What to Bet and When: Horizontal Wagers (Daily Double & Picks)

Horizontal wagers refer to any bet that requires you to pick the winner in multiple races. The daily double requires 2 in a row, the pick 3 requires 3 in a row, etc.

Many like these wagers because in theory it is far easier to pick two winners in a row than to figure out which horse will run third best in any given race which is required for trifecta and superfecta wagers.

Wager Menu for Horizontals

Horizontal wagers feature a number of different options. Most of these wagers from the rolling daily double to the pick 6 include consecutive races at a single track. However, there are several variations that have been introduced in recent years that offer more options.

Non-Consecutive Bet Sequences

On big events like the Kentucky Derby or Breeder’s Cup you will occasionally see two day doubles that require you to pick the winner of a marquee event on day 1 of the event and a marquee race on day 2 of the event.

The pick 3 and pick 4 have also recently been included in non-consecutive options. Keeneland introduced an all turf pick 3 which required players to pick the winners of 3 conductive turf races. Any dirt races that occurred in between turf events were ignored in the sequence. The Breeders’ Cup took Keeneland’s lead and created an all turf pick 4 in 2021 at Del Mar.

The pick 5 has two different non consecutive wagers. The first is known as the cross country pick 5 which requires the player to select the winner of 5 select races from tracks around the country. Another variation of this was introduced by the Stronach Group and is known as the Stronach Pick 5. This multi-track pick 5 includes 5 races from Stronach tracks around the country.

Jackpot Bet Sequence

Some pick 5s and pick 6s fall into a category called “Jackpot” wagers. Whether these sequences are traditional or jackpot is up to the discretion of each individual track. If the wager includes a jackpot like Gulfstream’s Rainbow Pick 6, it means that a part of the pool is put into a jackpot fund that is only paid out if there is a single winning ticket.

While these wagers are generally bad plays on most days, when there is a mandatory payout of the jackpot they can significantly reduce takeout because the jackpot gets distributed among everyone with a winning ticket.

Board Hitter Bet

Two of the more unique horizontal wagers are the place pick all at Los Alamitos and the grand slam wager at the NYRA tracks. The place pick all requires a player to select a horse that finishes in the top 2 in every race on the card. The grand slam requires you to have a top 3 finisher in the first 3 races of the wager and then select the winner in the final leg.

Bankroll Management for Multirace Wagers

When dealing with multirace bets, I use the same logic as I would for a single race wager. If my budget was $100 for the day, I would be allotted $5 per race using the 5% rule mentioned in parts 1 and 2 of this series. This would mean I could use up to $10 on a double, $15 on a pick 3, or $25 on a pick 5.

It’s important to remember when using this philosophy that if you bet a $10 double and lose in the first race, you cannot come back and punch another double ticket in race 2 because that money was already spent. You would need to wait until race 3 where your $5 is still available.

Match Your Plays to Your Bankroll

A huge issue plaguing players is the allure of the big score. For my money the pick 5 offers the best betting opportunity in horse racing. This is largely because so many tracks are experimenting with takeout reductions and targeting these sequences. When you are right it can lead to a huge pay day. That being said, pick fives are incredibly tough to hit and require a significant capital outlay to be bet correctly in most situations.

In general pick 5 tickets under $75 are doomed to fail because over the span of 5 races too many different things can occur that will blow up the ticket. In most cases I wouldn’t even touch a pick 5 unless I had around $150 to spend. That’s a $600 bankroll for the day ($30 per race over 5 races).

The best thing that smaller players can do is look for places where they can find value in other wagers. Maybe you won’t hit for five figures, but your money will go a lot further if you can find bets that fit your bankroll. Even if that means grinding out smaller scores.

Find the Wager that is Right for You

Determining when the situation is right to play a horizontal wager can be a vital part of preserving bankroll and becoming a more profitable horse player. Here are some helpful identifiers that should be used when determining if a horizontal wager is right for you.

Daily Double

The daily double is a great wager, especially for those on a tight budget. However, the wager can be a bankroll killer if you’re not mindful of fair odds and probables. One of my favorite parts of the double is that tracks post probable payouts. These are the most important to determine if the double is the right play. With that in mind, there are two times the double makes for a great wager.

Flipping an Underlay

In race #1 you like a horse at 3-1, but the horse is 2-1 in the win pool. However, you also like a horse in race #2 at 7-5 and that double is projected to pay $11. In this situation a $2 win wager on your horse in race #1 is an underlay paying $6 when your fair odds require $8. However, if you feel the horse in race 2 is a lock, you can place the same $2 on a double and return $22. You’ve now turned an underlay into an overlay.

Bad Favorites

Another situation where the double can be a great play is when you don’t like a favorite in a race, but you also can’t narrow down to just 1 alternative. In general this is a rule that can be applied to almost any wager, but it is required for a short horizontal like the double.

Playing a $1 double with 2 horses in each leg is only $4 and can often pay out very well especially when you don’t use the favorite in either race. A word of warning on this is to always check the probables against the straight win bets on your horses. If a $4 win bet on a single horse would pay more than your 2×2 double it would be best to explore that pool instead.

The Pick 3

The pick 3 is often only a $.50 minimum and can provide a huge payout. However, this wager can quickly get expensive if you over-include horses and the sequence chalks out. To determine if the pick three is right for your there are 2 steps you should follow.

First, handicap the races in the sequence and identify your top selections in each race. Look at where the horses rank in terms of their odds. The horse with the lowest odds would be 1, the 2nd choice would be 2, etc. Look at each combination that could come in and add up their odds rank. If the combined odds rank is less than 8, it is likely an underlay. If the combined odds rank is over 14 it is unlikely that the outcome will occur.

Sample Race

In race #1 you like the numbers 1,2, & 3. In race #2 you like the 4,5, & 6 and in race 9 you like the 7 & 8.

Playing all of these combinations would cost $9 (3x3x2x.$5). However, if we look at their odds rank we can start eliminating combinations.

In these races 1,4, and 7 are favorites. Their combined odds rank is 3. This will result in a huge underlay and should be passed.

However, if the #6 is the 3rd ranked horse and the #8 is the 5th ranked horse. The combination of 1/6/8 would have a combined odds rank of 9 (1+3+5). This can often result in a good payout and is worth a play. While it takes a bit of time to do this for each combination, it is well worth it to your bottom line.

Pick 4, 5, and 6

These bets are among people’s favorites, but I often see people betting way beyond their means to attempt to capture a life changing score. Here are some general rules to decide if these wagers are right for you.

Because these wagers can get expensive really quickly I recommend that you only attack the sequence if you can find a single in at least 20% or more of the races. This means 1 single in the pick 4 and pick 5 or 2 singles in the pick 6.

These wagers also become most successful when you have a strong opinion against well regarded horses in at least one sequence. It has been my experience that in order to get the life changing scores you should be totally against at least 2 favorites or have at least 1 race where you don’t like any of the top 3 horses.

For more horse racing wagering tips and strategies check out the many betting guides provided by Betting News.