An exacta bet is a type of horse racing wager where you must correctly pick the first and second place horses in the exact order they finish the race
. This means you select the horse you think will finish first and the horse you think will finish second, and both must finish in that precise sequence for you to win
. There are different types of exacta bets:
- Straight Exacta: You pick two horses to finish first and second in the exact order
- Exacta Box: You select two or more horses and win if any two of them finish first and second in any order. This increases your chances but costs more
- Exacta Wheel: You pick one horse to finish first and multiple horses to finish second (or vice versa), covering more combinations
Exacta bets are popular because they offer higher payouts than simple win or place bets due to the difficulty of predicting the exact order of the top two finishers
. The minimum bet amount and payout depend on the betting platform or tote rules. In summary, an exacta bet requires precise prediction of the first two finishers in a horse race, making it a challenging but potentially rewarding wager
