 win the race and horse 4 finish second in order for you to cash a winning ticket.

Exacta Boxes

The second and most popular exacta wagering strategy is an exacta box combining 2 or more horses to finish first or second in either order. Generally offered in a minimum denomination of $1, an exacta box of horses 3-4 would represent 2 possible combinations – 3-4 and 4-3, at a cost of $2. The cost of a $1 exacta box correlates directly to the number of horses and possible combinations in the box.

For example, a $1 exacta box of 3 horses (2-3-4) represents 6 possible $1 winning combinations that include 2-3, 2-4, 3-4, 3-2, 4-2 and 4-3. While any of these combinations would allow you to cash a ticket, keep in mind that your payout would be only half of the actual $2 straight exacta payout, because you played a $1 box.

A box can be played in any denomination of $1 or more, but the higher the denomination played, the higher the cost. A $2 exacta box of the same three horses (2-3-4) would cost $12, twice as much as a $1 exacta box, but would also offer the full $2 exacta payout as displayed on the tote board.

To determine the cost of a $1 exacta box take the number of horses you want to box and multiply that number by the number of horses in the box minus 1. A $1 exacta box of four horses would be calculated as 4 * (4-1) * $1 = $12, which equates to 12 $1 exacta bets.

Below are some additional exacta box calculations with costs:

$1 exacta box of 3 horses = 3 * (3-1) = 6 combinations * $1= $6

$1 exacta box of 4 horses = 4 * (4-1) = 12 combinations * $1 = $12

$1 exacta box of 5 horses = 5 * (5-1) = 20 combinations * $1 = $20

$1 exacta box of 6 horses = 6 * (6-1) = 30 combinations * $1 = $30

$1 exacta box of 7 horses = 7 * (7-1) = 42 combinations * $1 = $42

$1 exacta box of 8 horses = 8 * (8-1) = 56 combinations * $1 = $56

You can box as many horses as you like in an exacta, but this is not generally a wise betting strategy simply because all of the horses in the box do not have the same chance of finishing first or second.

In most, but not all cases, exacta boxes represent poor value, but because they are relatively easy to understand, mentally easier to play (you don’t have to pick the horses in exact order) and offer the greatest probability of cashing a ticket (even at a loss), they are the most popular method of playing exactas.

Because exacta boxes rate each combination in the box as having the exact same probability of winning (which is never the case) they produce inefficiencies in the exacta betting pools. It is these inefficiencies that smart bettors look for and try to take advantage of.

Exacta Wheels and Exacta Part-Wheels

The third method of playing exactas is to wheel one horse (or more than one horse) in one position with any number of horses in the other position. For example, if you were to play a $1 exacta wheel 3-with-All in an eight-horse field (3 with 1,2,4,5,6,7,8 – seven $1 combinations) it would cost you $7. The 3 horse would have to win and any of 1,2,4,5,6,7,8 would have to finish second in order for you to cash a ticket. Or, if you think the 3 horse has a better chance of finishing second, you might play a $1 exacta wheel All-with-3 (1,2,4,5,6,7,8 with 3 – again seven $1 combinations) at a cost of $7. In this case any horse in the race could win and the 3 horse would have to finish second in order for you to cash a ticket.

Exactas can also be played as part-wheels, which differs from a full wheel in that you do not use ALL the horses in one part of the wheel. For example, in an eight-horse field, you might play a $1 exacta part-wheel 3 with 2, 4, 5 (three possible winning combinations of 3-2, 3-4, 3-5) at a cost of $3. Or you might play the part-wheel the other way, 2, 4, 5 with 3 (also three possible winning combinations of 2-3, 4-3, 5-3) at a cost of $3. While exacta wheels and part-wheels are not quite as inefficient as boxes, they still leave room for improvement, which brings us to our preferred exacta betting strategy.

Preferred Exacta Betting Strategies

Let’s say you like horses 5, 6 and 7 to finish first or second in a race. Your handicapping tells you that horse 5 has a 50 percent chance of winning the race, horse 6 has a 20 percent chance of winning and horse 7 has a 10 percent chance of winning. Most bettors in this scenario would play an exactor box of 5-6-7 – six possible combinations. Other bettors might play an exactor part-wheel wheel of 5-with 6, 7 and an additional part-wheel of 6, 7 with 5 – four possible combinations. The exactor box rates each possible combination as having the same probability of winning, which according to your handicapping is not correct. The part-wheel in this case is more efficient, leaving out the less probable combinations of 6-7 and 7-6, but still rating both the 6 and 7 horses as having the same probability of winning or finishing second.

