You will notice that as wagering on a race progresses closer to post time, the odds will change. Why is that you ask? The Cash that is wagered in a horse race is counted up and put into Pools. What is a Pool? A Pool is where the total amount of money that is wagered on a specific type of bet is held to be redistributed to patrons that have correctly selected the outcome of the specific wager they have placed. Out of these pools certain percentages are subtracted. The Government receives a percentage (taxes) for allowing the race in a certain jurisdiction. The Racetracks receive a percentage for promotions, maintaining the racetrack, and paying employees. The horsemen receive a percentage that makes the Race Tracks able to offer purse money to the owners and trainers for racing horses. If there was no money, there would be no racing. After the percentage is removed, the remaining money is paid out. This is where gamblers get their payouts for winning tickets.

The odds are usually in the form of x/y (e.g. 5/1, 9/5). Dividing x by y gives a ratio to 1. The smallest ratio or the largest amount of money on a number represents the favorite.

Winning odds of 2/1 will pay $6.00 for a $2 bet, while 5/1 will pay $12.00 for a $2 bet. Payout is calculated by (odds ratio to 1) x bet amount + bet amount.

Example: For odds of 5/1, the approximate payout for a $2 bet is 5 x $2 = $10 + $2 = $12.

Some tracks allow different minimum amounts on each type of bet; generally, $1 bets tends to be the minimum on all bets. The offshore sportsbook odds are calculated based on the sales for the bet minus a government, and handling tax. These deductions vary and are usually controlled by a regulatory body. Deductions may vary in the same track if there are simulcast races. In addition some tracks tax payouts in excess of a specified limit; generally, this limit is 600/1.

Those who gamble their money in competitions like boxing matches or horse racing know that they cannot bet their cash indiscriminately. You see, gambling in occasions like these do not purely rely upon luck. You cannot trust your income to pure luck when you have other reasons to take into account. One thing that individuals who bet on the track always do is consult the horse racing betting odds. These figures help them decide where to place their money on. They bet their money dependent on the chances shown by the horse racing betting odds.

But what factors affect horse racing betting odds?

1) Reputation – the reputation of the horses and their jockeys plainly has a bearing on the horse racing betting odds. When you think about it that is the factor on which they base the horse racing betting odds before it can be suffering from other aspects.

The reputation of a horse and its rider sets the horse racing betting odds. This is as a consequence of the truth that the reputation provides people with the initial impulse to bet or not to bet. The reputation of a horse and its rider is earned through countless races. Hence, a reputable competitor gets good odds of successful a race. The horse race betting odds are affected by the reputation mainly because of the fact that it is, in fact, an amalgamation of the results of the horse’s previous races. Therefore, if the horse is a virtual unknown, then it would be hard to set the horse race odds.

2) Condition – before the actual race, many “experts” study the complaint of the rivals. This will help determine the actual horse race betting odds in the day of the race. By “condition” we in relation to the various features of the horse and of the rider prior to the actual race. This includes the fitness of the horse, which informs you about its possible performance in the race. It likewise includes the emotional condition or “fighting spirit” of the horse which will state how far a horse will go to achieve its possible.

Nowadays, the problem of the horse is so important that various experts use different equipment as a way to observe it correctly. Some individuals may see this as an extravagant expense, but those who are in on the business know that a lot more money hinges on the situation of the horses.

3) House – it is oftentimes the truth that the “house” or the track actually places a bet on the horses. As a result of this, the horse race betting odds become adjusted. Lots of people base their bets on the decision manufactured by the track. This is sometimes the truth when a gambler wants to win a specific amount of cash. If, for example, he/she bets on the “underdog” of the race, they could win a huge amount of cash.

Of course, most people just go along with the house since the house is actually in a position to observe the competitors better. This way, they have a more substantial chance of successful although their winnings would be comparably smaller.

What’s important about horse racing betting odds is the fact that those figures are facts. Those figures help the undecided commit their cash to something. Without the horse race betting odds, an individual would don’t have any way to figure out which horse to bet on.

Dime supers are now offered at many tracks across the country and the bet seems to be a big hit. When playing the superfecta, the bettor tries to pick the first four horses to finish. It is like a trifecta where the bettor picks the first three finishers, a bet that has been popular for years, but the bettor must pick one more horse. Anyone who has done some horse racing handicapping betting for a while knows that this can be a difficult task, but not impossible.

When superfectas were first offered, most tracks only offered a $1 or $2 base bet. So boxing four horses in a superfecta box for a $1 bet would cost $24 because there were 24 possible combinations. Key bets and wheels could be much more expensive as handicappers tried to get more horses into the equation. The original superfecta bets attracted bettors who typically played for more money and bigger bets, but who were willing to risk that much to have a chance to win a large superfecta. When only $1 or $2 bets were available in the superfecta pools, the payoffs were often quite large, but now that many people can play many combinations for a tenth of the original costs, the payoffs have dropped accordingly.

Realizing that they have to please the crowd and small bettors without alienating the large bettors (whales), most race tracks have kept a few $1 minimum superfectas. Though this is only anecdotal, it seems that those superfectas do have larger payoffs even after making the adjustment for the difference in minimum bet amounts. People who prefer to play the supers for larger amounts and expect a big payoff when they succeed can still find action in those superfecta races.

The “dime supers,” as they are called, can be a lot of fun to play and still offer a chance for a good payoff for a winning ticket. For just $2.40 a horse player can box four horses and have a chance to win. A horseplayer with a little more to spend can try wheels and other bet combinations. A five horse box will cost the bettor $6.00.

To figure how much a wheel will cost, just multiply the number of horses in each leg or segment of the bet times each of the others. For instance, here is how to figure what a 10 cent super bet with one horse on top, over three horses, over four horses, over five horses would cost…

A/BCD/BCDE/BCDEF
(1) (3) (4) (5)

Believe it or not, there are actually only 27 possible combinations in the partial wheel bet shown above so

27

x.10

$ 2.70

Therefore, the (partial wheel) bet shown above would cost $2.70 and would include a total of 6 horses spread over the four positions of a super bet.

If you can pick that one horse that will win and find some good horses to place in each of the other positions, for $2.70 you may hit the dime super. If your key horse that you played on top goes off at low odds, the same amount wagered to win might not pay much, but if a few longshots get into the top four spots, you could hit a nice ten cent superfecta.

The secret to betting on horse racing for profit is to get the best value for your money. Good horseplayers look for value in all the pools, especially when one horse is almost certain to win because of its superior ability. While a win bet on such a runner may not pay well, the same money placed in another pool may bring a good payoff. The beauty of the dime super is that you can get a lot of horses, including some longshots, into your betting combinations.

While good horses that lay over the field are the most consistent, they rarely pay well so it is important to get some longshots into your bet. The next part of that scenario, of course, is to get those longshots to run well enough to fill out your dime super bet. You’ll have to depend upon racing luck for that.