- Place the bet board in the middle of the table.
- Shuffle the prop bet cards and place the deck face down on its space at the top of the board. Draw the top 5 cards from the deck to fill the spaces to the right.
- Shuffle the exotic finish cards and place the deck face down on its space at the bottom of the board. Draw the top card and place it in the 1st slot.
- Shuffle the VIP cards and place the deck face down on its space at the bottom of the board.
- Place the money chips in a supply near the board.
- Place the black and white bonus bet tokens near the board.
- Select someone to run the race or use the app.
- Place the Race board near them.
- This person does not compete in the game unless using one of the House variants.
- Give the house player the 2 dice and 9 horse meeples.
- The horses are placed on the green starting gate in their associated rows.
- The app is available:
- In the Google Play store
- In the Apple App store
- In a standard web browser
- Each (non-House) player takes a set of 5 player bet tokens in a
color.
- If there are 7 or 8 (non-House) players, each player returns 1 of their number 3 tokens to the box.
- Place the 6 win/place/show tokens near the bet board.
The game is played over 4 races with the winner being the player with the most money at the end of those races.
- Running a Race (The House player)
The House player will simply facilitate the race unless you have chosen to use one of the House variants. There is also an app available to run the race for you. See Setup for links for various platforms.
- Roll the 2 dice, announce the result, and move the horse associated with the die roll 1 space forward on the horse track.
- If the same number is rolled twice in a row, move the horse
a number of additional spaces as indicated in the row on
the board. (note that 7 has no bonus)
- The bonus is triggered for 2/3 no matter which number is rolled, and similarly for 11/12. e.g. if a 2 is rolled followed by a 3, the bonus is triggered for the 2/3 horse.
- The bonus is NOT triggered on a 3rd consecutive roll, but it would be triggered again on a 4th consecutive roll.
- When the 3rd horse crosses the red bet line, the House player announces "No more bets". The House player continues to roll dice as usual until 1 horse gets to the finish at which time the race immediately ends.
- The House marks the win/place/show tokens on the bet board.
- The tokens are placed on the bet board pointing at the appropriate horse for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
- If 2 or more horses tie for 2nd, they essentially take 2nd and 3rd place so no horses behind them will be considered as "showing".
- Betting (and Resolving Bets)
Betting
Players can place their bets at any time during the race until "No more bets" is called when 3 horses have crossed the red bet line (see Running a Race).
- Players may not place a bet token on a space that already has a bet token.
- Once a bet token is placed, it cannot be moved/removed.
- Only 1 token can be place on the Prop bets (like other spaces).
- Note that the Exotic Finish cards have 3 bet spots.
- A player cannot place more than 1 of their bet tokens on the same card.
- For the "Photo Finish" card, remember that if horses are tied for 2nd, they are also tied for 3rd.
Resolving Bets
After the race, bets are paid out.
- Win/place/show:
- All bets for win/place/show are paid for the winning horse.
- All bets for place/show are paid for the 2nd place horse(s).
- All bets for show are paid for the 3rd place (if there is one, see Running a Race).
- The amount paid to the player is the number on their bet token times the multiplier for the space.
- For losing bets, if there is a red circle with a number
on the space, the player must pay that amount to the
supply.
- If a player has no money to pay, they pay nothing.
- The value of the bet token means nothing for a losing bet.
- Bonus Bet Tokens (black and white bet tokens):
- These are resolved just like other bet tokens for winning bets.
- If the token has a red circle with a number on the space, the player must pay this amount in addition to anything printed on the board for losing bets.
- If the token has a
symbol on
it, this means that the negative value printed on the
board space for a losing bet where this was placed is
negated (pay nothing).
- End of Race Cleanup
After each of the first 3 races:
- Replace the 5 Prop bet cards.
- Reveal an additional Exotic Finish card.
- Deal 2 VIP cards to each player. Each player chooses 1 to keep
and discards the other.
- VIP cards are placed face up in front the player and the player gains the benefit for the rest of the game.
- If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard to create a new deck.
- Some cards have a 1-time effect, but the card should remain in front of the player and not be discarded.
- Reset the horses on the horse board.
- If using a House variant, follow additional end of race instructions there.
The game ends after the 4th race. Whoever has the most money, wins. If there is a tie, the tied players share the victory.
- House Bets Variant (2-9 players)
- Before each race, the House player takes the 6 house bet tokens
and places them in the upper left corner of 6 different bet
spots of their choice.
- The House player starts the game with $18 and does not draw any VIP cards.
- This includes Prop bet and Exotic finish betting spots.
- These bet spots are considered open for other players to use.
- At the end of each race, the house bet tokens are resolved in the same way as the player bet tokens.
- Before each race, the House player takes the 6 house bet tokens
and places them in the upper left corner of 6 different bet
spots of their choice.
- House Rotation Variant (2-8 players)
- Randomly pick a House player for the 1st race.
- The House player uses the 6 House bet tokens as described in the House Bets variant.
- After each race the House player may choose to remain the
House player for the next race.
- If they choose not to be: Beginning with the player to the House player's left, and continuing clockwise, each player has the option to become the House player.
- If no one chooses to be the House player, the player to the left of the House player must become the new House player.
- The House player may not use VIP cards for the round they
are the House player.
- At the end of the round, the House player still draws and selects a VIP card along with the other players.
- As compensation for not being able to use VIP cards, the
House player gains money from the supply (before the start
of the race in the noted rounds):
- $3 in round 2
- $6 in round 3
- $9 in round 4