A skilled horse bettor has intimate knowledge of tracks and their conditions, horses and their health, jockeys and their riding styles, and many other factors used to improve their odds of winning. With that kind of information available, professional bettors tend to wager on more horses and take more chances when conditions are right. They still lay straight bets, since those are the easiest to hit, but a thorough knowledge of horses, jockeys, tracks, and other factors makes it much easier to wager on multiple horses and make exotic wagers that can pay off at very good odds.