Best Trifecta Strategy
It’s one of the best ways to win big without putting a lot of money at risk. A typical trifecta costs just $2, and the returns can be enormous. When longshot Giacomo won the 2005 Kentucky Derby, for example, the trifecta payout was an incredible $133,134.80. There aren’t many other ways to win that kind of money from such a small stake. $1 trifecta box using 3 horses = $6 $1 trifecta box using 4 horses = $24 $1 trifecta box using 5 horses = $60 $1 trifecta box using 6 horses = $120. Using a box strategy is fine if you actually think each horse on your ticket has an equal chance of winning, but that is seldom the case.
Sandwich Play – A Trifecta Wagering Strategy
Most major racetracks in North America now offer a minimum Trifecta wager of only 50-cents. This lower minimum wager enables bettors to construct tickets that cover more horses and keep the cost of the tickets affordable. With this in mind, we’re going to introduce a Trifecta wagering strategy we call the “Sandwich Play.”
With the 50-cent Trifecta option, the Sandwich Play offers an affordable back-up to an Exacta wager. Exacta wagers require that you select the first and second place finishers in a race. Click here to review an article on making Exacta wagers. Well, after finishing first and third for the umpteenth time … and lamenting over some unexpected horse breaking up my Exacta … I decided to implement a strategy that would payout for a close-but-formally-no-cigar 1st and 3rd finish.
The main idea is to sandwichone or more horses between two (or more) “key” Exacta horses in a Trifecta play. For example, let’s say that #8 and #10 are your “key” horses. Furthermore, let’s assume you feel there are four horses with a chance of spoiling your 8-10 exacta; they are horses #1,#2,#3, and #4.
So let’s say you make a $5 Exacta box 8-10 … costing $10. Then you could make a 50-cent Trifecta sandwich play as follows:
8,10 with 1,2,3,4 with 8,10 for a total of $4.
The mathematics for a 2-key horse sandwich play are simple. TWO times the number of horses you’re sandwiching in the middle (4 in this example) times the amount of the bet (50-cents in this example).
Next, let’s say in the prior example you want to sandwich “all” of the horses in the middle and we’ll assume it’s a 10-horse field. You would call out your 50-cent wager as follows:
8,10 with ALL with 8,10 = 16 combinations x 50-cents = $8
Why 16 combinations (not 20) with it being a 10-horse field? Because the #8 and #10 are being singled in the 1st and 3rd position … so they cannot finish there AND finish in the 2nd position as well. That leaves 8 horses in the middle.
Now for a real world example using the “sandwich play” strategy that unfortunately (for the author) didn’t result in a big payout, but demonstrates the possibility just the same.
On October 25, 2013 the 8th race at Keeneland had a 12-horse field with one scratch (#6) for a total of 11 horses going into the gate. I thought the race was fairly wide open, but ended up deciding to make an exacta play with #8 (the 9-5 Favorite) and #10 (a 20-1 horse with lots of speed and upset potential). In addition to the exacta play, I made the following sandwich play.
I decided to make this an “ALL” play for the 2nd position because I really did think it was possible for any of the horses to spoil my 8-10 exacta box.
Well, as expected, #10 took the early lead and led for much of the race. Unfortunately, he tired late and did not hit the board. #8 took a brief lead in the stretch, but also tired late and finished third.
The final results were 5-11-8. So, here’s where it gets painful. #5 was on my short list of horses considered for the sandwich play and was only 7-1, where the #10 I used was 20-1. Right idea, wrong horse! Especially when I tell you that #11 (the sandwich horse in the middle) went off at odds of 99-1.
If the ticket displayed on the left had “5,8” instead of “8,10” in the first and third slots … well, this story would have had a happier ending!
So, below is the payout chart for the race. As you can see, the Trifecta paid $7,317.60 for a $2 ticket. Which pays $1,829 for a 50-cent ticket. Not bad for a $9 investment. Oh, well … right idea, wrong horse!
That gives you an idea of what’s possible with the sandwich play. Over the years I’ve cashed my share of these saver tickets, and sometimes they pay more than the main exacta ticket would have paid.
Now for an example that did payoff …
On August 25, 2014 in the 7th race at Saratoga, I had narrowed my selections down to three horses in the following order: #4 (5-1), #8 (7-2), and #1 (5-1). I did not like the favorite #6 (Benny’s Bullet) who was 5-2 on the board. After making my normal weighted wagers using my top three choices, I decided to make a 50-cent Trifecta Sandwich play using 4-8-1 in the 1st and 3rd positions. The wager looked like this:
4,8,1 with ALL with 4,8,1 = 36 combinations x 50-cents for total cost of $18.
