What's your horserace betting strategy?

[Arob]

Sometimes I waste whole afternoons playing retarded web games. Not shoot em stuff, but thinking man's games... Today I've been playing a harness racing web game and now I totally want to go to the track because I think I've developed the perfect winning strategy:

AROB'S EXACTOR BET STRATEGY
I pick a good horse (low odds) with a good jockey (high win rate) then i pick a slower horse (weaker odds) with a great jockey (very high win rate). Let's call these horses #1, and #2.
When I stand at the betting window I say, '...one dollar exactor box bet, horse #1 and horse #2'. This means that it doesn't matter which horse comes in first or second (its essentially two bets) and because its a $1 bet I only pay $2.00 total. The value here is the exactor combination is always difficult to win and therefore pays large $$. The $1 box bet exactor is a cheap ticket to a big payout.
Also by keeping the bets at two bucks I can make several wagers in every race.
I stay away from Triactors and Daily Doubles and I laugh at anyone foolish enough to even attempt the Supefecta or whatever its called (four horses in order in one race).

What's your horse race betting ritual?

 

[venray]

I have the best strategy ever....I never lose as I dont bet on the horses...


I have been to the track before and no matter what always lost, so no more of that for me...

 

[xSamanthax]

On the rare occasions that I go to the track (i live about 3 blocks from the philly race track and casino but rarely actually...go)....I pick the horse with the coolest name. =)

Horse races are fun, but I am not much of a gambler, lol. I usually do a win/place/show kind of bet. Nothing fancy.

 

[Artoo]

I bet on the horse with the best odds of winning to lose...then get the jockey to pull on the reins 😉

 

[Saeria]

I've never actually been to a horsetrack, but if i were to go and bet on a horse, i would bet on the one that takes a dump before going into the gates... clearly he's going to be the lighter, more comfortable horse.

 

[Mitchell]

I havent been betting in over a year. I do enjoy it occasionally.

What I usually do is to either bet an "exacta box" (Two horses) with either good or medium odds, and box them. Say, if I want number 3 and 6 to win, I'll bet a $1 exacta box ($2 total bet) The horses can then come 3 and 6 first and second, or 6 and 3. Then, I'll sometimes bet a trifecta box, again low to medium odds, say, 3 to 2, or up to maybe 7 to 1, for say, a 1, 3, and 6 horses to come in, in any order.

Horse racing is a very iffy game. I had one great day at the track once in 2002, where I won $700, and a couple of other times have won, 200, 300, or 400. For the most part, I've learned you cant go to the track expecting to win money. I put aside a little to play with, and once thats gone, thats it for me.

Mitch

 

[meangry]

I bet on the one with the leanest legs.

Because that's where the best meat for my dog will come from.

 

[Morpheus72]

I like this....

I definitely like the "exacta box" strategy. First, if it hits, you're going to win a decent multiple of your bet (oftentimes, this is $30-40 for a $2 bet -- keep in mind, if you make a $1 EB bet, you're only going to win half the posted total). So, I'll often make a $2 EB bet ($4 total) if I like two horses. Of course, there are easier ways to post more wins, but the payouts often make it hardly worth it -- betting a favorite to place or show is a great way to say "I won", but at the cost of a dismal payout. Your win percentage on other races will most likely be low enough to obviate this strategy as a winning approach.

I also sometimes expand this a bit, using more of a "wheel" approach. If I like maybe two horses to win the race, I'll wheel them with 2 or 3 other horses, making a number of exacta bets. This works well if I'm undecided among a few horses.

Morph

 

[Arob]

Somebeachsomewhere

The name of the horse is 'somebeachsomewhere' and this is supposed to be Canada's best harness racing horse (Standardbred) in years. You can bet on it.

 

[milagros317]

Given the extremely high percentage of the betting pool taken by the state before the payoff is calculated (and then rounded down), the best strategy is to stay away from the track.