Horse racing bet types fall into three groups: bets on one runner, exotic bets on the finishing order in one race, and bets across several races. The one-runner bets are the win, place and each way; the exotics are the quinella, exacta, duet, trifecta and first four; the multi-race bets are the doubles, quaddie, Big 6 and all up. The tote rules Racing and Wagering Western Australia adopted, gazetted in 2010, define 12 racing tote bet types. Bookmakers add fixed-odds bets of their own, such as the same race multi.
Each one answers a different question about the race: what has to happen, whether the tote, a bookmaker or both will take it, and whether you can stake it at flexi. The same bets run at harness and greyhound meetings, and horse racing betting shows where each fits beside the price types and settlement rules.
Racing bet types side by side
| Bet | What has to happen | Tote or fixed odds | Flexi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Your runner finishes first | Both | Not needed |
| Place | Your runner finishes in the paid places; on the tote, the first three with 8 or more runners and the first two with 5 to 7 | Both | Not needed |
| Each way | A win bet and a place bet of the same size on one runner, so it costs twice the stake | Both | Not needed |
| Quinella | Your two runners fill first and second, in either order | Tote, and some bookmakers | Where the operator offers it |
| Exacta | Your two runners fill first and second, in the order you pick | Tote, and some bookmakers | Where the operator offers it |
| Duet | Two of your runners finish in the first three, in any order; needs 8 or more runners | Tote | Where the operator offers it |
| Trifecta | First, second and third, in order | Tote, and some bookmakers | Yes |
| First four | First, second, third and fourth, in order | Tote, and some bookmakers | Yes |
| Doubles | The winners of two races: back to back at one meeting (running double), two nominated races at one meeting (daily double), or two races at different meetings (feature double) | Tote; bookmakers also price doubles on some feature races | Where the operator offers it |
| Quaddie | The winners of four nominated races at one meeting; quaddie is short for quadrella, and some meetings also run an early quaddie on four earlier races | Tote, and some bookmakers | Yes |
| Big 6 | The winners of six nominated races | Tote | Yes |
| All up | The return from each leg becomes the stake on the next, and every leg must come in | Tote; the fixed-odds version is a multi | Not needed |
| Same race multi | Several outcomes in one race, such as a winner and a top-three finisher, priced as one bet | Fixed odds | Not needed |
The pool definitions come from the tote rules Racing and Wagering Western Australia adopted (WA Government Gazette No. 149, 3 August 2010). Those rules allow flexi on the trifecta, first four, quaddie and Big 6, and on any other pool the operator chooses. That is why the column says "where the operator offers it" for the rest. Tote rules are set by the operator and can change, so check the current version where a detail matters.
"Tote, and some bookmakers" means the bet is a tote pool that some bookmakers also take, on terms that name the dividend or price that settles it. A bookmaker's exotic is its own product, so read those terms before assuming it pays exactly what the tote pays. A win bet is the simplest row in the table; the exotic bet family is everything from the quinella down to the Big 6.
Tote, fixed odds or both
On the tote, every bet of one type on one race, or on one set of races, goes into a pool. The operator takes its commission, and what is left is shared among the winning units as a dividend per $1, stake included, declared after the result. Before then, any figure you see is an approximate, because the pool keeps growing until betting closes.
At fixed odds, the price is agreed when the bookmaker accepts the bet, and return = stake x price. Win, place and each way bets are offered both ways. Same race multis and racing multis are bookmaker products, priced at fixed odds. The exotic and multi-race bets are tote pools first, which is why their payouts are dividends rather than prices. Fixed odds vs tote compares the two on the same runners.
How many combinations a box covers
Boxing your runners covers every finishing order among them, so a box costs the number of combinations times the unit, which is usually $1. With n runners in the box:
- quinella box = n x (n - 1) / 2
- exacta box = n x (n - 1)
- trifecta box = n x (n - 1) x (n - 2)
- first four box = n x (n - 1) x (n - 2) x (n - 3)
- duet box = n x (n - 1) / 2, the same pairs a quinella box covers
| Runners boxed | Quinella | Exacta | Trifecta | First four |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | Not possible |
| 4 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 24 |
| 5 | 10 | 20 | 60 | 120 |
| 6 | 15 | 30 | 120 | 360 |
A standout costs less because it fixes one runner in one position: a trifecta with one runner to win and four others for second and third covers 1 x 4 x 3 = 12 combinations. Multi-race bets multiply instead of boxing, so a quaddie with 2, 3, 2 and 4 runners in its legs covers 2 x 3 x 2 x 4 = 48 combinations, which the quaddie calculator counts for any ticket. Quinella betting and trifecta betting cover standouts and bankers in full.
