Horse Racing Terminology USA Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bet on the first two race finishers in any order

My favorite bet at a horse track is the quinella. To win this bet you will choose the first two finishers in the race but you can pick them in any order. The payout is much higher for a quinella win than simply picking the winning horse. An exacta bet is picking the first two finishers in the precise order.

Answer: Choosing the favorite in the race

If you're picking "chalk", you're taking the biggest risk as you're choosing the horse with the best odds to win the race (aka the favorite to win the race). A chalk bet is the safest bet but will win you the least amount of money. The name goes back to the early days when horse odds were listed on a chalkboard and manually erased and changed with incoming bets.

Answer: A bet made different from Win, Place, or Show

An exotic bet is made using a combination of bets. This may include choosing multiple horses in one race or spreading out bets over different races. A superfecta would be an exotic bet since you are picking the first four finishers in a race. A Daily Double would be exotic since you're picking winners in two consecutive races.

Answer: Horse likely to do worse than what his odds say

Bettors may recognize a horse's name or see that they just won their last race and overbet on that horse's potential for winning in the next race. This is called an overlay. It's a bad strategy since you are getting poor value on your bet. The risk is worse since you're getting less payout than the horse would normally warrant with non-boosted odds.

Answer: Last minute horse who won't race

Sometimes a horse is scheduled to race but needs to withdraw just prior to the race. All bets for that horse are cancelled and paid back to the bettor. Reasons for a scratch might include a last minute injury, weather conditions and a trainer's decision, mistakes in paperwork, or a horse's temperament that day.

Answer: Choosing the top three horses in any order

A trifecta bet is one when the bettor picks the win, place, and show horses in the exact correct order (1st, 2nd and 3rd). For a little less payout (1/6th), you can play a trifecta box which still requires you pick the first three finishers of the race but the order can mixed up.

It's a combination bet where your three picks (A, B, C) can finish in any order: ABC, ACB, BCA, CAB i.e. it's actually six bets on one ticket.

Answer: Horse likely to do better than the odds predict

A good reader of the horse racing program will recognize when a horse is likely to do better or worse than expected in the next race. Factors such a weather conditions, the opponents that day, the jockeys involved, and even how long of a rest since the last race can cause a horse to be an overlay.

This is a prime time to bet on the undervalued horse who will return more money for a win than the betting odds warrant.

Answer: The amount of money waged on that race or day at the track

The race handle is the sum of the all the money wagered on that race. The term can also apply to the total sum of dollars bet during the entire day of racing. It's not uncommon to see eight or more races on a given racing day.

Answer: A bad showing by a horse after a strong finish last race

Odds typically go up for a horse after finishing "in the money" on their last race. That means they finished in the top three last race. So a bounce would be an unexpected weaker outcome than betters would assume.

Answer: A horse stuck between multiple horses during the race

Often times how tight the horses are running the race together can influence the outcome. If a fast horse is stuck in the pocket, they can't use their breakaway speed as there are horses crowding them to either side or in front of them.