What Is Across the Board Betting in Horse Racing?

With a win, place and show position in a single bet of horse racing, an “across the board” betting strategy is used as a pari-mutuel money pool. You can wager on the winning horse in a race. You can also make a bet that the horse is finishing the race in second and third place.

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How to Bet on Across the Board in Horse Racing

The term “across the board” pertains to horse finishing in all three positions (win, place and show). You would collect all the money pools if your horse is the winner of the race. You would collect the “place” and “show” money pools if the horse finishes second and you would collect the “show” position if they finish third.

Across the Board Betting Strategy

If you are betting a single race in a live horse racing card, the win, place and show positions are the most popular wagers in the various pari-mutuel money pools. One way to bet the race is wagering “across the board” on the three positions.

That horse racing bet will triple your wager on a particular race in the card and potentially increase your return if your horse wins. You can also make some kind of a return if your horse finishes second or third.

How to Read a Horse Racing Form

The “across the board” betting strategy relates to a positive return on your investment if you are betting a horse at longshot odds (10-1 or higher). The horse at long odds will return a positive investment if they finish first, second and third. By betting on the first three positions combined in the race, you can make money on your investment. However, the longshot is more likely to finish the race out of the first three positions.

Betting the favorite “across the board” is not a good return on your investment if they do not win the race. Most of the money pool is tied up with the first-place finish. The money pool for the second-place and third-place finish is a fraction of winning the race. If the horse is a favorite and they finish second and/or third in the race, the money pool for the “place” and/or “show” positions will not be enough to cover your initial wager.

Horse Racing Betting Terms

The “across the board” wager is a well-known strategy in horse racing, but it is both skill and luck to make money off the combined bet for finishing first, second and third. The most popular race tracks in the US market are the best bets for making a combined wager of first, second and third position in a horse race. The betting crowds are big and therefor so are the money pools.

In summary, you can bet a live longshot “across the board” in a single race on the betting card at a popular horse track if you want to make money on your investment. You can make more money if the longshot horse wins, but you can also have a positive return even if they finish second and/or third. If the favored horse wins, you can earn a positive return on your “across the board” investment. However, you could lose money if they finish second and/or third.