The exacta is one of the most commonly bet-on wagers in horse racing betting, and hitting it requires you to guess both the first and the second place right. Unlike other options like the quinella bet, this one requires you to accurately predict which horse will be the first one to pass the finish line and which one will come in second.
It’s in the golden middle between the trifecta and the superfecta wagers, which are bets on the first three and the first four places, respectively. That also means it’s among the most balanced options in terms of risk and reward, which is why it’s available in nearly every online racebook.
How to Bet an Exacta
Punters in the past had to be on track to place an exacta bet. Or any other horse racing bet for that reason. The good news is that we’re past that point, and you can place exacta bets from your home or on the go.
The majority of sportsbooks and racebooks these days have made things easy. Betting online on horse races is legal in the majority of states. Of course, you’ll need to choose a licensed bookie before it, but that should be easy if you follow our recommendations.
Placing an exacta bet is as easy as clicking on the odds on offer. That should add the stake on your bet slip immediately, so all that remains is waiting for the bet to end. No need for a calculator when it comes to the cost and payouts. Bookies do this automatically at their sites, so you immediately know what you’re getting in return for your bets.
Types of Exacta Bets
In the modern day and age, placing an exacta bet online is the way to go. You’ll first need to pick a safe and licensed bookie and create a new account. From there, it takes choosing an event and the racetrack, clicking on the odds to explore all the options and markets, and choosing “exacta” among the offered options.
You’ll get to pick your two favorites to finish first and second, and simply enter the wager amount in the betslip area. It’s that easy; if the horses you’ve selected finish in the top two positions, you win the bet. If you get just one of them right (or miss both for that matter), you’d lose the stake.
Types of Exacta Bets
One of the most exciting things about the exacta bet is that it comes in all shapes and forms. The classic (straight exacta) and a few other bet types change the terms slightly and the returns.
Straight Exacta
The simplest form of this bet is the “straight exacta,” where you’d be punting on exact horses to finish as 1st and 2nd. On most bookies, you’ll get somewhat of a checkbox layout where you can easily pick your favorite for the top two places. If they end up finishing the race in that exact order, you win a substantial payout.
Exacta Box
Hitting an exacta bet can be a bit challenging, which is where the “exacta box” comes into play. It’s similar to a system bet on football or other sports, only optimized for horse racing wagering.
For instance, let’s say you’re pretty confident that horses “A” and “B” will finish the race in the top two positions. If you can’t make up your mind on the order, you can place an “A-B” and a “B-A” exacta box.
In this case, you win regardless of the order, as you’d be covering both outcomes. It’s like placing two exacta bets in a system format. That’s why it costs double, similar to placing two separate exacta wagers.
You could do that, too, but exacta boxes let you place your bet faster without having to make two separate exacta bets. Plus, you can also merge other places and not just the 1st place and the 2nd place horses.
Exacta Wheel
Another common variation of the bet is the “exacta wheel,” which is somewhat of the middle ground between the two. Let’s say that you’re certain that horse “A” will finish in first place at the end of the race. In this case, you can place an exacta wheel, betting that the horse “A” will finish first, but also getting some more freedom in choice for the runner-ups.
You can, therefore, bet on the horse A to win the race, as well as one of the horses “B,” “C,” and “D” to finish second. This leads to four possible combinations, but the bets aren’t added up. Instead, you’ll be paying an original wager for each.
There’s also an option to place a “full wheel” bet. In this case, you’d be staking on a single horse to finish first, as well as any of the remaining horses to claim the second-place spot. It’s also possible to reverse things and place your absolute runner-up pick with multiple first-place combos, which is where the beauty of this bet type is.
Quinella vs. Exacta Box
If you know your horse racing stuff, you’ll know that the exacta is similar to the quinella. The two are rather similar, especially when it comes to the exacta box vs. quinella comparison. For instance, when you bet on the Kentucky Derby and choose the first 2 finishers in the exact order, you’re placing an exacta bet that pays more than a quinella. With a quinella bet, you’ll also choose the top 2 finishers, but in any particular order.
Of course, this means that exacta bets are harder to guess, which also makes the odds more rewarding. A quinella offers smaller payouts but more security since you don’t need to predict the exact order of the first two finishers.
It’s no surprise that many punters confuse the exacta box with the quinella bet. They are very similar, but the number of combinations of the exacta box is the key difference. Let’s say you’ve placed a classic quinella bet on two placements. In such a case, your wager might be $2, and you win as long as the two horses you’ve picked finish in the top positions.
With the exacta box, you’d also be betting on either outcome, but by covering two combinations. Because of this, you’d need to place a $2 bet on each combo, which leads to a total stake value of $4. Since you can only hit one right, the potential payouts are similar.
Still, most horse racing bookies let you box multiple horses, not just two like in a quinella bet, which is one of the main advantages.
Example of an Exacta Bet
Placing an exacta at online bookies is simple. They usually have 2 rows for each race, where you pick the horse to come first and the one to come second. You can also box an exacta by picking several winners and runner-ups, although, as we mentioned earlier, it will cost you more for a higher number of combinations.
A straight exacta would be choosing horse “A” to win the race and horse “B” to finish second. They must finish in that order if you want to win the bet. How you place the wager is up to the bookie, but generally, it’s an easy process.
With a boxed exacta, you can pick 2 or more horses to finish first and second. For example, you can pick horses “C,” “D,” and “E” to finish first, and horses “A,” “B,” or “F” to finish second. As long as either two of these finish first and second, you win your bet.
How to Calculate an Exacta Payout
Calculating your exacta payouts doesn’t require a calculator, although there are plenty of those online that you can use. You’ll likely be able to see the potential payout already calculated by the bookie in the betslip section.
What’s more interesting is how exacta box or wheel bets are calculated. In these scenarios, you’ll see the potential payout changing depending on the number of boxed or wheeled horses.
Some bookies will also allow you to see the payout per combo for these, as the odds might differ a bit, depending on the exact horses that you picked and how much they’re favored to win the race.
When Should You Place an Exacta Bet?
Like all horse racing bets, the exacta has more than a few pros and cons. For example, it gives you more options with the chance to place straight, box, or wheel exacta wagers. It can be a profitable betting strategy that experienced punters who follow major racetrack events can leverage to win regardless of the exact order.
The straight exacta offers the highest odds, but it’s also much riskier than the “box” or “wheel” options. To place this bet, you need to do proper research, since your chosen horses must finish in the exact two positions.
That said, we wouldn’t exactly call it a beginner’s bet, but it doesn’t have to mean you’ll need to do weeks of research either. One of the effective strategies that our BetZillion experts recommend is following a certain event and placing an exacta wager when you’re absolutely certain which horse wins the race.
Then, even if you’re not sure about which one will come in as second, you can still place an exacta wheel on all the other horses, or take more risk and pick a few for a profitable wheeled exacta.
