Harness racing doesn’t have the profile of horse racing but it’s a good sport to bet on given it can be quite simple to find the winner given the runners are restricted in movement.
From your standard win and place betting to exotic options such as first four and the quadrella, there is something for everybody, so down below are the different types of betting options for harness racing.
Win Bet
This is a bet where the runner you have selected needs to win in order to get a collect. An example of this is if you place $10 on a horse with odds of $4 and it wins, you will get $40 in winnings.
Place Bet
This is a betting option where the punter can select a runner and it only has to finish first, second or third to get a collect. That is on the proviso that the field has eight or more runners. If the race has less than seven runners, the runner needs to finish first or second in order for the bet to be a winning bet. If the field has four runners, there is no place betting. An example of a place bet is if you place $10 on a horse to place at the odds of $3.50, you’ll get a collect of $35.
Each Way Bet
An each way bet is actually two bets in on, where you are backing a runner to win and to place. An example being if you have $10 on the horse to win and $10 to place, you are outlaying $20, and for the sake of an example, the odds are $16 to win and $4 to place. If that is a winning bet, the punter will collect $200 with $160 from the win and $40 from the place.
Quinella Bet
This betting option requires a punter to select the the two horses that finish first and second, in either order. An example of this kind of bet is backing runners 1 and 2 to finish first and second. Either horse can run first or second, so 2 can beat 1, or 1 can beat 2. The point being whatever the finishing position, if they run top two, you will get a collect.
The winning dividend is calculated by the total amount of money in the pool come jump time of the race and a dividend is calculated after the race is concluded.
Exacta Bet
The exacta requires a punter to select the first and second horses to finish the race in correct order. Using an example, the punter selects runner 1 to beat runner 2. In order for that bet to be a winning bet, runner 1 needs to finish first and runner 2 needs to finish second. If runner 2 beats home runner 1, then it is not a winning bet.
The winning dividend is calculated by the total amount of money in the pool come jump time of the race and a dividend is calculated after the race is concluded. The dividend is generally greater for the exacta than the quinella given it’s harder to win because you need to find first and second in correct order.
Trifecta Bet
The trifecta is one of the more popular betting options given it can be a big dividend collected by punters if they find the three horses. This bet does require punters to find the first three home in correct order. For example, if the punter has a 1/2/3 trifecta, then the race needs to see 1/2/3 finish first, second and third in that order to collect.
Box Trifecta Bet
This gives punters the option to have three runners and while they need to finish top three, they can be in whatever order. As an example, if the punter has a 1/2/3 trifecta, they don’t need to finish in that order. All those three have to do is run top three in any order to be a collect for the punter. With this bet though, the more you stake, the more it will cost. For example, a $1 box trifecta will cost you $6.
Flexi Trifecta Bet
This is the more popular option in terms of trifecta betting. This options allows as many runners as you want in a trifecta and in return, you’ll get a percentage of the dividend if successful. For example. If you want five horses in a boxed trifecta, it’ll cost you $60 for 100% of the dividend. But if you spend $20, you’ll get 33% of the dividend.
First Four Bet
A first four bet requires punters to select the first four horses that cross the line. There are a wide range of first four options, whether it be correct order or any order, as explained down below. A straight out first four bet requires punters to select the first four horses in correct order. If this is done successfully, you’ll be usually rewarded with a big dividend.
Box First Four Bet
This option allows punters to select first, second, third and fourth in any order, similar to that of a Flexi Trifecta, where you can take as many horses as you like, spend as much as you like and you’ll get a percentage of the dividend should it be a winning bet.
Quadrella Bet
A quadrella, better known as a ‘Quaddie’ requires punters to pick the winners of four races nominated by the TAB. This is a popular form of betting because it’s essentially a trifecta bet in four races, having as many runners as you like in the selected races, only this way you just need to find the winner of the races. You can spend as much as you like and if it wins, you’ll get a percentage of the dividend.
