Take a look at 2020's fastest-growing wagers in horse racing
Horse racing's U.S. betting handle was down 1.3 percent in 2020. That much was reported here this week.
But what about individual wager types? As tracks have pushed jackpot bets, and the betting public continues to embrace multi-race wagers, there is a clear trend for the fastest-growing wagers of 2020.
Pick 5: The fastest-growing wager
Racing saw strong growth in 2020 from both the standard Pick 5 wager and the Pick 5 jackpot wager. The difference between the two is that with the standard bet, 100 percent of the after-takeout pool is returned to players daily, unless there is a carryover. The Pick 5 jackpot portion is only paid out in the case of one single winner, also unless it is a mandatory payout day.
The Pick 5 wager was up more than $156 million from 2019, a gain of 29 percent, and the Pick 5 jackpot, which is a newer wager, was up only $17.7 million but with a huge percentage gain of 243%.
The combined Pick 5 wagers types were up more than $174.4 million, making the Pick 5 the fastest-growing wager of 2020.
| Wager | 2020 | 2019 | % | Change |
| Pick 5 | $692.1M | $535.5M | +29% | +$156.6M |
| Pick 5 jackpot | $25.0M | $7.3M | +243% | +$17.7M |
| Total | $717.1M | $542.7M | +32% | +$174.4M |
Pick 6 jackpot growing fast
Last year saw rapid growth from the Pick 6 jackpot wager, which had $71.3 million worth of gains for a 39 percent increase. That growth and the switch by tracks to the jackpot option caused the traditional Pick 6 to decrease 49 percent, dropping from a very small $37.6 million in 2019 to a complete afterthought at $19 million in 2020.
| Wager | 2020 | 2019 | % | Change |
| Pick 6 | $19.0M | $37.6M | -49% | - $18.6M |
| Pick 6 jackpot | $253.4M | $182.2M | +39% | +$71.3M |
| Total | $272.4M | $219.7M | +24% | +$52.7M |
Pick 3 and Pick 4 grow, too
Similar to the Pick 5 and Pick 6, the multi-race Pick 3 and Pick 4 bets also showed considerable growth in 2020. This is part of a larger trend of increases in multi-race wagers. However, while the Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 and Pick 6 wagers are all growing, they still make up only 19 percent of all wagers at U.S. tracks.
| Wager | 2020 | 2019 | % | Change |
| Pick 3 | $536.5M | $488.5M | +10% | +$48.0M |
| Pick 4 | $603.6M | $567.3M | +6% | +$36.3M |
What declined in 2020?
In contrast to the multi-race wagers, the biggest single race wagers all declined in 2020. Win-place-show, exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers all declined between 2 and 9 percent. Overall, these four options combined to make up 75 percent of all wagers on US tracks.
In addition, the daily double declined 3 percent, a drop of $11.8 million in 2020.
| Wager | 2020 | 2019 | % | Change |
| WPS | $3,354.0M | $3,518.0M | -5% | -$164.5M |
| Exacta | $2,379.3M | $2,429.0M | -2% | -$49.4M |
| Trifecta | $1,451.8M | $1,590.0M | -9% | -$138.3M |
| Superfecta | $911.5M | $1,005.5M | -9% | -$94.0M |
| Daily double | $431.8M | $443.6M | -3% | -$11.8M |
A look at all wagers
Here are all wagers that handled a combined $10 million or more in 2020. The biggest were on singles with win-place-show, exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets.
Racing's biggest wagers
| Wager | 2020 | 2019 | % | Change |
| WPS | $3,354.0M | $3,518.0M | -5% | -$164.5M |
| Exacta | $2,379.3M | $2,429.0M | -2% | -$49.4M |
| Trifecta | $1,451.8M | $1,590.0M | -9% | -$138.3M |
| Superfecta | $911.5M | $1,005.5M | -9% | -$94.0M |
| Pick 5 | $692.1M | $535.5M | +29% | +$156.6M |
| Pick 4 | $603.6M | $567.3M | +6% | +$36.3M |
| Pick 3 | $536.5M | $488.5M | +10% | +$48.0M |
| Daily double | $431.8M | $443.6M | -3% | -$11.8M |
| Pick 6 jackpot | $253.4M | $182.2M | +39% | +$71.3M |
| Super High 5 | $29.2M | $28.7M | +2% | +$0.5M |
| Pick 5 jackpot | $25.0M | $7.3M | +243% | +$17.7M |
| Quinella | $23.3M | $13.8M | +69% | +$9.5M |
| Pick 6 | $19.0M | $37.6M | -49% | -$18.6M |
| Sup H5 jackpot | $16.0M | $13.0M | +23% | +$3.0M |