Quinella Betting
The Quinella Bet is picking two horses that can finish in either first or second place. The finishing order is unimportant. All you have to do is pick the top 2 horses in a race. If either of your picks does not place first or second in the race – ie. if one of horses places 4th – you lose your wager entirely.
Example: $2 Straight Quinella Bet
Most quinella bets cost $2 or multiples of $2. If you’re betting a quinella for the first time, bet the lowest amount possible – usually $2 – until you’re more comfortable making quinella wagers.
Example Bet: $2 Straight Quinella on Horses 5-7 means you are betting $2 that horses 5 and 7 will finish in the top 2 positions, regardless of final finishing order.
Quinella Betting Variant #1: Quinella Box Betting
Unlike a straight Quinella Bet, Quinella Box betting involves picking the top twp horses that will finish the race in ANY order. Quinella Box betting improves your chances of being successful because you can include more horses in your bet, plus the order in which the horses finish is unimportant.
There’s one small catch: Quinella Box bets cost more than a Straight Quinella Bet, usually $6 per bet at minimum with three horses. The extra money paid for a Quinella Box bet is for purchasing all the various combinations in which your horses can finish. Mathematically speaking, the are 6 possible finishing combinations of 3 horses. Therefore, your Quinella Box bet will cost $2 per combination, for a total of $6.
A $2 Quinella Box bet on horses 10-6-8 means that there are 6 different possible winning combinations in which these horses can finish. Therefore, your cost is $1 per combination, for a total of $6. The bet wins if horses 10, 6, or 8 finish in the top 2 positions in any order.
Quinella Box Combinations on horses 10, 6, and 8 at $1 each:
Set 1 (Horses 10,6) = $2
Finishing 10-6 = $1
Finishing 6-10 = $1
Set 2 (Horses 10,8) = $2
Finishing 10-8 = $1
Finishing 8-10 = $1
Set 3 (Horses 8,6) = $2
Finishing 6-8 = $1
Finishing 8-6 = $1
Total Wager = $6
We’ve grouped each combination in sets of 2 because finishing order isn’t important, but you do have to pay for each possible finishing combination to make your Quinella Box bet.
Quinella Betting Variant #2: Quinella Wheel Betting
The Quinella Wheel bet involves keying in a horse OR horses into the race’s eventual first and second finishing positions. Quinella Wheel betting is much less risky than a straight quinella bet because you are allowed to select more than 2 horses to finish in the top two positions in any order.
The Quinella "Key" Concept
Understanding "keying" horses into your Quinella Wheel is crucial to making a successful bet.
First, start with the first place position. Select a horse or set of horses that can place first in your wager. For example, if horses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are in a horse race, you could choose any one of the six to place first OR some combination of the six to place first.
Example 1st Horse Key is: Horse 4
This means when the race has finished, if horse 4 places first OR second, your first place quinella wheel key will be successful.
Second, pick your horse or horses that will place second, using the same procedure as the first key. You can pick any of the horses to fill your second and third keys.
Example 2nd Horse Key is: Horses 2, 3, 5
This means when the race has finished, if horse 2 OR horse 3 OR horse 5 places second OR first your second place quinella wheel key will be successful.
Example Winning Combination with our Keys: 4 & 3
Given the keys we created above, a race result of horse 4 placing first and horse 3 placing second, the bet would win.
Example Losing Combination with our Keys: 1 & 5
Given the keys we created above, a race result of horse 1 placing first and horse 5 placing second the bet would lose, because we did not include the 1 horse in our first quinella key.
Quinella Wheel Bets Cost $2 Per Possible Finishing Combination
Consider the following examples, where we’ve keyed select horses into the first and second place positions; and how much the total bet would cost considering all of the possible finishing combinations.
Example 1: You believe horse 8 will win the race or place second and that horse is your first key. Next, you believe one of horses 16-7-2 will finish second or first and that is your second key. This bet would cost $6.
Quinella Example #1 Wheel Combinations on horses 8 then 16-7-2 at $1 each:
Set 1 (Horses 8, 16) = $2
Finishing 8-16 = $1
Finishing 16-8 = $1
Set 2 (Horses 8, 7) = $2
Finishing 8-7 = $1
Finishing 7-8 = $1
Set 3 (Horses 8, 2) = $2
Finishing 8-2 = $1
Finishing 2-8 = $1
Total Wager = $6
Example 2: You believe either horse 5 or 7 will win or place second, follwed by horse 1, 4 or 6 in second place or first place.
Quinella Example #2 Wheel Combinations on horses 5-7 winning or placing second, then 1-4-6 placing second or winning at $1 each:
Set 1 (Horses 5, 1) = $2
Finishing 5-1 = $1
Finishing 1-5 = $1
Set 2 (Horses 5, 4) = $2
Finishing 5-4 = $1
Finishing 4-5 = $1
Set 3 (Horses 5, 6) = $2
Finishing 5-6 = $1
Finishing 6-5 = $1
Set 4 (Horses 7, 1) = $2
Finishing 7-1 = $1
Finishing 1-7 = $1
Set 5 (Horses 7, 4) = $2
Finishing 7-4 = $1
Finishing 4-7 = $1
Set 6 (Horses 7, 6) = $2
Finishing 7-6= $1
Finishing 6-7 = $1
Total Wager = $12
Quinella Betting Reference Examples:
Quinella Box
3 horse $2 quinella box = $6 Wager
4 horse $2 quinella box = $12 Wager
5 horse $2 quinella box = $20 Wager
6 horse $2 quinella box = $30 Wager
7 horse $2 quinella box = $42 Wager
8 horse $2 quinella box = $56 Wager
9 horse $2 quinella box = $72 Wager
10 horse $2 quinella box = $90 Wager
11 horse $2 quinella box = $110 Wager
12 horse $2 quinella box = $132 Wager
Quinella Wheel, with one horse first key and various other horses
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 3 horses = $6 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 4 horses = $8 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 5 horses = $10 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 6 horses = $12 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 7 horses = $14 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 8 horses = $16 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 9 horses = $18 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 10 horses = $20 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 1 horse with 11 horses = $22 Wager
Quinella Wheel, with two horse first key and various other horses
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 3 horses = $12 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 4 horses = $16 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 5 horses = $20 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 6 horses = $24 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 7 horses = $28 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 8 horses = $32 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 9 horses = $36 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 10 horses = $40 Wager
$2 quinella wheel 2 horses with 11 horses = $44 Wager