Betting Smarter: Ashley Anderson’s 3 tips for betting your first exacta exotic bet

Apr 22, 2023 Ashley Anderson/TwinSpires.com

The 2022 Kentucky Derby (G1) was one for the ages, as 80-1 Rich Strike beat out 4-1
favorite
Epicenter, who placed second, resulting in an astounding $4,101.20 payout on a $2 exacta wager.

While you don’t
see that kind of payoff at the racetrack every day,
it’s still a good reminder of the kind of money you can win when playing exotic
wagers.

A
$2 win bet on Rich Strike in the Run for the Roses paid $163.60, while a $2
place bet on Epicenter paid $7.40. Combine those winnings, and you would have
walked away with an extra $171, but had you boxed those two horses in an
exacta, your payout would have increased by more than 2,000%!

The
exacta is an excellent way to increase your earning potential without having to
spend a ton at the betting window. The minimum stake for an exacta bet is
usually $1, but some tracks raise the minimum to $2.

Below
I’ll teach you a few tips for betting your first
exacta wager and how to
improve your chances of walking away a winner.

One
simple way to
get started when betting exactas is to pick your top three horses
in a field and box them together in a three-horse exacta.

When
you box an exacta, the horses in your wager can finish in any order
— first or second. This gives you a bit more wiggle room, as you don’t
have to predict the exact order of the horses that come in first or second. In
a straight exacta bet, however, you pick just one horse to finish first and
just one horse to finish second, which is a more difficult bet to hit.

While
boxing your exacta will allow for some leeway in the order of finish, it will
also cost you a bit more at the betting window.

If
the minimum stake required for an exacta is $1, then a straight exacta wager
would cost exactly $1 to bet.

A
three-horse exacta box at the same track would cost $6, as you’re now betting three
different horses to come in any order of first or second, which is six possible
exacta combinations.

(Photo by Coady Photography/Keeneland)

An
exacta box may make it easier to hit your wager, but the payoff may not be
worth much if you have a heavy favorite who comes in first and the
second-choice horse finishes second.

For
example, in the 2015 Arkansas Derby (G1), eventual Triple Crown winner
American Pharoah romped to an eight-length victory as the 0.10-1 favorite and 7.20-1
second choice Far Right came home second, which resulted in a $7 payoff on a $2
exacta bet.

If
you had boxed three horses in an exacta with a $2 minimum for this race, you
would have spent $12 on a wager that returned $7 and therefore lost money in
the process.

A
better strategy
in a race like this — where one horse is a clear front-runner to
win — is to either bet a straight exacta or key one horse on top and play one
or more horses to finish second.

If
you bet American Pharoah on top of your exacta and included Far Right and
another runner — say, third choice Madefromlucky — you would have spent $4
on a $2 exacta wager. You would have netted a minimal profit, but it’s
certainly better than losing money on an exacta box, even when you hit your
bet!

While
a horse like American Pharoah rarely lost in his career (he finished with an
11-9-1-0 record), a good strategy for playing exactas is to try to beat the
favorite when you think they are vulnerable.

RELATED: Step-by-step: Building an exacta ticket

Since horse racing wagering is pari-mutuel in nature — meaning you are betting
against other horseplayers in a particular betting pool (whether the win pool,
show pool, exacta pool, or trifecta pool) — you’re going to win more money
when your ticket goes against the majority of other players.

If
you think a favorite is likely to lose, key the horse you think can beat them
on top and play the favorite, or two other horses, to finish second. If the
favorite does in fact lose, you’re going to end up with a better payoff
— and you’ll end up with much more of a profit than anyone who spent the
extra money to box the favorite to come in first in their exacta.