2016 Preakness Exacta Picks

If you think picking the winner of a major horse race like the 141 st Preakness Stakes is tough, try picking who will finish 1st and 2nd . That is exactly what you are asked to do with an exacta bet, and it is why the payouts tend to be so good. Exotic bets are generally only played by serious horse bettors, but when you have a race that features a big favorite like Nyquist, the casual bettor has a real opportunity to get in on the exacta action. There are a number of different ways that you can go here, and the good news is that you really don’t have to spend a lot of money in order to get in on the exacta fun. A bet of this type can be had for as little as $1, and the payouts on such a small bet can be very nice indeed. Let’s take a look at some of your available horse racing betting options.

A Look at the 2016 Preakness Exacta Picks

Playing Nyquist in your Exacta Wager

Nyquist has already bagged the first leg of the Triple Crown, and the general consensus is that he will also walk away with the Preakness Stakes. If that is indeed the case, then your exacta options become a whole lot easier. You could simply go with a repeat of the Derby result, which would mean putting on a Nyquist with Exaggerator ticket. In the Kentucky Derby, that winning combination paid out $15.30 on a $1 bet. That’s a very nice return, but it may not be so much this time around, as Nyquist is going to go off at much shorter odds. If you can get a horse at longer odds in the top two, the payout on your winning ticket is going to be that much better. A good way to cover all your bases, assuming that you like Nyquist, is to play him on top with the rest of the field. What that means is that you win if Nyquist takes the wire in first place, as it then wouldn’t matter who finished second. The Preakness is scheduled to have 12 horses running, and playing Nyquist on top in this type of exacta means that there are 11 potential winning combinations. Playing a Nyquist with all ticket would cost you $11 for a $1 stake, which is not a huge investment. Your hope with this bet is that one of the longer priced horses would get up for second, as that would boost the exacta odds.

Playing the Exacta with Multiple Horses in Each Position

Playing a single horse on top in the exacta is always a risky bet, no matter how heavy the favorite may be. This is why many bettors will play multiple horses in each of the top two positions. Let’s say that you are looking at 4 specific horses with a shot at finishing in the top 2. What you can do here is rank them by your order of confidence, and then play an exacta ticket that goes 1,2,3 with 1,2,3,4, which will cost you $9 for a $1 stake. This gives you a number of different winning options, and will cover your bases a little if the favorite has a poorer than expected showing.