buy the rack

verb

To place bets on all possible combinations for the daily double.

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Meanings

verbbuy the rack (third-person singular simple present buys the rack, present participle buying the rack, simple past and past participle bought the rack)

present singular third person buys the rack · participle present buying the rack · participle past bought the rack · past bought the rack

  1. gamblingTo place bets on all possible combinations for the daily double.

    If there are ten horses in each race, there are 100 possible selections, and the total cost of “buying the rack” would be $200.

    1949, Ernest Evred Blanche, You Can't Win: Facts and Fallacies about Gambling, page 66

Origin

In reference to the racks on which gambling tickets were once offered for sale.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

buy the rack. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buy%20the%20rack

MLA

“buy the rack.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buy%20the%20rack. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “buy the rack,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buy%20the%20rack.

Source: buy the rack on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.