What Is a Quinella?

A Quinella is a popular Horse Racing bet type with punters given it requires them to select the first and second runners in any order. It is one of the more common bet types given due to decent payouts, mainly in larger fields. Down below is a detailed explanation of how Quinella Betting works.

Adam Page

Sports Writer

Last updated: 2024-10-11

Fact checked by:

Chad Nagel

Sports & Betting Editor

3 minutes read

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The tote board with the Quinella and Forecast odds

Horse Racing in Hong Kong - Happy Valley Racecourse//Getty Images

Table of Contents

A Quinella is an exotic Horse Racing bet type that requires the punter to select the runners that finish first and second, in any order. Take note that is different from an Exacta, which requires the punter to select the runners that finish first and second in the correct finishing order.

How Does Quinella Betting Work?

A Quinella is a form of pool betting. What does pool betting mean? That means all punters that place Quinella bets, their stake/money is put into a betting pool. The betting platform takes out their commission/takeout and the rest of the pool is divided by winning selections. The more winners there are, the dividend will be low, and vice versa if there are fewer winners.

Quinella Betting Types

There are several types of Quinella Horse Racing betting when it comes to Horse Racing, starting with the Standard Quinella, which requires the punter to select the runners that finish first and second, in any order, and is the most popular form of Quinella betting.

The second form of Quinella Horse Racing betting is the Boxed Quinella. This sees punters do the same thing when it comes to Standard Quinella betting, but with this way, punters can select more than two runners to give themselves the best chance of a win. This form of betting does cost more, or you could take a Flexi Boxed Quinella, where you get a percentage of the potential winning dividend depending on the amount the punter invests.

The third and final form of Quinella Horse Racing betting is the Standout Quinella, where it's pretty much the same as a Boxed Quinella, seeing punters select runners to finish first and second, but in the correct order, using any amount of runners to finish in the positions. Much like the Boxed Quinella, this form of betting does cost more but with the Flexi option, you could spend less and get a percentage of the potential winning dividend.

What is the Difference Between a Quinella & Trifecta?

A Quinella sees a punter required to select the runners that finish first and second, in any order, whereas with a Trifecta, the punter is required to select the runners that finish first, second and third, in the correct order.

What is the Difference Between a Quinella & Exacta?

A Quinella sees a punter required to select the runners that finish first and second, in any order, whereas with an Exacta, the punter is required to select the runners that finish first and second, in the correct order.

Quinella Betting Advice

In order to get a higher dividend via a Quinella bet, there are a couple of factors to help achieve that. First, find races which have large fields. The larger the field, the more options there are for punters to spread their investment and the chances of a better dividend increase vs a small field with limited options and a likely short-priced favourite. The other factor is to keep an eye on the betting pool. The higher the betting pool, the higher the chance of a better dividend whereas a smaller pool will likely ensure not an overly big dividend.

Adam PageSports Writer

Adam Page is a sports nerd. He has been a lover of sport for as long as he can remember, dating back to when his father would cheer on the Brisbane Broncos to NRL titles in 1998 and 2000. He has been predominantly a horseracing journalist since 2009, working for JustHorseRacing as well as a short stint with Punters.com.au. He has also done articles for other websites such as Before You Bet, writing up previews for racing as well as other sports such as NRL, AFL and Darts.