Exotic bets are not really as exotic as it sounds. Basically, the term exotic bets mean any kind of bets or wager placements that do not fall into the category of straight betting. Straight betting is limited to win, place and show bets. The exact origin of this term is pretty much undetermined, but indubitably this practice begun when players saw the low payoffs derived from straight betting. With a couple of notes in mathematics, and a lot of sprucing on their handicap skills, seasoned players begun staking bankrolls on these so-called exotic tickets hoping for the huge pay-off because of its higher win-frequency. Others prefer the small, but consistent financial gain that these exotic bets bring. There are many types of wager placement that falls under the category of exotic bets. Some of them include: exacta, quinella, trifecta, and the superfecta, to name a few.

Exacta or perfecta involves placing one bet on two horses in one race. The player wins the bet if his two chosen racing horses finish in the first and second places respectively or exactly as the player had specified. Exacta odds are often displayed on the tote boards or on rotating bet display monitors at various points around the race track. For online wagering systems, exacta odds can be found on specific parts of the website.

Quinella also involves placing one bet on two horses in one race. The player wins if his two chosen horses finish in the first and second places in any order. Quinella odds are displayed too exactly like the Exacta odds.

Trifecta is trickier, involving one bet on three horses in one race; and those horses must finish in the first, second and third places respectively or exactly as the player had specified. The pay-off on this bet will always be better than the Exacta bets or the Quinella bets because of the level of difficulty. However, because of the possible combinations for Trifecta wagers, odds are not usually displayed.

Superfecta involves the placement of one bet on four horses in one race; and those horses must finish in the first, second, third and fourth places respectively or exactly as the player had specified. Among the three previously mentioned bets, the superfecta has the highest pay-offs of them all.