How to Bet on Horses

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A Beginner’s Guide to Wagering on Horses at Churchill Downs

Betting on horses isn’t as complicated as it may seem. If you’ve ever wanted to join in on the action, this guide walks you through the basics of horse racing wagering, explains the most popular bet types, and gives you tips to help you pick a winner. With a little know-how, you’ll be ready to place your first bet at one of the most legendary racetracks in the world.

How Does Horse Betting Work?

Horse betting is a fun way to get involved in the races at Churchill Downs. To wager on a horse, start by picking a horse and a type of bet, then placing your wager before the starting gate opens. If your horse finishes in the position you predicted, you win a payout based on the odds and the kind of bet you made. Bet a little or bet a lot, you’re in for a fun ride.

Types of Horse Racing Bets

Beginner Wagers

This is the first place to start if you’re not sure how to bet on horses because it’s the easiest. Simply pick a horse and place your bet for him to either win first, place (finish first or second), or show (finish first, second, or third). You can also place a wager “across the board”. This is three separate bets on a single horse: a win bet, a place bet, and a show bet. If your horse finishes in third place or higher, you earn money. The minimum wager for each bet type is $2.

Win, Place, Show

Intermediate Wagers

Exacta and Exacta Box

Once you have a solid understanding of how to bet on horses, you can move to more complex bets like the exacta. An exacta bet challenges you to predict the first and second-place finishers in the exact order. For example, if you pick Horse #3 to finish first and Horse #5 to finish second, you win only if that precise order happens. You can also bet an exacta box if you want to better your odds. By “boxing” your picks, you’re betting on those same horses to finish first and second in any order. If you bet a box on Horse #3 and Horse #5, you win regardless of the finishing order as long as either is first or second place.

Exacta and exacta box bets require a $2 minimum wager. For a straight exacta your minimum is $2, but if you choose to box your exacta the cost increases based on the number of horses you select. A 2-horse box covers two possible winning combinations, so the bet costs $4 for a $2 wager on each combination.

Trifecta and Trifecta Box

Similar to the exacta bet, a trifecta bet requires picking the first, second, and third-place finishers in the exact order. If you correctly predict that Horse #3, Horse #5, and Horse #8 will win, place, and show in that order, you’ll collect. You can “box” this bet as well so that your selected horses can finish in the top three in any order and you still win.

Trifecta and trifecta box bets require a $0.50 minimum wager. If you play a three-horse trifecta box, you cover all six possible outcomes of those three horses finishing in the top three. For a $0.50 trifecta box, the total cost is $3.00 because you are making six separate $0.50 bets.

Superfecta and Superfecta Box

The Superfecta is a high-risk, high-reward wager that requires you to choose the first four finishers in precise order. It’s one of the toughest bets to hit, but if you do, the payout can be massive. If you opt for a superfecta box, you’re betting on a selected group of horses to finish in the top four in any order. From Opening Night to Thurby, the minimum wager required is $0.10. On Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby days, the minimum wager requirement is $1.

Daily Double

A Daily Double wager requires you to pick the winners of two consecutive races. The minimum bet for a Daily Double at Churchill Downs is $1. If you correctly select the winning horses in both races, you collect the payout. This bet is popular because it offers bigger rewards than single-race wagers, but it also increases the challenge since both predictions must be correct.

Advanced Wagers

Super Hi-Five

A Super Hi-Five bet challenges you to select the first five finishers in a single race in the exact order. This is one of the most difficult wagers, but the potential payout is substantial. The minimum bet for a Super Hi-Five is $1.

Pick 3, 4, and 5

Pick bets are among the toughest to win because you must correctly pick the winners of three, four, or five consecutive races, respectively. These wagers are popular for their large potential payouts, but require accurate predictions across multiple races. The minimum bet for Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5 is $0.50.

