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STRAIGHT BETS
Win: You are betting on a particular horse to come in first.
Place: You are betting on a horse to come in first or second.
Show: You are betting a horse will come in first, second or third.
Across The Board: You are betting your horse will be one of the first three finishers. It's actually three wagers -- win, place, and show -- together, and costs one betting unit per wager. If your horse comes in first, you win all three bets; if your horse comes in second, you win the place and show bets; if he's third, you win on show only.
Daily Double: Most racetracks offer this wager. You're picking the winners of two consecutive races. Usually the Daily Double is available only for the first two races of the day, but sometimes there is a Late Double, which is on two consecutive races later in the program.
THE EXOTICS
Exacta, or Perfecta: You choose the first and second horses to finish, in the exact order.
Trifecta: You pick the first three horses, in exact order of finish.
Superfecta: You pick the first four horses, in exact order of finish.
Quinella: You are picking the two horses you think will finish first and second, but without specifying their order. A good way to bet when you think two horses are equally strong.
Boxing: A way of betting two (or three, or four) horses will finish ahead of the rest but you don't know which will be first and which will be second. You're placing separate bets for each combination.
Wheel: Usually done on a Daily Double bet. This is a combination of betting on one horse to be the winner in one race of the Double, but for the other race you're unsure and so placing a separate bet for every horse in the second race (or a number of them).
Pick 3/Pick 6: A bet offered for a particular group of races, and you're choosing thr first place finishers for each. If no one wins on the Pick 6, those bettors who came closest often get to split a prize.
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