When placing a wheel bet, the horse whose position is specifically named is called the key. While the other horse or horses can finish in any order to cash a winning ticket, the key horse must finish in that exact spot. If a bettor wagers that a horse will finish second or third but it wins instead, the ticket is a loser. The key horse must finish in the exact position wagered for the ticket to pay off. The other horse can finish in either of the remaining positions and still cash. So if the key horse is picked to finish third and another horse is bet to finish in the money, that second horse winning or placing still leaves the bettor with a winning ticket.