Horse Racing

Successfully picking a Melbourne Cup exacta 2011 can pay off incredibly well, and it is easier to pick than most of the other Melbourne Cup exotic bets.

For those unfamiliar with this bet type, an exacta requires you pick the first and second placed runner in exact order. This is as opposed to a quinella, which does not require you pick the right order.

An example of a winning exacta from the 2009 Melbourne Cup is:

• 1st – Shocking (21)
• 2nd – Crime Scene (8)

If you had correctly picked this exact finishing order, you would have won $465.30 for each $1 you spent on the quinella. A Melbourne Cup quinella of $100 would have gotten a return of $46,530 in 2009!

How to Pick the Melbourne Cup Exacta

Picking the Melbourne Cup exacta is much more challenging than the Melbourne Cup quinella, as you have to get the order right.

If you are going to place a Melbourne Cup exacta, why not do it online? The online TAB’s are offering generous sign on bonuses just to get you to try them out. Here are the current best offers, check out each one, they are all great bookmakers with better odds than your local TAB.

Only luck can help you with the exact finishing order of the Melbourne Cup, but you can give your Melbourne Cup exacta the best possible chance by researching the runners. If you can’t decide the winner between your two runners, consider quinellas and box exactas or just rely on your gut feeling.

If you are unsure of the order to set your picks in, compare the payouts of a Melbourne Cup quinella with a 2-horse box exacta. These bets are quite similar in practice, but the odds may make one bet type more advantageous on Melbourne Cup day.

Where to Place Your Melbourne Cup Exacta

We suggest that you place your Melbourne Cup exacta with an online bookie and we particularly recommend Tabcorp owned Luxbet or Sportsbet and IASbet.

Online betting sites often offer special deals on exotic Melbourne Cup bets to encourage punters to give them a try. They are also convenient to use, as you can access the sites from anywhere you have an Internet connection.

Placing a Melbourne Cup Box Exacta

While a Melbourne Cup box exacta may seem almost identical to a box quinella, there are differences between these bets.

Remember that a box bet is effectively many separate wagers, and they do not all have the same odds. So, while a 2-horse box exacta with the same picks as a quinella will both win on the same results, the 2-horse box exacta has two different payouts depending on the exact finishing order while the quinella pays out the same regardless of which of your picks comes first or second.

The cost of your Melbourne Cup exacta box is equal to (the number of horses in your picks X [the number of horses in your picks – 1]) X your base bet amount.

For example, if you place a Melbourne Cup exacta box with 3 picks at a base bet amount of $1, you end up with (3X[3-1])X$1 to equal $6 all up.

You can also set an overall bet amount for your Melbourne Cup exacta box by using FlexiBet at Sportsbet. This lets you place a box with a set price, and the money is spread equally among the box combinations. If you win, you will be paid out at a dividend percentage that corresponds to your bet size.

For instance, you wish to play the exacta box in the example above, but only want to pay $3. With FlexiBet, you can do that and receive 50% of the normal dividend you would receive for the full $6 bet if you win.

Racing fans on a budget are advised to try the FlexiBet options at Sportsbet to benefit from the advantages of box exotic bets on the Melbourne Cup at a fraction of the normal price.