The Win, Place and Show bets in horse racing are the most traditional and in most cases the lowest risk bet you can make at the racetrack or online. At most tracks it also has the lowest takeout percentage, or the amount of wagers that tracks keep to pay expenses, purses, etc.

A Win bet is exactly as it sounds.  The horse you wager on to Win must finish first in order for you collect. If the horse goes off at betting odds of 2-1, the return for each $2.00 wagered would be $6.00. A horse that was sent off at 10-1 odds would pay $22.00 for a $2.00 wager.

Traditionally most tracks offered a minimum Win wager of $2.00, but many tracks now offer $1.00 Win bets.

When making a Place wager, the risk is lower because your horse can finish either first or second and it would be a winning wager. Since the Place pool is split between two “winning” horses the payoffs generally would be lower than playing a horse to Win.

A Show wager would pay off if your horse finished either first, second or third. Once again the risk is even lower than Win and Place wagering, but because there will be three payoffs, the winning prices are in most cases lower than Win and Place payoffs.

Takeout rates are generally lower for Win, Place, and Show wagering when compared to exotic wagering like Exactas and Trifectas.

As an example, a Win, Place or Show wager at Gulfstream Park is “taxed” at a 17% clip. In other words, $17 of each $100 wagered is removed to pay expenses, while $83 is paid back on winning tickets.

An Exacta wager at Gulfstream Park has a 20% takeout, while takeout on Trifectas is 26%.  

Another term you may hear is a “Across the Board" wager.  That means you are wagering on a horse to Win, Place and Show on one ticket. If your horse wins, you receive Win, Place and Show payoffs. If your horse finishes second, you receive Place and Show payoffs; and if your horse is third, you receive the Show payoff only.

Win Odds and Payoffs for a $2.00 wager