After working for more than 10 years in the Las Vegas sports books, it’s no secret that I grew to love the sport of horse racing. I have met plenty of sharp horse racing handicappers, horse owners, and retired jockeys in those years. What do they all have in common? My phone number and email address. Now that I’m retired from the gaming industry, I can share my knowledge and inside information on the sport of horse racing.

The 2013 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita starts this Friday, Nov. 1, with six Breeders’ Cup races and Saturday, Nov. 2, with nine Breeders’ Cup races. I will have picks for both days, and with my knowledge and contacts it will be a profitable Breeders’ Cup weekend.

Here is a quick “How to Wager” on the horses, and if you need additional help please feel free to email me at raphael@docsports.

Win – You collect if our horse finishes first
Place – You collect the place payout if your horse finishes first or second
Show – You collect the show payout if your horse finishes first, second or third
Across the Board – Equal bets to win, place and show on a single horse
Exacta – Pick the horses that come in first and second in a race in exact order
Trifecta – Pick the first three finishers in a race in exact order
Superfecta – Pick the first four finishers in a race in exact order
Daily Double – Pick the winners of two consecutive races
Pick 3 – Pick the winners of three races in a row
Pick 4 – Pick the winners of four races in a row
Pick 6 – Pick the winners of six races in a row

Wagering Options
Instead of making individual wagers, you may want to box, wheel or key (partial wheel) a horse. This costs more but increases your number of outcomes and your chance of collecting.

Box
When you Box a bet, you collect if your selected horses finish in any order. In an Exacta Box, you combine your picks to finish first or second in every possible combination. For example, a 1-2-3 Exact Box covers the following combinations: 1-2, 1-3, 2-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2.

Trifecta wagers can also be boxed. Again, you pay per combination. To calculate how much you will pay, use this simple formula: Your cost = $ Amount of wager X # of bets. Example: $1 Trifecta Box with 4 Horses = $24.

Wheel
A wheel combines one horse with all the other horses in the race. An “Exacta Wheel #7 with all” covers the following combinations (in an eight horse field): 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-5, 7-6, 7-8. If this was a $2 bet, the total cost would be $14.

Partial Wheel
A Partial Wheel allows you to pick only some of the possible combinations. For example, an “Exacta Partial Wheel #7 with 1, 2, 3” wins if #7 wins and 1, 2, or 3 place.

Good Luck, and I will make money this Breeders Cup Weekend. Follow us on Twitter @VSIdocsports.

Raphael Esparza (The Vegas Sports Informer)