WHAT DO HORSE RACING ODDS MEAN?

On the infield tote board, you will see the “win” odds for each horse in the race. These are updated frequently—every 45 seconds—to reflect the amount of money wagered on each horse in relation to all money wagered in the entire win pool.

That section of the tote board might look something like this:

If you see a single number next to your horse on the odds board, for example,”5,” then the horse is 5 to 1. This means that, for every dollar wagered on that horse to win, the winning ticket holder would win about $5 and receive about $6 back. (Don’t forget, you always get the amount of your bet back!)

So, for a $2 winning ticket on a 5 to 1 horse, you would receive about $12. ($5 + $5 + your $2 bet = $12.)

Sometimes, when a horse is below the odds of 5 to 1, you might see two numbers with a “-” between them. The odds of 9-2 or 8-5 are typical examples. In the case of 9-2 odds, this means that, for every $2 bet, you would win about $9 and get $11 back (maybe some change, too).

To figure out your approximate payoff when the odds are 9-2, 7-2, 5-2,3-2 or 1- 2, simply add the two numbers and you’ll know your $2 payoff.

When a horse is under 2-1, you will most likely see a further refinement in odds-examples are 9-5 and 8-5, among others. Using 8-5 as an example, this means that, for every $5 bet, one would win about $8 and get $13 back. For a $2 bet on a horse that is 8-5, the winner would receive about $5.20.

Once in a great while, you will see odds of 1-9 on the odds board. That is the lowest price a horse can appear on the tote board, although in actuality his price may be even lower., Similarly, when you see a horse at odds of “99,” it means that the odds are 99 to 1 OR HIGHER. There aren’t enough spaces on the tote board to go higher than “99.”