Box Bet Horse Racing Explained: All You Need to Know

In a regular Exacta bet, you have to pick the horses that will finish first and second in the exact order. However, with an Exacta Box, you’re betting on two horses to finish in the top two spots in any order. So, again, it doesn’t matter who places first or second, as long as you picked them both, you’re in for a payout.

The catch is that, since you’re covering multiple combinations, an Exacta Box will cost more than placing a regular Exacta bet. But if you’re the kind of player that always gets the horses right, but not the order, an exacta box is a boon.

When To Go for An Exacta Box?

Imagine you’re watching a horse race and you really like two horses, but you’re not sure which one will finish first and which one will finish second: With an Exacta Box you can cover both possibilities. Take a look at the following:

Your Race Card for this bet example:

Similar to an Exacta Box, the Trifecta Box follows the same principle only this time youre betting on which three (3) horses will end up in the podium of the race.Remember, the order doesn’t matter, you’re just adding another horse to the box bet.

Let’s stick to the previous example to see how payouts would work for different horse combinations. Here’s the Race Card again:

Keep in mind that when youre going for a Trifecta Box bet, you’ll pay for each possible combination (making it a bit more expensive, but also that much rewarding). If you have three horses, there are six possible combinations, so for a $1 bet on a Trifecta Box you end up betting a total of $6.

The cool thing is that if any of your three horses finish in the top three positions, you win the Trifecta payout based on the final odds (and the total Trifecta pool, which is something only the sportsbook keeps track of).

So based on our Race Card you got six possible combinations yielding different payouts. Let’s say you want to bet $5 per combination but let’s also consider payouts if you want to only bet a buck per combination:

A Superfecta Box takes things to the next level, this time you’ll be predicting which four horses will finish in the top four, no matter the order. You might wanna give this bet a try when youre not exactly sure which horses will end up exactly in the top 4 spots but youre still pretty confident that they’ll do great in a given race.

It’s an useful bet when you got a stacked roster or the competition level and track conditions really even the playing field. Just so it’s easier to compare with other boxed bets, lets stick with the same race example to get the full picture, starting with its race card:

Keep in mind box bets are more expensive because you’re covering every possible combination. So, if you want to bet $1 in a Superfecta Box, picking those four horses would cost you $24 because there are 24 different ways those four horses could finish in the top four spots.

Let’s say youre confident that Thunder Bolt, Speed Demon, Dark Shadow, and Stormy Skies will do great in this race, so you go for a $2 bet. Your payout scenarios would look like this depending on how the race finishes

These are the 24 possible payouts you could get by getting the top 4 horses of a race right when betting on a Boxed Superfecta. Each payout depends on the exact odds and pool size at the time of the race (the pool size is only known to the sportsbook), which is why each is different.

Pick 3 Box bets in horse racing allows you to choose the winners of three consecutive races, only this time you can also select more than one horse in each race. The beauty of the box bet is that it covers all possible combinations of your chosen horses (which increases your chances of winning). However, because you’re covering more combinations, the bet gets more expensive.

A Pick 3 Box Bet Example

Let’s say youre betting on three consecutive races, each featuring the following horses:

For this Pick 3 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on 8 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2) of winning horses. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 3 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts might look like (depending on which combination wins):

As we know, payouts will vary based on the odds and the total pool size but the Pick 3 Box bet gives you more flexibility. Sure, the bet increases your chances of winning by covering multiple outcomes, but the cost of the bet goes up too, so keep that in mind. If you pick the right horses though, you can turn those $2 per combination into a heck of a lot of money.

Just like with a pick 3 box bet, pick 4 boxes let you do the same throughout four consecutive races instead of 3, and you can choose more than one horse in each race. You’re adding another race to the mix so the bet gets more expensive, so be sure to keep an eye on your bankroll!

A Pick 4 Box Bet Example

Nothing better than a bet simulation to get the whole picture (we’ll stick to the same race cards as much as possible for comparisons sake):

For this Pick 4 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on 16 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2 x 2) of winning horses, which are twice as many as in a pick 3 box bet. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm
• Winners for Race #4: Golden Fire and Silver Lightning

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 4 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts would look like, depending on which combination wins:

Even though payouts will vary based on the odds and the total pool size, a Pick 4 Box bet gives you even more flexibility than a pick 3 box. A pick 4 box increases your chances of winning just as much as a pick 3 but throughout four (4) races instead of three (3).

Notice however that you can turn those $2 per combination into almost double the payout compared to a pick 3 (by only adding one more race to the bet), which makes sense since it’s a lot harder to get all four of them right.

You probably guessed it right: A Pick 5 Box bet allows you to choose the winners of five consecutive races. Like every other pick box bet, you can select more than one horse in each race, but it also makes the bet that much costly. The numbers definitely start adding up so let’s go over this one nice and easy.