Best Trifecta Strategy Game
Essentially this was a back-up bet that would cover me in the event I was correct about the 5-2 favorite (#6) running poorly, but missed a higher priced horse that might break up my exacta wagers. The payout chart below shows this turned out to be a good idea.
You can see that #7 (17-1) managed to get into the 2nd position. While I was disappointed that my exacta wagers were broken up, I was pleased that I was correct about taking a stand against the favorite, who ran next to last … and even more pleased that I cashed a Sandwich Play trifecta wager to compensate for my blown exactas.
Modeled after European style turf courses, come visit the only one of its kind in North America. The author had a truly enjoyable visit to this unique race course last year. Click here to read more about that adventure.
Saturday, September 13, 2014 will have four Stakes Races, including the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup worth $600,000.
By Neal Benoit
Whether you consider yourself a newcomer to horse race betting or a veteran with years of experience, everyone should have a basic understanding when it comes to placing a trifecta.
Even though trifecta betting is not the easiest wager type in the world, it remains an extremely popular choice among horse racing enthusiasts as it can potentially lead to enormously profits. In fact, it’s considered one of the best horsing bet types if you’re interested in winning big without risking too much of your own hard-earned money.
Best Trifecta Strategy Definition
A trifecta bet will usually cost you a mere $2, and the potential returns you can make on such a small bet can be extraordinary.
For instance, during the Kentucky Derby in 2005, Giacomo had a 72/1 chance of winning. After he shocked the world with his victory, the trifecta payout was a whopping $133,134.80. It’s nearly impossible to find anything else that will pay this well from such a small bet amount.
Obviously, the payouts are not always this impressive when it comes to trifecta betting. The average payout of a trifecta is usually around $7,000 during the Kentucky Derby. However, that amount drops significantly once you start looking at other races from around the world.
It’s still worth mentioning, however, that you will only spend $2 on a trifecta bet.
So, even if your winnings are only a couple of hundred dollars, you will still make a sizable profit. For that reason, trifecta betting is not only popular with serious handicappers, but with casual bettors as well.
So, for an in-depth look at trifecta betting, read on. After explaining what trifecta betting is, we will walk you through how trifecta betting works and what the differences are between trifecta and boxed trifecta.
We will also help you to calculate trifecta bets and payouts and explain the differences between trifecta, superfecta, and exacta. Keep reading for some frequently asked questions surrounding this popular form of horse race betting, too.
What is a Trifecta?
A trifecta in horse racing is basically an exotic bet where you’ll be required to predict the first three horses to finish the race. You will also need to predict the finishers in the correct order before you will qualify for a payout.
If you are unable to correctly predict the first three finishers in the race, or you simply get the order wrong, you won’t win anything from your bet. As you can see, this is not a simplistic bet to make, which is why the payouts for this bet type can be astonishing.
The typical bet amount for a trifecta is around $2. However, you will find several horse racing events which will allow bets at a reduced cost. For instance, there’s a handful of horse racing events that will offer a $1 trifecta, or even a $0.50 trifecta. However, do remember that the potential payouts will also be reduced once the initial bet amount is reduced.
Now that you have a better understanding of what a trifecta is, let’s expand your knowledge even further by taking a look at the different types of trifecta bets.
Types of Trifecta Bets
You will essentially come across five different types of trifecta betting opportunities in horse race betting. This includes straight trifecta, boxed trifecta, trifecta key, trifecta boxed key and trifecta wheel. Let’s take a closer look at each of these trifecta betting types and explain them in more detail.
Straight Trifecta
This is the most simplistic type of trifecta bet. All you need to do is select three different horses and decide in which order they will finish the race. This can only be first place, second place or third place.
Example: Let’s say you select horse #4 to win the race, horse #6 to place second and horse #2 to place third. This means your betting slip will look similar to this: $2 Trifecta (4-6-2).
Boxed Trifecta
The boxed trifecta gives you more flexibility when compared to a straight trifecta. You will still need to select three or more horses to finish a race. However, you don’t have to predict the exact order in which they will finish, as long as the selected horses finish in the top three positions.
A boxed trifecta will cost you more than a straight trifecta, as you will need to pay for every combination. Even though the minimum bet for a boxed trifecta is only $1, you will need to pay a minimum of $6 if you select three horses.
