back the wrong horse

1. Also, bet on the wrong horse. Guess wrongly or misjudge a future outcome, as in Jones garnered only a few hundred votes; we obviously backed the wrong horse, or Counting on the price of IBM to rise sharply was betting on the wrong horse. Transferred from wagering money on a horse that fails to win the race, a usage dating from the late 1600s, this term is widely applied to elections and other situations of uncertain outcome.

Example Sentences

He hates losing, and he clearly doesn’t want to back the wrong horse as he tries to maintain his grip on the party nationally.

From Seattle Times

If you back the wrong horse, you lose the $250.

From Washington Post

Given how lackluster Sony’s exclusive line-up has been to date, Infamous needs to be both a great game and a hit in order to reassure early adopters they didn’t back the wrong horse, and have to wait a year or so for a truly great Sony-only title.

From Forbes

They’re afraid to back the wrong horse, or to help some of these emerging groups who may end up having members of al Qaeda.”

From Newsweek

Iranians do not want to back the wrong horse ...

From Reuters