Exacta strategy

[CheckMark]

I can’t bet right now but have a system that takes the top 4 horses and as it’s stategy, it says to box the 4 in a Exacta, which means for $1 it’s 12 and for $2 is 24. I was wondering if there was any other way to put my top 4 in a Exacta still and maybe make it less costly. Thanks to all who reply. ;)

[GMB@BP]

I can’t bet right now but have a system that takes the top 4 horses and as it’s stategy, it says to box the 4 in a Exacta, which means for $1 it’s 12 and for $2 is 24. I was wondering if there was any other way to put my top 4 in a Exacta still and maybe make it less costly. Thanks to all who reply. ;)

I got to be honest, unless you have identified a really weak fav who is not going to hit the board I hate that strategy.

It essentially weights 12 bets the same, meaning you have no real opinion on the race and over the long haul I dont see how that will yield profits.

I would rather pick 1 horse, play in first and second at $2.

You would also need to track this over a number of plays and compare it to win betting with the lower takeout.

[CheckMark]

I got to be honest, unless you have identified a really weak fav who is not going to hit the board I hate that strategy.

It essentially weights 12 bets the same, meaning you have no real opinion on the race and over the long haul I dont see how that will yield profits.

I would rather pick 1 horse, play in first and second at $2.

You would also need to track this over a number of plays and compare it to win betting with the lower takeout.

At least that’s no my strategy, the book. But I was also thinking of choosing 1 horse and either doing an $5 or $10 win bet or $4 across the board???

[MONEY]

Whether you like it or not, if you pick 4 horses, your horse with the lowest odds will win more often than any of your other picks.

How about betting a 50¢ trifecta key using your lowest odds horse over the other three, then bet $2 win on your selection with the highest odds.

For only $5.00 per race, you'll have two chances to be a hero.

[jay68802]

I like to play a box with 4 horses:


1,2 / 1,2,3,4

If your top two hit you get it twice.

[CheckMark]

I like to play a box with 4 horses:


1,2 / 1,2,3,4

If your top two hit you get it twice.

Is this still the exacta correct? And what total?

[jay68802]

Stays the same as the 4 horse box.

You can play it as a $1.00 for $12.00 and then play it straight for $6.00.

Box: 1,2 / 1,2,3,4

Straight: 1,2 / 1,2,3,4

[HalvOnHorseracing]

I can’t bet right now but have a system that takes the top 4 horses and as it’s stategy, it says to box the 4 in a Exacta, which means for $1 it’s 12 and for $2 is 24. I was wondering if there was any other way to put my top 4 in a Exacta still and maybe make it less costly. Thanks to all who reply. ;)

All of the other good responses aside, take your top two picks and box them with the two other horses. 1-2-3 and 1-2-4.

If the top two come in you have an extra ticket.

If you have a single, it may be better to bet to win (which is exactly what you are doing with a horse on top of an exacta). You just have to look at the will pays. For example, boxing 1-2-3 (for a dollar) costs $6. Let's say you have a 3-1 horse. If he wins, you would collect $24. For the exacta to be as good it would have to pay that amount for a dollar or $48 for $2. Just figure out the best use of the $6 by watching the board.

[GMB@BP]

I like to play a box with 4 horses:


1,2 / 1,2,3,4

If your top two hit you get it twice.

I definitely have done this, but I prefer it in a chaos type event, I usually though turn it into a trifecta.

[NorCalGreg]

I like to play a box with 4 horses:


1,2 / 1,2,3,4

If your top two hit you get it twice.



I was trying for 15 minutes to enter this on XB wager-pad--on one ticket. Is it possible to do this?

Stupid wager-pad expects you to already know how to bet :D

[Robert Fischer]

Sometimes I also use exactas in a weird way for 'keying' a rare long shot contender exactly 2nd.

You could have done this with a trifecta (or superfecta etc), and those bets often pay out a higher dollar amount, but when you don't have an opinion for 3rd, - a tri or super is less efficient than an exacta for doing this.

extreme example;

Love the :1: and he's the 7th choice in a 10 horse field.

Win :1: , perhaps a multi featuring/singling :1:

Exacta :4::3::2: / :1: (the 3 win contenders over my pick)

Tri :4::3::2: /:6::5::4::3::2: / :1: (the 3 win contenders over the 5 contenders for second over my pick)

.... So now I've got my :1: 'keyed' in all 3 slots.



Maybe I would have needed the poor value of "Tri :4::3::2: / :1: / :11::10::9::8::7::6::5::4::3::2: (the three win contenders over my pick, over The ten contenders for third)" if I were to use the Tri to 'key' my shot 2nd.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Get payoffs and equate out 2-4 or even 6 combinations and shoot for a 6-1 payoff or pass. If all the denominations surpass a reasonable bet where it starts to creep into 4-1, 3-1 territory,pass. I've just gone through a period where I am picking a tad under 20% winners in my last 30 bets at Saratoga(a common phenomenon for me over a 10 year period!). Have a win place on those contenders of 43% but have a 6-1 return on 31% of those bets. Do the math. I was 3 for 22 before that. Tough game.

[CincyHorseplayer]

I got to be honest, unless you have identified a really weak fav who is not going to hit the board I hate that strategy.

It essentially weights 12 bets the same, meaning you have no real opinion on the race and over the long haul I dont see how that will yield profits.

I would rather pick 1 horse, play in first and second at $2.

You would also need to track this over a number of plays and compare it to win betting with the lower takeout.

I've been a repeated victim of the wholesale approach to betting. It's not my style. Never works for me. I'm fine with that.

[CincyHorseplayer]

I like to play a box with 4 horses:


1,2 / 1,2,3,4

If your top two hit you get it twice.

I do this a lot in the winter Jay. Bet the higher odds horse to win and double key. Plenty of 3 x 5's at Tampa or a KY Downs and have had glorious days when I have no idea what exactly the hell is going on!

[lamboguy]

if you can't limit your combination's to 1 or 2 tickets, i suggest you abandon the idea of playing exacta's or any other multiple ticket wager.

[CheckMark]

Thanks everyone for responding! Will try these either today (hypothetical :rolleyes:) or tomorrow.

[bobphilo]

I can’t bet right now but have a system that takes the top 4 horses and as it’s stategy, it says to box the 4 in a Exacta, which means for $1 it’s 12 and for $2 is 24. I was wondering if there was any other way to put my top 4 in a Exacta still and maybe make it less costly. Thanks to all who reply. ;)

With boxing so many horses the return may not be enough to cover your bet.
I used to box my top 3 but am now thinking of playing my top 2 over the top 3 to reduce the outlay.
In the end it depends on the situation. Sometimes if there are too many contenders to box and one horse stands out you could play it to win/place. If the odds on that horse are too low you might want to key box it with 3 or 4 of your other contenders.
There is no one size fits all formula. It depends on how many contenders there are and the odds. Always check the will pays combinations before choosing how to bet.

[DSB]

I can’t bet right now but have a system that takes the top 4 horses and as it’s stategy, it says to box the 4 in a Exacta, which means for $1 it’s 12 and for $2 is 24. I was wondering if there was any other way to put my top 4 in a Exacta still and maybe make it less costly. Thanks to all who reply. ;)


Here's something I've used in the past with good success:

http://trpracing.com/archives/thoro1.php3

Much less costly and pretty good results.