Betting Options At The Race Course

To wager you must be 18 years or older.You can bet either on the Totes or Totalisators or in the Bookmakers’ ring. The tote is a system run by the racing club. The tote (those ticket sellers behind the small windows you see everywhere) collects bets in various pools (like the win, place, tanala, jackpot, super jackpot, etc), deducts its commission and betting tax, and then distributes the balance amount to all successful tickets in respective pools. Dividend, in racing language, is the winning amount declared by the tote for the particular pool.The tote betting being less cumbersome is ideal for a beginner.You can either go to a manned Tote window and buy a cash voucher from a Tote Service Outlet, or call the roving operator with a hand-held computer. You have the option to bet at variable Tote odds or at fixed Tote odds. With the fixed Tote odds, the winning amount is guaranteed and printed on the ticket so it is similar to a bet you place with a bookie.

Here are the different ways you could bet on the Tote:

SINGLE RACE POOLS

WIN – when you bet a horse to WIN, you get dividend only if your horse finishes first.The minimum bet unit on the tote is Rs.10/-.

PLACE – When you bet a horse to PLACE, your choice should finish either first or second (if there are 7 or less horses), and first, second or third (8-11 runners), and first, second, third, fourth (12 or more runners). Like WIN, the minimum bet for PLACE is Rs.10/-.
SECOND HORSE POOL (SHP) -This is a pool similar to ‘WIN’. The horse you bet must finish second. You lose if it wins or finishes third or worse. The unit of bet is Rs.10/-.
FORECAST – To win money in this pool you are required to successfully predict the first two horses in the race in the correct order.
QUINELLA – Same as FORECAST with the only difference, that the order now is not important. The two horses you nominate for this pool must finish first and second in any order.
TANALA – In this pool, which can sometimes pay mind-boggling dividends, you have to predict first three horses in correct order. The unit of bet is Rs.10/- for one combination. If you get the winner right, but your second and third choices reverse their places (for example, if you buy a tanala ticket 8- 3-12 and the result of the race is 8-12-3), you still win a consolation share of the pool.
MULTI RACE POOLS
SUPER JACKPOT POOL – Six races are designated for the super jackpot pool. All you have to do is correctly nominate winners of these six races in one combination.And you can build what is called a permutation slip by selecting any number of horses from each designated race. The investment will go up according to your selections. So is your chance of winning. If you miss the last leg, you are still eligible for a dividend. Winning this pool is difficult but the dividends are handsome.
JACKPOT POOL – The jackpot pool is similar to the super jackpot pool but there are only five designated races for the jackpot pool; and there is a consolation dividend if you win the first four legs but fail in the last leg. Winner of this pool is paid handsome dividends.
TREBLE POOL-You are required to successfully nominate the winners of three designated races. You can buy the permutation.But no, there are no consolations. Your ticket must have all the three winners.
ACCUMULATOR – Accumulator is a multi-race bet wherein if your horse wins, all the winnings are rolled onto the next horse that you nominate. To qualify for a dividend, all your horses MUST win. Accumulator bets may be placed on WIN and PLACE. You can select minimum 2 and maximum 6 races. The minimum bet unit is Rs.10/-. This can save your time to visit the TOTE windows.

KENCHI – Simply put, a KENCHI bet is nothing but a permutation of an Accumulator bet. You can select minimum 3 or maximum 5 races. The good thing about a Kenchi is you get some money back if at least two of your horses win. For a 10-rupee KENCHI, following is the investment required: 3 horses: Rs.40/- 4 horses: Rs. 110/- 5 horses: Rs.260/-

Here are the different types of bets accepted by the bookmakers/bookies

WIN: Same as in the Tote.

PLACE: Same as in the Tote.

JODI BETTING: This is a bet on a combination of 2 horses where any one of the two designated horses should win the race.

BAR BETTING: This is a new and innovative form of betting .Bar betting, simply stated, is a bet on any horse in a race to win, “bar” or except the designated favorite. In effect, a punter is placing a bet for the favorite to lose. The investing punter is successful if any horse, except the designated favorite, wins the race.