TwinSpires is introducing Parlay Wagering to enhance the horse racing experience by aligning it with popular sportsbook practices. This feature allows bettors to place an initial wager and reinvest winnings in subsequent races within the same track or event. The system only offers predefined parlays, crafted by experts, allowing bets on a sequence of up to six races. Wagers are locked once the first race begins, and any loss in the sequence results in forfeiture of the entire parlay. The platform supports mobile and native applications, with functionalities slightly adjusted for different views. Estimated payouts are provided, but actual returns may vary due to odds changes. Restrictions include the inability to modify selections post-placement and automatic reinvestment of winnings, with termination conditions if bets can't cover minimums or if races are canceled.
Parlays are restricted in the states of IN and WY.
Parlay Wagering on TwinSpires (Phase 1)
Twinspires will be implementing Parlay Wagering with the goal of providing parity with the increasingly popular sportsbook experience and add familiarity to the horse racing experience for sports players. Adding Parlay wagering differentiates us from competitors that do not offer the feature while giving us an opportunity to offer a better experience than those that do.
What is a Parlay Wager?
Parlay wagering in horse racing is a form on progressive betting where a patron places an initial wager and selects additional races within the same track or event to reinvest any potential winnings. The patron pays for the first wager only, with subsequent wagers being funded by winnings from the prior race. This continues until all selected wagers are won, the parlay terminates (termination reasons defined below) or one wagers loses, resulting in no further reinvestment or payout.
During the initial phase of this release, ONLY pre-defined parlays will be available by our marketing/content team.
Parlay Central
When users navigate to the Bet Now tab on our website, there will now be an option for Parlay Central. In the event our Marketing team provides a deeplink via social or email, the user will not see the Parlay Central screen
After clicking on Parlay Central, users will be taken to the new Parlay Central screen, where they will be presented with several different expert-crafted parlay bets from our top handicappers
Each parlay will include the Track, Race Numbers, and chosen runners. Users will have the option to click Bet Now to simply bet the chosen Parlay
The races for each parlay do not have to be in order, but they do have to be sequential (max. 6 total races)
Win, Place, and Show wagers are the only wager types available to submit the Parlay
All Parlay Wagers will be pre-defined; there will not be an option to build a Parlay
In the top right, there is a link to How It Works, an step-by-step of the functionality of the Parlay Wager feature and the Terms & Conditions to Parlay Wagering.
Bet a Parlay Wager
Once the Parlay Wager is chosen, a Parlay Review will display with the wager details
Users can choose to bet the base amount (in this example it is $2), or they can use the dropdown arrow to change their bet amount.
When the wager is submitted, it is able to be viewed within My Bets and Account History
Users will not be able to cancel a parlay wager once the first race has gone to post
View Parlay Wager
At any time after the wager is submitted, users can view their Parlay Wager in My Bets or within their player Account History. Below are examples of a Parlay Wager in Account History (left) and My Bets (right).
Parlay Wagering: Responsive
Parlay Wagering will be available on the mobile browser. The functionality will stay the same, but the view will be slightly altered. Below is an example of Parlay Central (left), Parlay Review (center), and My Bets (right).
Parlay Wagering: Native
Parlay Wagering will also be available on the Native applications. The functionality will stay the same, but the view andnavigation will be slightly altered. Below is an example of My Account featuring Parlay Central (left), Parlay Central (center),Parlay Review (center) and My Bets (right).
Estimated Payouts
Approximate Payout is the estimated return you will receive
if this wager is a winner based on the current projections
from the Win Pools. Please note that these are for guidance
purposes only and that your actual returns may be different
as the odds update before the races begins. All funds
wagered for a particular bet type is paid into a pool. The
pool is paid out to players who bet on the winning horse,
with the prices based on how much money was placed on each individual horse.
