What is Pari-mutual Racing

The word Pari-mutual is French in origin. It means "to wager amongst ourselves".

Racings fans betting in a pari-mutual system are wagering against one another, not against the track.

The money that is bet goes into a "betting pool" Each type of wager has its own pool.The track receives a portion of each wager placed as sort of an administrative fee called "takeout". Normally, this runs in the neighborhood of 20%.The balance is returned to the winning bettors.