Gambling terms, explained straight

Racing & Pari-Mutuel

Exacta wheel

An exacta wheel is a racing bet that covers multiple exacta combinations by keying one or more horses with other runners to cover different first-and-second finish orders.

Applies to
Horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai12
Also called
Exacta key (when one horse is singled)4

Key points

  • The bettor selects one or more fixed horses and combines them with additional horses to create multiple exacta tickets1.
  • A win requires the chosen horses to finish first and second in the exact order23.
  • An exacta wheel is a broader form than an exacta key, which uses only one key horse4.

Where this term is used

Sources

  1. Betting on horse racing en.wikipedia.org Defines the exacta wheel and its application in horse racing.
  2. Parimutuel betting en.wikipedia.org Describes parimutuel betting contexts including exacta.
  3. Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Provides the exact-order requirement for an exacta.
  4. Lottery wheeling - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Distinguishes exacta key from exacta wheel.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.