Betting

There are five different kinds of bet available. The odds are calculated using a Pari-Mutuel tote system and all bets are made by filling out a lottery ticket style form and either handing it to one of the hundreds of betting windows around the track or by putting it into one of the self service machines.

The bets available are as follows:

Win - You win by picking the horse that will finish first.

Place - You win if the horse you pick finishes in the top three or, if the race has less than eight runners (which in Korea is unusual) in the top 2.

Exacta – You pick two horses – one to win and one to come second and you win so long as they finish first and second in that order. This is a very popular bet with many racegoers picking one horse to win and then making several bets on different horses to come second.

Quinella - You pick two horses and win if they come first and second in any order.

Quninella Place – You pick two horses and win if they both finish in the first three.

* For big (Stakes) races, from 2009 a sixth type of bet is available, the “Trio“. In this bet, you pick three horses and you win if they finish in the first three, in any order.  A special betting slip is used for the trio.

The information desk outside the Foreigner’s Lounge on the fourth floor of Luckyville grandstand as well as the other information desks around the track have an excellent English language leaflet which has a step by step guide to filling out the betting slips complete with examples.

Minimum bet is just 100won with a maximum of 100,000won.

The tote system tends to produce a lot of odds-on favourites and for this reason, the exactas and quinellas tend to be more favoured by racegoers as they offer much better odds.

On floors 1-3 (at Seoul), the betting windows are all staffed and you simply hand your money and your betting slip to the cashier. On floor 4, they are all automated and you need to exchange your money for a credit slip before using them – again, outside the foreigner’s lounge there is a guide on how to do this.

Form Guides

The English language form sheet available in the Foreigner’s Lounge is detailed enough to give a general idea of which is the best horse in the race, however, for those looking for more detailed guides plus “expert” predicitions, it is a good idea to buy one of the many formguides that are available both inside and outside the track. Although all in Korean, it is easy to work out which horses they predict and the layout of the card is exactly the same as that used in just about every country. There are two types of guide available. First are ones with names such as “Ace”, “Speed” and “New World” which cost 1000 won and have the day’s card with predictions for each race and second are the more detailed ones of which “Seoul Gyongma” is the most popular, costing 4000 won and with a lot more background information for serious punters. If you buy a formguide from one of the many sellers on the way out of the subway station, you are usually given a “signpen” to bet with.