The Daily double requires you to pick the winners of two consecutive races. It’s offered on the first two races on a card at most racetracks and the daily double is also offered by some tracks on the final two races of the day. Additionally, some tracks provide rolling daily doubles, which allow bettors to place wagers on any two subsequent races during the day. In that situation, the track might provide daily doubles for races 1 and 2, 2 and 3, and so forth. Daily doubles can pay out in a variety of ways. The daily double reward typically isn’t very large if two favorites win their respective races compared to other exotic bets. On the other hand, if gamblers correctly pick longshot horses to win their races, the daily double can pay them large winnings.
A $2 daily double of 2-3 on the first two races would require that horse 2 win the first race and horse 3 win the second race in order for you to cash a ticket. Many tracks also offer the daily double as a $1 minimum wager, allowing bettors to play $1 double wheels.
For example, a $1 daily double wheel of 1 with 4,5,6 would cost $3 and would require that horse 1 win the first race and any of horses 4,5,6 win the second race.
Because this bet is a $1 wheel, rather than a full $2 daily double wager, you would only collect half the listed $2 daily double payout if it came in.
Daily Double Wheels
Daily doubles can be used by bettors in the same way as other exotic bets to boost their chances of winning. You can pick a specific horse for one leg and cover the field on the other if you have a read on which horse will win one race but not the other.
Consider a scenario in which you are certain that horse #4 will win the first race but are unsure of the winner of the second. You might choose #4 for the first race on your daily double wheel and ALL for the second. If #4 wins the first race and any other horse wins the second, this wager would be successful.
The number of selections in the race of the non-keyed horse determines the cost of a daily double full wheel. A $2 daily double wheel would cost $14 ($2 times seven horses) if there were seven horses in the second race.
Full wheels can be bet in either way. In other words, you can choose one horse for the second leg and select ALL for the first leg if you know who will win the second race but are unsure of the outcome of the first race.
Daily double full wheels are less expensive than some exotic horse racing wagers, but it’s important to remember that if the favorite horse in each race wins, the wager might not return enough to break even because many other people have bet on the same combinations.
Daily Double Part Wheels
In order to save money, bettors can also put together partial wheels. In keeping with the previous illustration, if you like horse #2, #6, or #7 in the second race but only horses #4 in the first, you can place a daily double wheel of 4 over 2-6-7 to guarantee a payout if #4 wins the first race.
The daily double can also be played by picking different horses for each leg of the bet. Essentially, this is a variation of box betting, which is used in other kinds of exotic bets. Because it covers every potential combination, making numerous selections for each race can grow pricey, but punters can save money by excluding horses that aren’t as valuable.
Consider liking the #1 and #2 finishers in the first race and #3, #4, and #5 in the second. With these choices, a $2 daily double bet will cost you $12 because it covers the following six possible combinations:
By multiplying the number of horses in the first race by the number of horses in the second, and then by the size of the base wager, it is simple to get the price of a daily double with multiple selections in each event.