If a race looks hotly contested, a smart bettor will not put much money on picking a winner and might skip the wager altogether. Unless laying a box exacta where two favored horses simply need to finish in the top two spots, a smart handicapper will choose to sit out the race or wager only a small amount on one horse to win. A box exacta can be a smart bet when two horses are clearly better than the rest of the field, but track conditions also influence whether a professional bettor bothers wagering on such a race at all. Bettors who win more than they lose tend to choose races where one horse has a clear advantage over the field, with one or two others that are also easier to handicap and accurately predict in the order of finish.