A Pick 5 Box Bet Example

Let’s add another race card to our list of races for this one:

For this Pick 5 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on doubling your combinations compared to a pick 4: 32 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2) of winning horses. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following horses:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm
• Winners for Race #4: Golden Fire and Silver Lightning
• Winners for Race #5: Firestorm or Blue Thunder

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 5 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts might look like, depending on which combination wins:

Last but not least, a Pick 6 Box bet allows you to choose the winners of six consecutive races. As with every other pick box bet, you can select more than one horse in each race which increases your chances of winning.

As we mentioned with the others, this also produces a lot more possible combinations (64 in the case of a pick 6 box), making them the most expensive bet of all box bets. The combinations and outcomes start getting pretty extensive so let’s go over the pick 6 box in detail.

A Pick 6 Box Bet Example

Say you have the following racing card for six consecutive races:

Let’s go through the motions once again, shall we? For this Pick 6 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on doubling your combinations compared to a pick 5 for a total of 64 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x2) of winning horses. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following horses:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm
• Winners for Race #4: Golden Fire and Silver Lightning
• Winners for Race #5: Firestorm or Blue Thunder
• Winners for Race #6: Blazing Speed or Silent Echo

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 6 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts might look like, depending on which combination wins. The list is way bigger now (as if it wasn’t already for a pick 5 box bet) so we apologize in advance:

Sorry for that wall of text, we’re just being thorough. Even though payouts will vary based on the odds and the total pool size, a Pick 6 Box bet gives you the most flexibility of any box bet. Sure, youre covering more combinations which makes the best pricier but the payouts are huge in the event you actually get most of your horses right (just look at those payouts).

What is a Box Bet in horse racing?

A Box Bet allows you to select multiple horses to finish in the top positions in any order. It increases your chances of winning by covering all possible combinations of the selected horses.

How does a Box Bet work?

In a Box Bet, you choose two or more horses, and they can finish in any order. The bet covers all possible finishing combinations of the selected horses, but the cost of the bet increases with more combinations.

What is the difference between a Box Bet and an Exacta?

An Exacta requires selecting the top two horses in exact order, while a Box Bet allows you to select multiple horses to finish in any order, increasing the chances of winning but at a higher cost.

How much does a Box Bet cost?

The cost of a Box Bet depends on the number of horses selected and the number of combinations. For example, a two-horse Box Bet is cheaper than a three-horse Box Bet because fewer combinations are covered.

What are the advantages of a Box Bet?

A Box Bet gives flexibility by allowing horses to finish in any order, increasing your chances of winning. However, it comes at a higher cost due to covering more combinations.

In a regular Exacta bet, you have to pick the horses that will finish first and second in the exact order. However, with an Exacta Box, you’re betting on two horses to finish in the top two spots in any order. So, again, it doesn’t matter who places first or second, as long as you picked them both, you’re in for a payout.

The catch is that, since you’re covering multiple combinations, an Exacta Box will cost more than placing a regular Exacta bet. But if you’re the kind of player that always gets the horses right, but not the order, an exacta box is a boon.

When To Go for An Exacta Box?

Imagine you’re watching a horse race and you really like two horses, but you’re not sure which one will finish first and which one will finish second: With an Exacta Box you can cover both possibilities. Take a look at the following:

Your Race Card for this bet example:

Similar to an Exacta Box, the Trifecta Box follows the same principle only this time youre betting on which three (3) horses will end up in the podium of the race.Remember, the order doesn’t matter, you’re just adding another horse to the box bet.

Let’s stick to the previous example to see how payouts would work for different horse combinations. Here’s the Race Card again:

Keep in mind that when youre going for a Trifecta Box bet, you’ll pay for each possible combination (making it a bit more expensive, but also that much rewarding). If you have three horses, there are six possible combinations, so for a $1 bet on a Trifecta Box you end up betting a total of $6.

The cool thing is that if any of your three horses finish in the top three positions, you win the Trifecta payout based on the final odds (and the total Trifecta pool, which is something only the sportsbook keeps track of).

So based on our Race Card you got six possible combinations yielding different payouts. Let’s say you want to bet $5 per combination but let’s also consider payouts if you want to only bet a buck per combination:

A Superfecta Box takes things to the next level, this time you’ll be predicting which four horses will finish in the top four, no matter the order. You might wanna give this bet a try when youre not exactly sure which horses will end up exactly in the top 4 spots but youre still pretty confident that they’ll do great in a given race.

It’s an useful bet when you got a stacked roster or the competition level and track conditions really even the playing field. Just so it’s easier to compare with other boxed bets, lets stick with the same race example to get the full picture, starting with its race card:

Keep in mind box bets are more expensive because you’re covering every possible combination. So, if you want to bet $1 in a Superfecta Box, picking those four horses would cost you $24 because there are 24 different ways those four horses could finish in the top four spots.

Let’s say youre confident that Thunder Bolt, Speed Demon, Dark Shadow, and Stormy Skies will do great in this race, so you go for a $2 bet. Your payout scenarios would look like this depending on how the race finishes

These are the 24 possible payouts you could get by getting the top 4 horses of a race right when betting on a Boxed Superfecta. Each payout depends on the exact odds and pool size at the time of the race (the pool size is only known to the sportsbook), which is why each is different.

