Horse Racing’s Daily Double 101

The Daily Double is the easiest way for a beginner to get his or her feet wet when it comes to multi-race bets in horse racing.

The risk level for Daily Doubles is fairly low – about the same as an exacta – and the risk/reward ratio is easier to calculate. We’ll discuss the finer points of horse racing’s simplest multi-race wager below.

Daily Double wagering – the basics

The Daily Double asks bettors to identify the winner of two straight races. The wager got its name decades ago when it was introduced as the first multi-race wager at many tracks. It often linked the first two races on the program, giving bettors another reason to come to the track early.

Soon Daily Doubles were offered on the last two races as well as the first two, then came the addition of the middle Daily Double. Eventually, Daily Doubles became a “rolling” wager at most every track, meaning it’s offered on all eligible races on the program.

The minimum wager on a Daily Double is $1 at most venues. At most California tracks it is $2, down from the $5 minimum that was held in place for many years.

When it’s wise to bet a Daily Double

There are plenty of reasons why bettors will opt for a Daily Double in lieu of a win bet or an exotic wager within one race (exacta, et al.). The Daily Double can also be used as part of a wagering strategy to diversify an investment on a given horse or horses.

Sometimes a bettor will be able to identify a horse they really like to win a given race, but the horse’s win odds might be underlaid (lower than they should be, in the bettor’s opinion), or it might be difficult to determine who will round out the exotics. This is when a Daily Double can come in handy.

A bettor can either forsake in-race bets in favor of a Daily Double, or spread his or her money around in hopes of increasing his chances of winning. For instance, instead of exacta wheeling the 1 over all seven horses in the field in one race, a bettor can put the 1 over a pair of horses he or she likes in the next race for a $2 Daily Double play.

Alternately, a bettor can do a 1/2 exacta, just to have an interest, along with a 1/2,3 Daily Double.

Daily Doubles can also be used in lieu of placing win bets on multiple horses. Sometimes, a 1,2/5,6 Daily Double ($8 for $2) can be an extremely worthwhile investment compared to simple win bets.

Bettors can see what Daily Double probable payouts will be on track feeds, as they’re typically shown alongside, or alternating with, exacta probables in the minutes before a race begins.