Limitations and Risk Considerations
Once a parlay wager is placed, selections cannot be modified.The parlay wagering is cancellable until the first race assigned to the parlay is ‘OFF’ and no longer wager-able.Once the first race reflects an ‘OFF’ status, the wager is locked in for the entire sequence of races.The reinvestment of winnings into subsequent wagers is automatic and non-refundable.A single losing wager in the sequence results in the forfeiture of the entire parlay bet, with no payout awarded.Parlay Termination Use Cases If a parlay leg winnings are being reinvested in the next leg and are not able to cover the minimum base bet amount for the wager type, then the parlay is terminated and the tallied winnings are applied to the patrons account. This could occur if the first pool selected is a $2 Place bet which pays off $1.80. The second parlay leg selection could bean Win bet which has a $2 base bet minimum.If a pool or race is cancelled, preventing the next bet in the parlay from being placed, then the parlay is terminated and the tallied winnings are applied to the patrons account.If operations have closed a race that has been included in the parlay and the bet is unable to be executed then theparlay is terminated.If tax withholding is triggered due to a parlay leg's winnings, then the parlay is terminated and the tallied winnings are applied to the patrons account.
Parlay Divestment
The United Tote system attempts to reinvest as much of accumulated parlay winnings possible when placing the next bet in the parlay. Parlay reinvestments allow for fractional dollar amounts, with rounding applied before reinvestment. The rounding threshold, known as Parlay Break, is defined on a per-event basis by the tote system. When rounding down occurs, the difference is recorded in the group balance report as "Parlay Divest" and is not returned to the patron.
For example, some tracks set the Parlay Break at $0.01, resulting in minimal divestment (of fractional pennies and allowing wagers with penny-level base amounts (e.g., $178.27). When a higher Parlay Break is set, fractional amounts below the threshold are removed and recorded as Parlay Divest.
Penny Breakage Divestment in XpressBet’s Parlay Wagering System
XpressBet’s parlay wagering system applies penny breakage divestment when reinvesting parlay winnings across multiple legs. Below is an example of how this works in practice:
Example Parlay Wager – This example highlights how fractional cents (half-penny amounts) are divested due to penny breakage, ensuring that all reinvested wager amounts conform to the minimum payout unit.
Friday, Jan 31st Initial Bet: $2 Parlay
Leg 1 (Race 8): Show bet on horses 2, 6, 7
Leg 2 (Race 9): Show bet on horses 2, 3, 7, 8
Race 8 Results & Reinvestment Calculation
Horse 2 finished 2nd, paying $2.80 to show on a $2 ticket.
Horse 7 finished 3rd, paying $2.10 to show on a $2 ticket.
Total earnings from Race 8: $4.90 (this becomes the reinvestment amount for Race 9).
Race 9 Bet Allocation & Penny Breakage Divestment
Since the parlay wager for Race 9 included 4 horses, the $4.90 reinvestment amount was split evenly
among them.
$4.90 ÷ 4 = $1.225 per horse.
Because XpressBet rounds down to the nearest penny, the fractional half-penny (0.005) is removed as
divestment.
This resulted in a final reinvested base bet amount of $1.22 per horse in Race 9.
Parlay Scratched Horse Implications
Tote will reject submission of a parlay ticket if (at the time of submission) if the parlay ticket contains a scratched horse in any leg of the ticket
If you have successfully submitted a parlay ticket to tote and the patron has a single horse in the first leg that scratches then the money on the runner will be refunded and that refund will be used to place the 2nd leg of the parlay and the patron has multiple horses in the first leg and one or more of the horses scratch then the patron will receive a refund and the refund will be used as part of the reinvestment amount to apply to the next leg along with any winnings received from the 1st leg. and the patron has a single horse in a future leg that scratches BEFORE or AFTER a reinvestment is applied then the impacted parlay leg will be refunded and the next parlay leg will be placed using those refunded price and the patron has multiple horses defined in a future parlay leg where one of those horses scratch before or after the reinvestment amount is applied to that leg then the wager will still be placed on all runners in that leg (including scratched runners) and the refunded amount from the scratch will be applied along with any tallied winnings (at that time) to the next leg of the parlay and the patron has multiple horses in a subsequent leg where all of those horses scratch before or after the reinvestment is applied then the refunded amount will be applied along with any tallied winnings to the next leg of the parlay