Types of Horse Racing Bets

Nothing quite comes close to the thrill of watching horse racing. Whether it be live, on the television, or even online, that moment when your horse comes in, triumphantly outpacing the opposition, is a feeling that is truly hard to beat. And that feeling is only heightened if you’ve got money riding on the race.

But if you’re new to horse racing betting, or you’re a novice who wants to take it to the next level, where do you start? Unlike some other forms of sports betting, such as football or tennis, horseracing is very deep and complex, and getting horse race betting explained all in one place is difficult. That’s why we’ve put together this in-depth guide, so the next time you fancy putting some money on a race, you’ll have the knowledge to match your passion. We’ll walk you through all the different types of bets, including more obscure ones like the box bet and exacta bet, so you don’t have to worry about being in the dark.  

The General Bets

These are the most common horse racing betting choices, ranging from relatively basic single bets to much larger accumulators. For beginners and conservative betters, these are definitely the way to go.

Single

Sometimes called a ‘Win Bet’, this is the simplest option on the board. Essentially, this is one bet on a single outcome: your horse will win. To place the bet, you find a horse with favourable odds (or unfavourable odds if you’re feeling risky), choose how much you want to bet, and if the horse wins the race, you’ll win.

Double

A Double is one bet on two different horses in different events. To have a chance of winning, both horses must win their respective events.

Treble

Basically, three single types of horse racing bets in different events, all of your horses must win for your bets to come in.

Fourfold Accumulator

A bet on four horses in separate events. To win, all of the horses need to win their event.

Trixie

To place a Trixie bet, you put four bets on three horses in different horse racing events. For example, you could place three double bets and one treble bet. To have any chance of a return, at least two of your selections must win their respective races. Just remember that a Trixie bet costs four times what a single bet usually costs.

Patent

Another very popular horse racing betting choice. Similar to a Trixie bet, a Patent is seven bets placed on three selections in different events – such as three singles, three doubles, and one treble. To win your bet, at least one of your selections need to come in. A Patent bet costs seven times the cost of a single bet.

Accumulator (Acca)

Of all the types of horse racing bets, this is one of the most popular. An Accumulator works similarly to the previous bets, meaning that you place multiple bets on different horses in different events. However, to win your Accumulator, every horse needs to win the race. The maximum number of bets you can make is 20, meaning it could have a potentially massive payout, but the odds stack against you with every bet.

Yankee

In a Yankee bet, you make 11 bets on four horses in four different events, consisting of six doubles, four trebles, and one fourfold accumulator. To get a return, at least two of the horses need to win their races. A Yankee costs 11 times more than a normal single bet, so if you wanted to place a £1 Yankee bet, you’d have to pay £11.

Lucky 15

As the name might suggest, a Lucky 15 bet is made up of 15 bets. This is spread across four horses in different events with four singles, six doubles, four trebles, and a fourfold accumulator. To stand a chance of winning money, at least one of your selections need to win their event. However, if only one horse wins, you’ll earn an insurance on your bet, ensuring you receive some money back.

Super Yankee / Canadian

Basically a more advanced Yankee bet, a Canadian comprises 26 bets on five horses in different events. This is usually spread over 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five fourfold accas, and one fivefold accumulator (five bets on five different horses). To win this type of horse racing bet, at least two of your horses must come in. A £1 Canadian bet will actually cost you £26, but there is potential for huge rewards.

Lucky 31

Like the Lucky 15 bet, this is 31 bets spread across five different horses. This includes 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five fourfold accas, and one fivefold acca. Similarly to the Lucky 15 bet, you’ll also receive some money back if only one of your horses wins.

Heinz

A Heinz bet comprises 57 bets spread across six different horses in separate races. This is made up of 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfold accas, and six fivefold accas, meaning that a £1 Heinz bet actually costs £57. For this to be successful, two or more of your horses have to win.

The Large Bets

Now, these are the scarily big bets that real risk-takers will want to check out. As the margin of error gets bigger, your odds of winning get smaller, but your potential rewards can grow exponentially – and that’s what it’s all about!

Lucky 63

This massive bet sees you place 63 bets across six horses in different races, with six singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, six fivefolds, and one sixfold accumulator. To get any sort of return, at least one of your horses has to win. However, if the bet comes off, you’ll stand to win a huge amount of money.

Super Heinz

It’s like the normal Heinz, just super! With the Super Heinz, you place 120 bets on seven horses in different events, with 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfold accas, 21 fivefold accas, 7 sixfold accas, and the remainder as one large accumulator. A minimum of two horses must win their respective races for you to see any return on this type of horse racing bet.

Goliath

This includes 247 bets over eight horses, with 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfolds, 56 fivefolds, 28 sixfolds, 8 sevenfolds and an accumulator. To win any sort of return, a minimum of two horses must come in. However, if all eight come in, you’ll net a massive payday.

The Specialised Bets

These types of horse racing bets are a little bit harder to find but can be a great way of trying something new when you sit down to bet on the horses.

Exacta Bet

In the world of horse racing betting, an Exacta Bet is when you bet on which horse will finish first and which will finish second. In order to be successful, both horses must finish in the exact position you specified otherwise the bet is lost. In a Box Exacta Bet, you can pick two horses but not the order in which they finish, so it’s a bit more versatile. However, a Box Exacta costs more money to place.

Box Bet

Similar to the example in the Exacta Bet, a Box Bet allows you to pick several horses to finish in any order, as long as they finish first, second, and third (for example). Usually on online horse racing betting, you’ll be given the option to box on the betting page, though it is slightly more expensive.

Trifecta Bet

A Trifecta Bet is similar to an Exacta Bet, except that you specify three horses that will finish first, second, and third. If you choose to box this bet, they can finish in any order and you’ll still win.

Now that you’ve had horse race betting explained to you in detail, you’re ready to enjoy the thrill of the game and check out the latest odds at Betsafe’s Horse Racing Lobby.