Considering you have $60 to spend and that you have rated the chances of each horse winning as follows: 5 – 50%, 6-20%, 7-10%, below are some possible betting options:

Exacta Box – Least Efficient

$10 exacta box 5-6-7 = 6 possible combinations bet in equal proportion = $60

Resulting Exacta Tickets

• $10 exacta 5-6 = $10
• $10 exacta 5-7 = $10
• $10 exacta 6-5 = $10
• $10 exacta 6-7 = $10
• $10 exacta 7-5 = $10
• $10 exacta 7-6 = $10

Exacta Part-Wheels – Slightly More Efficient

$15 exacta part wheel 5 with 6, 7 and 6, 7 with 5 = 4 possible combinations = $60

Resulting Exacta Tickets

• $15 exacta 5-6 = $15
• $15 exacta 5-7 = $15
• $15 exacta 6-5 = $15
• $15 exacta 7-5 = $15

Exacta Part-Wheels Correlated to Winning Probabilities as Identified by Your Handicapping – Highly Efficient

• $30 exacta 5-6
• $20 exacta 5-7
• $6 exacta 6-5
• $4 exacta 7-5

Results and Exacta Payoffs

The race ran exactly as your handicapping said it would – the 5 horse won and the 6 horse ran second. The $2 exacta 5-6 paid $20. Lucky you! Depending on how you bet.

If you had bet the first option, the exacta box:

Cost: $60 Return: $10 exacta 5-6 = $100 - $60 = $40 Profit

If you had bet the second option, the exacta part-wheels:

Cost: $60 Return: $15 exacta 5-6 = $150 - $60 = $90 Profit

If you had bet the third option – exacta part-wheels correlated to winning probabilities as identified by your handicapping:

Cost: $60 Return: $30 exacta 5-6 = $300 - $60 = $240 Profit

The final exacta wagering strategy, which places more money on the higher probability combinations as identified by your handicapping, produces the largest profit – which is the key to producing a positive return on investment over the long term. While you might cash more tickets using the inefficient exacta box method, it is unlikely that this low-profit strategy will sustain itself over the long haul.

Keeping in mind that combinations of favorites in exactas generally produce lower payoffs than they should, as do combinations of longshots, you can further increase you chances of achieving a positive return on investment by focusing your play on races in which your handicapping points to the high probability of two medium-priced horses completing the exacta. The latter scenario often results in payoffs that are larger than they should be due to inefficiencies in the exacta betting pools.

In summary, using solid handicapping fundamentals to determine your own set of probabilities, and then focusing your main exacta combinations on the most probable outcomes, rather than on boxes and wheels, is the key to making a long-term profit from exacta betting.

Ready to place some bets? Check out our review of Bovada Racebook, the best place to wager on horses on the internet!

How to Bet on Horses

Exacta Horse Bet

Read our Race Betting Guide to get insight on all of the types of wagering options in horse racing. Dig deeper below to get tips on the most popular exotic wagers with winning strategies provided by expert Kenneth Strong.

In-Season Tracks

Horse racing offers a plethora of different bets from which to choose, ranging from your simple win wager to the white whale of racing, the Pick 6. The foundation of the betting menu is Win, Place, and Show (also known as WPS), which are straightforward and have been around for more than a century, but in recent years more complicated bets, known as “exotics,” have come to dominate the wagering landscape. There are two main types of exotic bets: vertical and horizontal. Vertical refers to bets that are placed on a single race (e.g. Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta), while horizontal are those in which you’re betting consecutive races (e.g. Daily Double, Pick 3, Pick 4). The following is a list and explanation of all the different kinds of bets you might expect to find at the track.

Win:

This one is pretty much self-explanatory. A win bet means you are betting on a horse to win the race. It is possible to bet multiple horses to win (though of course only one can actually win, unless there’s a dead-heat) and there is typically a $2 minimum bet. This is the bread and butter of any serious or casual bettor.

Place:

In order to cash a place bet, your horse must finish in either first or second. The payout will be the same regardless of where they finish (so long as it’s in the top two), and like a win bet there is typically a $2 minimum.