A 4-runner trifecta box, worked
Box four runners in a trifecta and you cover 4 x 3 x 2 = 24 finishing orders. At $1 a combination, the full ticket costs $24. With flexi, you choose the outlay and the ticket takes the same share of the dividend:
flexi % = outlay / combinations x 100 = $12 / 24 x 100 = 50%
With an illustrative trifecta dividend of $212.40 per $1:
| Outlay | Flexi | Return if the box lands |
|---|---|---|
| $24 | 100% | $212.40 |
| $12 | 50% | $212.40 x 0.50 = $106.20 |
| $6 | 25% | $212.40 x 0.25 = $53.10 |
A flexi ticket lands in exactly the same races as the full ticket; only its share of the dividend changes. That cuts both ways. At 50%, the $12 ticket returns less than it cost whenever the dividend is under $24. A box can land and still lose money if the winning combination carried a large share of the pool. Flexi betting covers rounding and minimum outlays, and the flexi calculator works out the combinations and percentage for any box or standout.
Harness and greyhound races use the same bets
Every bet in the table carries over to harness and greyhound racing. The tote rules gazetted in 2010 are written for thoroughbred, harness and greyhound events alike, and bookmakers price the same fixed-odds bets across all three codes. What changes is the field and the rule book.
The field decides what is on offer in any code. Under those tote rules, the places paid are fixed by the field at final scratchings: 8 or more runners pays three places, 5 to 7 pays two, and 4 or fewer means no place betting. A duet needs 8 or more runners at final scratchings and is not run on a smaller field. Small fields are where the harness racing and greyhound racing hubs pick up the detail.
The rule books differ too. Racing Australia's Australian Rules of Racing govern thoroughbreds only. Harness and greyhound racing have rule books of their own, so a thoroughbred rule number says nothing about a harness or greyhound race.
Bets bookmakers add at fixed odds
Beyond the tote bet types, bookmakers price racing markets of their own. Names and settlement rules vary between bookmakers, so read the market's terms before you bet:
- Head to head: which of two named runners finishes ahead of the other.
- Top 2, top 3 and top 4: the runner finishes within that many places.
- Futures: bets struck before final fields are known, often all in, meaning a runner that does not start is a losing bet. Futures betting on horse racing explains the timeline.
- Jockey challenge: which rider scores the most points across a meeting, as the jockey challenge entry explains.
- Same race multi: several outcomes in one race, priced as one bet. Outcomes in one race are linked, so the same race multi price is not the leg prices multiplied.
- Multi: selections in different races on one ticket; every leg must come in, and the leg prices multiply. Multi bets work through the maths.
Which bet answers which question
Every bet type is a question about the race, and the right one is the question you actually have an opinion on:
| What you think will happen | The bet that pays on it |
|---|---|
| One runner wins | Win |
| One runner runs well, whether or not it wins | Place |
| One runner wins, with a smaller return if it only places | Each way |
| Two runners fill the first two places | Quinella (either order) or exacta (your order) |
| Two runners both finish in the first three | Duet |
| Three or four runners finish in a set order | Trifecta or first four |
| Your picks win several races | Doubles, quaddie, Big 6 or all up |
The narrower the question, the longer the odds against it: a bigger return when it lands, and fewer tickets that land.
Mistakes that cost money on racing bets
- Adding a runner to a box without checking the flexi. A 4-runner trifecta box is 24 combinations and a 5-runner box is 60, so the same $12 outlay falls from 50% to $12 / 60 x 100 = 20% flexi. A box that lands then collects 20% of the dividend instead of 50%.
- Mixing up the quinella and the exacta. An exacta taken in one order pays nothing if your two runners finish the other way round; covering both orders costs 2 combinations, twice the quinella on the same pair.
- Expecting a duet or a third-place dividend when the field is 7 at final scratchings. Under the tote rules the duet is not run and the place pool pays first and second only, so a third placing returns nothing.
Comparing racing prices across bookmakers
Win, place and each way bets at fixed odds can be compared before you bet, because each bookmaker sets its own price. An exotic dividend cannot, because it does not exist until it is declared after the race. The Terminal lines up racing and sports prices from 40+ bookmakers, with Betfair back and lay and price history beside them. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds. B337 does not take bets; every bet goes into your own bookmaker account. Betfair is a trade mark of its owner, and B337 is not affiliated with it.
Risk: Betting involves risk. An exotic or multi-race ticket returns nothing unless every runner on it finishes where it must, and a flexi ticket can land and still return less than it cost. See responsible gambling for limits and support.