What is a Box Bet in Horse Racing?

Have you ever really wanted to get in on a horse race, but found yourself holding back because you were not sure what order the horses would finish in?  At times like these, the perfect type of wager to put down is a box bet.  The term “box bet” comes from the idea of “boxing a bet.”  In short, you “box” a selection of horses that you believe will finish well.  This allows you to bet on horses you feel confident about, without worrying what order they will actually finish in.

As you might guess, there is more than one type of box bet you can take.  When you select two or more horses in a race, but you do not know what order you expect them to finish in, you can use an exacta box to place your wager.  For three or more horses, you can use a trifecta box. 

Placing a box bet may sound complicated at first, but it is relatively easy once you get the hang of it.  If you are wagering in person, you start by choosing the horses you expect to win in the first two or three positions (exacta or trifecta box).  Once you have that list, you head to the betting window and talk to the clerk.  List the track and race you want to bet on, the type of wager (exacta or trifecta box), and then list the amount of your bet and the numbers of the horses for the wager.  Double check your ticket, take it with you, and you are good to go.  At that point, all you have to do is go back to your seat and enjoy the race.

As you might guess, a box bet is even easier to place online, because you are saved the hassle of dealing with a clerk at a window.  There is no waiting in line, and no list of information you have to memorise and recite.  Instead, you simply enter in the horses you want to box out on your online betting platform.  The UK betting site places the wager on your behalf, and you simply wait for the race to finish to see how you made out. 

If you like the idea of box betting, but are interested in a slightly more specific variation, you may want to try wheel betting out too.  With wheel betting, you specify a key horse to finish in a particular position, but the rest of the horses can finish in any placements, just as with box betting.  Both box and wheel betting are easy and fun to do online, and if you do your research, they can be very profitable!

Read on about other types of horse racing bets you could place in various horse racing events around the year.