Example: Let’s say you select horse #8, #6, and #3 to finish in any order with a boxed trifecta bet. You will need to pay $6 as the three horses can finish in six different combinations.
The more horses you select, the more combinations will be formed and the more you will need to pay.
For instance, a 7-horse trifecta box will come with 210 different combinations, which means you will need to pay $210 to cover your minimum bet.
Trifecta Key
This trifecta bet will require the ‘key’ horse to finish in first position, while the remaining horses you selected can finish in any combination to cover second and third place.
Example: Let’s say you select horse #8 as the key followed by horse #3, #5, and #4. At a minimum bet of $1, you will need to pay $6 to cover your bet. Your Key horse will need to finish in first place, while two of your other selected horses will be required to finish in second and third place before you can consider yourself a winner.
Trifecta Boxed Key
This trifecta bet will include all possible combinations where your key horse will be combined with all non-key horses in a single box bet.
Example: Let’s say you place a $1 Trifecta Boxed Key bet and you make your Key horse #8 along with horse #2 and #6. This means your total bet amount would be $6, as it will create a total of 6 combinations.
Trifecta Wheel
This trifecta betting type can either be a full trifecta wheel, or a part trifecta wheel. The easiest trifecta wheel will be the full trifecta wheel where you will need to select a single horse to finish the race in a specific position, while backing all possible combinations with all the other horses in the field.
Example: Let’s say you select horse #3 to win the race. However, you are struggling to predict which of the remaining horses will be able to finish in second or third position.
When this occurs, you simply place a full trifecta wheel bet that will look like this: 3-All-All.
This will basically cover all combinations with horse #3 in first position.
How Does Trifecta Betting Work in Horse Racing
Trifecta betting in horse racing is when you select three horses from a single racing event and predict which of the three horses will finish in first, second, and third position.
Please keep in mind, however, that your prediction needs to correct in both horse selection and the order in which they finish the race.
If your three selected horses finish in first, second and third (in the order you predicted), you will win. If one of your selected horses is not in the top three, or one of your selected horses doesn’t finish in the position your predicted, you will lose your bet.
What is the Difference between Trifecta and Boxed Trifecta
With a trifecta bet, you merely need to select three horses from a single event and ensure they finish in the top three positions in the exact order you predicted.
However, with boxed trifecta, there is no need to predict in what order the three horses will finish. You merely need to select three horses that you think will finish in the top three positions.
Boxed trifecta does give you more freedom and flexibility, but it will cost you more as you need to cover more combinations as opposed to only covering one combination with a standard trifecta bet.
How to Calculate Trifecta Bets and Payouts
Trifectas form part of the pari-mutuel betting system. This basically means the payouts for trifectas are not calculated using odds, but are instead shared among players in a betting pool.
For each horse racing event, a new betting pool is created, and all the bets from trifecta tickets will be accumulated in the betting pool. The betting pool will then be shared with all winners at the end of the horse racing event.
Let’s take a look at a simple example to show you how this works:
- 100,000 trifecta tickets are sold for a horse racing event at $2 per ticket.
- The betting pool is worth $200,000 ($2 x 100,000 tickets)
- 100 bettors manage to correctly predict the top three finishers in the exact order.
- Each of the 100 tickets provides a payout of $2,000 ($200,000 ÷ 100)
Obviously, the breakdown of the above-mentioned trifecta bet will not be this straightforward in reality. Online betting sites will obviously take their cut and you will notice that not all trifecta tickets will come with a standard price of $2. But the above example does give you an indication of how trifecta bets are calculated and how the payouts are distributed towards winners.
Trifecta vs. Superfecta vs. Exacta
The main difference between an exacta, trifecta and superfecta is the amount of horses you’ll be required to bet on during a single horse racing event.
With an exacta, you will need to select two horses to finish in first and second position, in that exact order as well. With a trifecta, you will need to include three horses in your selection to finish in first, second, and third position, in that exact order.
A superfecta bet is considered the most difficult, as you will need to include four horses in your selection to finish in the top 4 positions, in the exact order as well.
Origins of the Trifecta Bet
The trifecta bet type was first introduced during the early 1970s and was derived from the bet type perfecta. A perfecta bet type, also known as an exacta, requires you to select two horses to finish in first and second place, in the exact order you predict.
The term trifecta was introduced for bettors who wanted to select three horses to place in the top three positions, hence the term ‘tri’, which means three. The trifecta bet type was first used in the United States during 1971 at Arlington Park. In 1977, it was introduced in Australia at the New South Wales Tab, and in 1983 it was introduced in New Zealand.