Show:

A show bet pays dividends if the horse you wager on finishes in one of the top three positions. Same as a place bet, whether the horse finishes in first, second, or third makes no impact on the payout. If your horse is anywhere in the top three, you win.

Across the Board

This is the term given to betting Win, Place, and Show on a single horse. You’re essentially placing three separate bets, so a $2 across the board bet will cost $6 total, but it is a more concise way of inputting the bet.

Exacta:

The simplest of the vertical exotics, an exacta requires the bettor to select which horses will finish first AND second in a given race in the correct order. For instance, if I believe Horse A will finish first and Horse B will finish second, I would bet an exacta with A in the first slot and B in the second. If Horse A wins the race and Horse B finishes second, you win, however if Horse B comes in first and Horse A in second, you lose because the order matters. To avoid this problem, many bettors choose to “box” two or more horses in an exacta, which allows you to win if the horses you select finish in any order in the top two. Boxing horses just means you are playing every possible exacta combination of the horses you choose, so a $2 exacta box of Horses A and B would cost $4 total, because you are actually placing two separate bets: a $2 exacta with A in first and B in second, and a $2 exacta with B in first and A in second. It is also possible to get creative and use multiple horses in each slot. Perhaps you think Horse A will win but that any of Horses B, C, and D could come in second. In that case you would want to place a $2 exacta with Horse A in the first slot and Horses B, C, and D in the second slot, which would cost a total of $6, as you are actually placing three separate bets.

Trifecta:

A trifecta is the same as an exacta, except now you must correctly predict the first three finishers in order in a given race. Boxing is also common practice for trifectas, but accounting for the extra spot adds a layer of complexity that often requires bettors to use multiple horses in each slot. Trying to hit a trifecta “cold,” or in other words using just three horses in the exact order you think they’ll finish, should only be attempted if you’re feeling lucky (or confident).

Exacta Betting Horse Race

Superfecta:

A superfecta is the same as an exacta or trifecta except that it requires the bettor to correctly predict the first four finishers in order in a given race. Given the abundance of possible combinations, many tracks offer a base wager of just 10 cents for the superfecta.

HI-5:

A Hi-5 demands the bettor correctly predict the first five finishers of a given race in order. It is the most complex bet of the vertical exotics and not for the faint of heart.

Daily Double:

The daily double is the simplest form of the horizontal exotic wagers. Rather than betting a single race, the daily double requires the bettor to select the winner of two consecutive races. The bet must be placed prior to the start of the first race, or “leg,” of the wager, and multiple horses can be used in each race. For instance, if you like two horses (A and B) in Race 1 and just one horse in Race 2 (Horse C), you would place a $2 daily double using A and B in the first leg and C in the second leg. This would cost a total of $4, as you are actually placing two separate wagers (A/C and B/C). Formerly a rare offering at racetracks, daily doubles can now be placed on nearly every race, except the last race on a card.

Pick-3:

The pick 3 is similar to the daily double, except that you must pick the winner of three consecutive races. Like the double, the bet must be placed prior to the start of the first race of the sequence and multiple horses can be utilized in each leg. Many tracks offer “rolling” pick 3’s, which means that the wager is offered starting in every race except the last two on the card.

Pick-4:

Following the same pattern as the double and pick 3, in the pick 4 a bettor must select the winner of four consecutive races. These bets are often offered twice a day at a track, once earlier on the card and once later.

Pick-5:

The pick 5 requires bettors to correctly predict the winner of five consecutive races. It is one of the most popular bets in racing due to its nearly universal low takeout (the track’s cut of the pool) and affordable base (just 50 cents). It also provides bettors the opportunity to wager a small amount for a potentially large payout.

Types Of Horse Racing Bets

Pick-6:

What Is Exacta Horse Bet

Exacta Horse Bet Payout

The most complex of the horizontal exotics, the pick 6 requires bettors to pick the winner of six consecutive races. The bet is the most elusive of all wagers not just because it’s extremely difficult to pick the winner of six races in a row, but also because in many jurisdictions the base bet is $2, making it very expensive to use multiple horses in each leg. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of “jackpot” pick 6’s. These wagers provide a lower base (usually 20 cents), but differ from regular pick 6 wagers in that the entire pool is only paid out if there is a single winner, otherwise it “carries over” into the next day. This means that if you and another person were to both correctly pick all six winners, neither of you would win (though there is typically a consolation payout).There is also a Rainbow-6 Bet that is a special version of the Pick-6.