Turf Horse Racing - Andy Merritt's House Rules

If you find that having all the bets open is not to your taste (it can mean that everyone tells you what they think you should do, and with all the information open this can spoil things) then try the following:

Replace the 1x, 1x and 2x, open betting counters with 3 all the same of each colour labelled 1x, 1x and 2x but on one side only.  These should then be placed face down during betting.  This reduces the ability of other people to analyse the situation completely, and also means you don't know if someone else's 2x is on your horse or not.  I much prefer it this way.

As an extra option, get a 4th betting token of each colour, the same as the other 3 you found for the house rule above.  On the back write x0.  You now still make 3 bets leaving one of your scoring counters unplayed (and face down till the end).  If it is the 0x it will do nothing at the end, but at least reminds people what colour you are.  If it is a 1x or 2x token it is worth 1 or 2 points at the end of the game.  Note that the 0x still counts as a backer for purposes of calculating returns, so it is a good way to hinder the favourite somewhat.