Ajax Downs (official website) is Ontario’s home of Quarter Horse racing, and every race card from the track in Ajax, just east of Toronto, is available to bet online at Bet365. Quarter Horse races are all-out sprints that are over in seconds, which makes them fast, fun and easy to follow as a bettor. This guide walks you through how to bet on Ajax Downs step by step, using Bet365 for every example.
How to Bet on Ajax Downs Horse Racing
Placing a bet on an Ajax Downs race at Bet365 takes only a few minutes. Here is the full process from sign-up to placing your wager.
Step 1: Open a Bet365 Account and Make a Deposit
Sign up at Bet365 and complete the account verification process. Once your account is approved, head to the cashier and make a deposit using one of the available Canadian payment methods, such as Interac, debit or credit card. Your funds are available to bet as soon as the deposit clears.
Ontario residents sign up through Bet365’s Ontario platform, while bettors in the rest of Canada use the standard Bet365 site. Read our full Bet365 review for more on the sign-up process and current welcome offer.
| Sportsbook | Offers | Visit |
|---|---|---|
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See Website for Details | Visit |
Step 2: Go to the Horse Racing Section
From the Bet365 home screen, open the sports menu and select Horse Racing (labelled Horses on some versions of the app). This takes you to the main racing lobby, where you will see upcoming races from tracks across North America and around the world.
Step 3: Select Markets and Choose Your Ajax Downs Race
Tap the Markets tab at the top of the Horse Racing page. Races are grouped by region and day, so scroll to the North America section and select the correct race day. Ajax Downs is listed with every race on the card numbered in order, along with a countdown showing the time remaining until post. Multi-race wagers such as the Pick 3 are listed at the end of the row.
Tap the race number you want to bet on to open that race.
Step 4: Select Your Bet Type
Each Ajax Downs race page on Bet365 has two tabs: Pools and More Markets. The race number tabs across the top also let you jump to other races on the card, or to the Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 and Daily Double.
Pools is where you place straight bets on a single horse. Each horse in the field has three buttons:
- Win – your horse must finish first.
- 1-2 (Place) – your horse must finish first or second.
- 1-2-3 (Show) – your horse must finish first, second or third.
The Pools tab lists every horse in the race with Win, 1-2 (Place) and 1-2-3 (Show) options.
More Markets is where you build exotic wagers on the order of finish. Choose Exacta, Trifecta or Superfecta, then tick the boxes in the grid:
- Use the 1st, 2nd (and 3rd and 4th for trifectas and superfectas) columns to pick horses in an exact finishing order.
- Use the Any column to box your selections, so they can finish in any order within the top positions.
Under More Markets, pick Exacta, Trifecta or Superfecta and tick your horses in the finishing-order grid.
Step 5: Add Your Wager to the Bet Slip and Place Your Bet
For a Win, Place or Show bet, tapping the button adds the selection to your Bet Slip. For an exotic, tap Add to Bet Slip at the bottom of the grid once your selections are made. Open the Bet Slip, enter your stake amount and double-check the horse numbers and bet type. When everything looks right, click Place Bet to confirm your wager.
Keep in mind that boxed exotics and multi-race wagers cover several combinations, so the total cost is your stake multiplied by the number of combinations. The Bet Slip shows the total before you confirm.
Ajax Downs Bet Types Explained
Here is a quick reference for every wager available on Ajax Downs races at Bet365.
| Bet Type | Where to Find It | How It Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Win | Pools | Your horse finishes first |
| Place (1-2) | Pools | Your horse finishes first or second |
| Show (1-2-3) | Pools | Your horse finishes in the top three |
| Exacta | More Markets | Pick the first two finishers in exact order, or box them in any order |
| Trifecta | More Markets | Pick the first three finishers in exact order, or box them in any order |
| Superfecta | More Markets | Pick the first four finishers in exact order, or box them in any order |
| Daily Double | Race tabs | Pick the winners of two consecutive races |
| Pick 3 / Pick 4 / Pick 5 | Race tabs | Pick the winners of three, four or five consecutive races |
Exotic Bet Example
Using the Race 1 field shown above, say you like #2 Jedi Master to win with #4 Louie B Gone running second. A straight exacta means ticking Jedi Master in the 1st column and Louie B Gone in the 2nd column. A $2 straight exacta costs $2 and only pays if they finish in that exact order.
If you are not sure which of the two will come out on top, tick both in the Any column to box them. A two-horse exacta box covers two combinations, so a $2 box costs $4. Add a third horse to the box and you are covering six combinations for $12. Trifecta and superfecta boxes grow quickly: a four-horse trifecta box and a four-horse superfecta box each cover 24 combinations.
About Ajax Downs
Ajax Downs opened in 1969 as Picov Downs and was renamed in 2006 when the on-site slots facility opened. It is dedicated to Quarter Horse racing, a breed built for short, explosive sprints. Races are measured in yards rather than furlongs, with most of the track’s feature races run between 300 and 440 yards, so the break from the starting gate often decides the outcome.
The 2026 season is the track’s 57th and features 22 race days running from early May through October. Most cards are held on Wednesdays, with additional special event Sundays and holiday dates. Wednesday cards in September and October, along with Sundays, Canada Day and Thanksgiving Monday, have a first post time of 12:55 p.m. ET.
The richest race of the year is the Alex Picov Memorial Futurity for two-year-olds, named for the track’s founder and run late in the season. Other feature races include the Ontario Bred Derby, the Princess Derby for three-year-old fillies and the Ontario Bred Maturity.
Tips for Betting Ajax Downs
- Focus on early speed. Quarter Horse races are over in well under 30 seconds, and there is little time to recover from a slow start. Horses that break sharply from the gate win a large share of races.
- Watch the trials. Major stakes races at Ajax Downs use qualifying trials, and the fastest trial times are a strong guide to the final.
- Use boxes in short fields. When a race has a smaller field, exacta and trifecta boxes cover a bigger share of the possible outcomes at a lower cost.
- Check for scratches before post. Scratches can change the shape of a race, so review the field on Bet365 shortly before the race goes off.
Is It Legal to Bet on Ajax Downs Online in Canada?
Yes. In Ontario, Bet365.ca is licensed through iGaming Ontario and regulated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and through its partnership with Woodbine Entertainment it is the only regulated Ontario sportsbook offering major horse racing. You must be 19 or older and located in Ontario to bet.
In Alberta, Bet365 joined the province’s regulated online market in July 2026 under the oversight of the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) and the Alberta iGaming Corporation. Bettors in the rest of Canada can use the standard Bet365 site, which offers fixed-odds horse racing betting. Always check the legal gambling age in your province before signing up.