Pick 3 Box bets in horse racing allows you to choose the winners of three consecutive races, only this time you can also select more than one horse in each race. The beauty of the box bet is that it covers all possible combinations of your chosen horses (which increases your chances of winning). However, because you’re covering more combinations, the bet gets more expensive.

A Pick 3 Box Bet Example

Let’s say youre betting on three consecutive races, each featuring the following horses:

For this Pick 3 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on 8 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2) of winning horses. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 3 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts might look like (depending on which combination wins):

As we know, payouts will vary based on the odds and the total pool size but the Pick 3 Box bet gives you more flexibility. Sure, the bet increases your chances of winning by covering multiple outcomes, but the cost of the bet goes up too, so keep that in mind. If you pick the right horses though, you can turn those $2 per combination into a heck of a lot of money.

Just like with a pick 3 box bet, pick 4 boxes let you do the same throughout four consecutive races instead of 3, and you can choose more than one horse in each race. You’re adding another race to the mix so the bet gets more expensive, so be sure to keep an eye on your bankroll!

A Pick 4 Box Bet Example

Nothing better than a bet simulation to get the whole picture (we’ll stick to the same race cards as much as possible for comparisons sake):

For this Pick 4 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on 16 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2 x 2) of winning horses, which are twice as many as in a pick 3 box bet. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm
• Winners for Race #4: Golden Fire and Silver Lightning

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 4 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts would look like, depending on which combination wins:

Even though payouts will vary based on the odds and the total pool size, a Pick 4 Box bet gives you even more flexibility than a pick 3 box. A pick 4 box increases your chances of winning just as much as a pick 3 but throughout four (4) races instead of three (3).

Notice however that you can turn those $2 per combination into almost double the payout compared to a pick 3 (by only adding one more race to the bet), which makes sense since it’s a lot harder to get all four of them right.

You probably guessed it right: A Pick 5 Box bet allows you to choose the winners of five consecutive races. Like every other pick box bet, you can select more than one horse in each race, but it also makes the bet that much costly. The numbers definitely start adding up so let’s go over this one nice and easy.

A Pick 5 Box Bet Example

Let’s add another race card to our list of races for this one:

For this Pick 5 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on doubling your combinations compared to a pick 4: 32 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2) of winning horses. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following horses:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm
• Winners for Race #4: Golden Fire and Silver Lightning
• Winners for Race #5: Firestorm or Blue Thunder

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 5 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts might look like, depending on which combination wins:

Last but not least, a Pick 6 Box bet allows you to choose the winners of six consecutive races. As with every other pick box bet, you can select more than one horse in each race which increases your chances of winning.

As we mentioned with the others, this also produces a lot more possible combinations (64 in the case of a pick 6 box), making them the most expensive bet of all box bets. The combinations and outcomes start getting pretty extensive so let’s go over the pick 6 box in detail.

A Pick 6 Box Bet Example

Say you have the following racing card for six consecutive races:

Let’s go through the motions once again, shall we? For this Pick 6 Box bet, you can bet on either of two horses to win each particular race. You’ll end up betting on doubling your combinations compared to a pick 5 for a total of 64 possible combinations (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x2) of winning horses. Let’s say youre pretty confident on the following horses:

• Winners for Race #1: Thunder Bolt or Speed Demon
• Winners for Race #2: Lightning Strike or Stormy Skies
• Winners for Race #3: Mighty Wind or Silent Storm
• Winners for Race #4: Golden Fire and Silver Lightning
• Winners for Race #5: Firestorm or Blue Thunder
• Winners for Race #6: Blazing Speed or Silent Echo

Payout Scenarios for a $2 Pick 6 Box Bet

Here’s what the potential payouts might look like, depending on which combination wins. The list is way bigger now (as if it wasn’t already for a pick 5 box bet) so we apologize in advance:

Sorry for that wall of text, we’re just being thorough. Even though payouts will vary based on the odds and the total pool size, a Pick 6 Box bet gives you the most flexibility of any box bet. Sure, youre covering more combinations which makes the best pricier but the payouts are huge in the event you actually get most of your horses right (just look at those payouts).

What is a Box Bet in horse racing?A Box Bet allows you to select multiple horses to finish in the top positions in any order. It increases your chances of winning by covering all possible combinations of the selected horses.How does a Box Bet work?In a Box Bet, you choose two or more horses, and they can finish in any order. The bet covers all possible finishing combinations of the selected horses, but the cost of the bet increases with more combinations.What is the difference between a Box Bet and an Exacta?An Exacta requires selecting the top two horses in exact order, while a Box Bet allows you to select multiple horses to finish in any order, increasing the chances of winning but at a higher cost.How much does a Box Bet cost?The cost of a Box Bet depends on the number of horses selected and the number of combinations. For example, a two-horse Box Bet is cheaper than a three-horse Box Bet because fewer combinations are covered.What are the advantages of a Box Bet?A Box Bet gives flexibility by allowing horses to finish in any order, increasing your chances of winning. However, it comes at a higher cost due to covering more combinations.