• Purebreeds or purebreds are animals that come from a recorded lineage of same-breed mating. Purebred horses stand a great chance of retaining the positive characteristics of their ancestors
• Thoroughbreds are purebreed horses known for their racing ability. While all thoroughbreds are purebred, not all purebreeds are thoroughbreds. In order for a purebred horse to be documented as a thoroughbred, it should be duly sanctioned and recognized by a stud book.

Of course, a list of horse wagering terms would not be complete without the betting jargon itself. Accepted wagering types continuously increase over time, but these traditional phrases are universally accepted and recognized:

• Straight betting is the most widespread type of wagering. There are three kinds of straight bets: Win, place and show. A win bet is, quite straightforwardly, picking the winning horse. You win a place bet if the horse you bet on finishes first or second in the race; a show bet if it places first, second or third.
• When you bet across the board, you bet on a horse to win any of the first three positions. If the horse you picked finishes first, you earn all three bets. If the horse finishes second, you collect place bet and show bet winnings. If the horse garners the third place, you get the show bet winnings.
• Quinella bets purport that you bet on two horses winning first and second place in no particular order. Like a quinella, with an exacta, you get to bet on two horses, but they have to finish first and second in the correct order. Trifecta bets necessitate that you choose the first, second and third placers in the correct order. A superfecta works in the same way as a trifecta, only this time you have to pick the first four horses.

All the expert horse bettors are now turning to online horse betting sites. Try out these horse wagering terms over at TVG.com, an interactive horseracing website.

These wagering terms start with the basic win, place and show bets. ‘Win’ simply means that a player bets on a horse to take first place. ‘Place’ means that the bet is on a horse to come in first or second, while ‘show’ means that the chosen horse will finish first, second or third. Horses are usually referred to at the betting service by their race numbers, so phrases like “Two dollars to show on number one” are common and easily understood at any track or off-track betting facility.

Bettors will also use terms like ‘across the board,’ referring to the act of placing equal bets to win, place and show on one horse, and ‘morning line’ which refers to the estimate of final race odds as determined by the track’s resident handicapper.

More advanced horse wagering terms include ‘daily double,’ which refers to a player picking the winner of two consecutive races, and ‘exacta,’ or choosing the first two horses to cross the finish line in the exact order for a single race. These and other horse wagering terms are used liberally on betting tickets like those being used by online horse race betting experts at TVG.com, and really should not intimidate horseplayers at any skill or experience level. To help keep that from happening, TVG provides a wealth of tutorials and simulation races for beginners to learn more about the ‘Sport of Kings’.

This treasure trove of information demystifies wagering terms and makes getting into the swing of horse racing so much easier. Discover what all of those other horseplayers have been talking about at TVG.com