When first learning to bet the horses, it helps to keep things as simple as possible. Each horse has odds posted for how it is expected to perform. A bettor can wager as little as two dollars on how a horse will finish and potentially win money back. If a horse has twenty to one odds and the bettor wagers two dollars, a win would pay forty dollars. Horses can also be bet to finish second or third, known as place and show. So a straight bet can be laid on a horse to win, place, or show, with the odds lowered for each finishing position. If you bet a horse to win and it does not, the ticket is worthless. If you bet a horse to show or place and it finishes in that position or better, the ticket pays at the posted odds and can be cashed.