Punting Guide

Types of Bets:

‘Win’ – Your selection must finish in first place.

‘Place’ – Your selected horse must finish in the first 3 of the race. In races with only 5-7 horses competing only first and second place will be paid, and in a race with 5 starters, only first place. The dividend paid for a place is always less than that paid for a win.

‘Each Way’/’Win and a Place’ – This is a combination of a win and a place and if your horse comes first you receive a pay-out for both. If it gets a place you will receive a pay-out for a place only. This bet doubles the cost of your bet. For example, $5 on #7 each way will mean $5 for a win and $5 for a place, equaling $10 altogether.

‘Quinella’ – You need to pick first and second place in any order.

‘Exacta’ – You need to pick the first and second place in a particular order of finish.

‘Trifecta’ – You need to pick the first 3 place getters in order of finish.

‘Doubles’ – You need to pick the winners of 2 consecutive races from the same meeting.

Information to give when placing a bet:

When placing a bet you need to supply the number of the horse you are betting on, the race number, the track where the race is being run, the type of bet and how much you are wagering. For example, “$5 each way on #6 in race 4 at Randwick”.

Glossary:

‘Barrier’ – This is what the horse jumps out of at the start of the race. There are favourable and non-favourable barriers for horses to start from. For example, a wide barrier in a short race would mean the horse would have to cover more ground.

‘Bookmakers’ – The people you see on the floor around the racecourse and in the betting auditoriums at race tracks. Bookmakers give you fixed odds at the time of placing the bet, meaning the odds you are given at the time of placing the bet will be the ones that you get a return on if your horse wins/places. Different bookmakers will provide different odds, so you can shop around to see which ones are providing the best odds on the horse you wish to place a bet on.

‘Handicap’ – The weight the horse has to carry. A handicapped race means horses are given weight according to their ability – the better the horse, the more weight it is given. This is worked out so that every horse in the race is given an equal opportunity of winning. A weight-for-age race means the horses are weighted according to their age.

‘Mounting Enclosure’ – The area where you can view the horses before the race.

‘Odds’ – These reflect the horse likeliness of winning the race. The smaller (or shorter) the odds the more likely it is the horse will win the race. Odds change based on the number of bets and amount of money that is placed on the horse.

‘Scratching’ – The horse has been removed from competing in the race. If you have made a bet on a horse and it is then scratched, your money will usually be refunded.

‘TAB’ – Also known as the Tote. These are the betting windows that you will see around the course. When you place a bet with the TAB you do not get the odds that were current when you placed the bet, you get the odds that were current just before the race starts.

‘Track Rating’ – A guide to how the track is, such as soft, firm or heavy. Some horses perform better in the wet, as others do not perform well at the slightest drop of rain.