Derby City 6 Jackpot

The Derby City 6 Jackpot gives you the chance to win big by picking the winner of six consecutive races. This is one of the most difficult bets, but it offers a high potential payout. The minimum wager for the Single 6 Jackpot is just $0.20.

Place Your Wager

To actually place your bet, head to the wagering window or visit a self-service wagering kiosk. At the window, you’ll place your wager in the following order: 1. Track Name 2. Race Number 3. Bet Amount 4. Type of Bet 5. The Horse’s Number.

For example, you might say to the teller, “Churchill Downs, Race 5, $2 to SHOW on #3.”

If you’re not at the track, you can still bet on a horse from home. Twinspires is a wagering platform that lets you place bets online or via the mobile app. You can place all the same wagers that you can in person, view live odds and race replays, and check out expert picks.

Tips for Picking a Winning Horse

Picking a winning horse isn’t just about luck. It’s about knowing what to look for in a winner. Here are three main approaches that savvy bettors use to spot the horses with the best shot at victory.

Look for the horse with the highest average speed. Within the program, look at the Equibase Speed Figure and compare amongst horses. We recommend taking an average of three races for each horse. The higher the number the faster the speed.
Pay attention to each horse's performance in similar races. Be sure to look at the distance of past races, what position each horse finished, and the difficulty of each race. Races from the most difficult to easy are: STK: Stakes Race; ALC, ALW, HCP: Allowance Race; CLM: Claiming Race; MDN: Maiden Race; MSW: Maiden Special Weight.
The third approach is simply looking for the horse that is the most prepared to run. Visit the paddock before the race and examine each horse's physical stature and disposition. Look for forward ears and a calm, confident disposition. These signs indicate a horse that is alert, focused, and ready to race. Ears pinned back, heavy sweating, or an anxious disposition are signs a horse may be nervous, fatigued, or less likely to perform well.

Let the Experts Help You Bet on Horses

If you're not sure which horse to wager on, checking out expert picks can be a smart move. These selections are made by experienced handicappers who analyze race conditions, past performances, and other key factors to identify horses with the best chances of winning. If you're new to betting or want to double-check your own pick seeing what the experts think can make all the difference on race day.

Bet on Horses With Confidence

Now that you’ve got the basics of how to bet on horses and a few strategies in your back pocket, you’re all set to start wagering on horses at Churchill Downs. Try out different strategies, experiment with bet types, and see what works best for you. Each race is your shot to walk away a winner.

Horse Betting for Beginners FAQ

For more than 150 years, history, tradition, and excitement have come together under the iconic Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. Across our one-mile racetrack, champions have been forged from rising stars to legendary Thoroughbreds whose names are etched in history. Every wager type offers a unique way to add to the excitement of enjoying a race. Learn more about Churchill Downs and how to wager on our races.

Learn More

The best way to bet on horses is to start with simple win, place, or show bets. They are easy to understand and have a good balance of risk and reward for beginners. As you gain experience, you can place more complicated bets like exactas, box bets, or pick bets.

A $2 win, place, show bet (across the board bet) would cost $6. This is because an across the board bet is actually three separate wagers: a win bet, a place bet, and a show bet.

The 80/20 rule is a betting strategy that refers to putting 20% of your stake on a horse to win the race, and the other remaining 80% on the same horse to place. Betters use this strategy because it gives them more frequent returns from the place portion of the bet while still keeping some upside if the horse wins.

If you’ve never bet on a horse race, the best place to start is with a win, place, or show bet. These are the simplest and most straightforward options where you pick a horse and bet on it to finish first (win), second (place), or third (show).

In sports betting, the plus (+) sign refers to underdogs and the minus (-) sign refers to favorites. A +200 bet means you are betting on an underdog, and if your horse wins you’ll collect $200 for every $100 wagered. -200 odds indicates that you need to risk more to win less, but the outcome is far more likely. For example, you would need to bet $200 to win $100 in profit. If you win, you would get your $200 stake back, plus the $100 profit.