Anyone who says horse racing isn't exciting hasn't been to a good racetrack yet. Once you understand the terms and processes in racing horses, betting becomes an intoxicating event. While horse racing has been called the sports of kings, it doesn't take a pile of gold to play and win good money at it. Today, I am going to run over the basic terms in horse racing to get you started.



Win: Just as you are thinking right now, WIN means to win the race. This is the horse that finishes first.

Place: The horse that comes in second is the place horse.

Show: The horse that comes in third is the show horse. The show wager is the safest bet in horse racing in my opinion, but it pays poorly. Usually favorites are low odds horses are not worth betting to show. The show bet should be for longer shots.

Daily Double: Got a gift for picking winners? Give the daily double a shot. Simply pick the winners of two consecutive races and you have a winning daily double ticket. Typically the early daily double is the first two races and the late daily double is the last two races.

Quinella: Not sure who's going to finish first out of two horses? Bet the Quinella. When you bet a Quinella, you select two horses that you thinking will finish first and second. When they come in first and second (in any order), you win your ticket.

Exacta: The Exacta is just like the Quinella, except the order matters. For instance, if you bet a 4-7 Exacta, the 4 horse must win and the 7 horse must places. Since the order matters, the Exacta pays more than the Quinella.

Trifecta: I love hitting Trifectas. I just wish they would happen more often. When you place a Trifecta, you are betting the first three horses to finish in order. For instance, if you place a 2-4-9 Trifecta, the 2 horse must win, the 4 horse must place and the 9 horse must show. The Trifecta usually pays pretty well. It all depends on the odds of the horses involved and the order of finish.

Pick 3: First, there's also a pick 4,5 and so on. However, I'll tell you about the pick 3 since the others are the same just with more horses to select. When you play a pick ticket, you are picking the winners of consecutive races. Different tracks offer different pick tickets. For instance, if the track offered an early pick 3, you would be picking the winners of races 1,2 and 3. Pick tickets can pay off very well.

There you have it. A slew of horse racing terms to get you started. The basics of betting on horse racing is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Good luck.