How To Bet Trifectas And Superfectas
Boxing your wager comes into play with exactas, trifectas, and superfectas. It allows you to win the bet if the horses you’ve included come in any order. For example, a boxed 1-3-5 trifecta would win if any of the following results occurred: 1-3-5. To win your Trifecta wager you must have the horses that finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the exact order on your ticket. Wagering a Superfecta means you are predicting the way the first four (4) horses. Many racetracks and online betting parlors offer a $1 minimum bet on the trifecta. Here’s a way to bet the trifecta using four horses for $18. First, select the horse you think will win. Next, select three horses you think could finish first, second, or third.
If trifectas are appealing to you because of the large potential payouts, then you should also consider superfectas. This is another exotic horse racing wager, and you have to correctly predict the first FOUR positions in a race. Superfectas are even harder to get right than trifectas but also offer even better rewards. The purpose of this blog has always been to share ideas that may help others cash more tickets (trifectas and superfectas in this instance), not to pat myself on the back after winning. In fact, one of the teaching examples will show a losing bet when I felt the thought process was correct, though the end result was not.
Bet on horse racing with more knowledge, thanks to this quick guide. We provide information on how to bet, including types of wagers, how parimutuel wagering works, plus tips on how to structure your bets.
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TYPES OF WAGERS
Same-Race/Intra-Race Bets
| TYPE | DIFFICULTY | $2 PAYOFF LIKELY RANGE | EXPLANATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Easiest | $2.10-$4 | Your horse can finish first, second or third and you will collect. The most conservative wager in racing and your safest chance at cashing a ticket. |
| Place | Easy | $3-$10 | Your horse can finish first or second and you will collect. Pays a bit better than show, but you won't get rich on this path. |
| Win | Moderate | $4-$50+ | Your horse must finish first (WIN) in order to collect. Most traditional bet type and still one of the best. |
| Quinella | Less Tough | $5-$75 | Your horses must finish first and second – in any order – in order to collect. A more conservative approach than the exacta, hence a smaller return. Because exacta boxes are essentially the same thing, not all tracks offer quinellas. |
| Exacta | Tough | $10-$150 | Your horses must finish first and second – in the exact order – in order to collect.You're beginning to take risks, but the rewards sweeten. Experienced horse players often box, key or formulate partial wheels based on their opinions (see below). |
| Trifecta | Tougher | $50-$1000+ | Your horses must finish first, second and third in order to collect. Now, you're pushing your luck! Very popular wager with big returns if you can conquer it. Experienced horse players often box, key or formulate partial wheels based on their opinions. |
| Superfecta | Toughest | $100-$5000+ | Your horses must finish first, second, third and fourth in order to collect. A major thrill-seeking wager for a single race. Good luck, but note that the odds are against you. Experienced horse players often box, key or formulate partial wheels based on their opinions. The 10-cent superfecta has become a very popular wager in recent years. The lower cost allows players to use more horses on their tickets without having to break the bank. |
| Super High 5 | Lotto-Like | $3000+ | Your horses must finish first, second, third, fourth, and fifth in order to collect. The ultimate thrill-seeking wager for a single race. The Super High Five most often is offered just once daily on a racing program, customarily the last race of the day. If no one hits all 5 horses in order, a % of the money bet (called the “pool”) will carry over to the next racing day's High 5. |
TYPES OF WAGERS CONTINUED
Multi-Race/Intra-Race Bets - Often Called Exotic Wagers
| TYPE | DIFFICULTY | $2 PAYOFF LIKELY RANGE | EXPLANATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Double | Easiest | $15-$150 | You must correctly select the winners of two consecutive races. Both must win in order for you to collect. Often held on the first two races and the last two races of the day. |
| Pick Three | Tough | $50-$500+ | You must correctly select the winners of three consecutive races. All three must win in order for you to collect. Much tougher than the daily double, but payoffs typically make up for it. Experienced horse players often use more than one horse in each race of the pick three sequence box, but the more horses you use, the higher the cost of your ticket. |
| Pick Four | Tougher | $200-$2000+ | You must correctly select the winners of four consecutive races. All four must win in order for you to collect. Challenging wager that has become very popular in recent years. Experienced horse players often use more than one horse in each race of the pick four sequence box, but the more horses you use, the higher the cost of your ticket. |
| Pick Five | Toughest | $300-$100,000 | You must correctly select the winners of five consecutive races. All five must win in order for you to collect. Challenging wager that became very popular during the spring/winter '11 meet at Gulfstream. Reducing the minimum wager from $1 to 50-cents, which some tracks have also done with their Pick Fours, allows fans of the bet to potentially utilize more horses in each leg of the sequence. The more horses you use, the higher the cost of your ticket. |
| Pick6 | Lotto-Like | $1000-$1million | You must correctly select the winners of six consecutive races. All six must win in order for you to collect. The ultimate jackpot wager in the racing industry is not for cautious types. If no one holds a perfect ticket on a given day, the majority of that day’s pool will be carried over to the next racing day, greatly increasing the amount of money in the jackpot. Experienced horse players often use more than one horse in each race of the pick six sequence, but the more horses you use, the higher the cost of yourticket. With six races in the sequence, the ticket cost can multiply quickly. |
PARIMUTEL WAGERING
Unlike a casino, Xpressbet has no financial interest in who wins or loses. They merely serve as a broker. Of the money that’s wagered, percentages are deducted for the track, the state and for purse money (this is called the “takeout”). In essence, you are wagering against everyone else in a competitive format. The money that’s wagered creates a “pool.” Once the race is run and declared official, payouts are determined based on the number of correct tickets.
| ODDS FOR $2 WIN WITH RESULTING PAYOFFS | |
|---|---|
| 1-9 | $2.20 |
| 1-5 | $2.40 - $2.60 |
| 2-5 | $2.80 |
| 1-2 | $3.00 |
| 3-5 | $3.20 - $3.40 |
| 4-5 | $3.60 - $3.80 |
| 1-1 | $4.00 - $4.20 |
| 6-5 | $4.40 - $4.60 |
| 7-5 | $4.80 |
| 3-2 | $5.00 |
| 8-5 | $5.20 - $5.40 |
| 9-5 | $5.60 - $5.80 |
| 2-1 | $6.00 - $6.80 |
| 5-2 | $7.00 - $7.80 |
| 3-1 | $8.00 - $8.80 |
| 7-2 | $9.00 - $9.80 |
| 4-1 | $10.00 - $10.80 |
| 9-2 | $11.00 - $11.80 |
| 5-1 | $12.00 - $13.80 |
| 6-1 | $14.00 - $15.80 |
| 7-1 | $16.00 - $17.80 |
| 8-1 | $18.00 - $19.80 |
| 9-1 | $20.00 - $21.80 |
| 10-1 | $22.00 - $23.80 |
EXOTIC WAGERING TIPS
Box: Most horseplayers utilize the “box” when it comes to playing exactas, trifectas and superfectas. By “boxing” horses, they can run in any order, so long as you have the right combinations. For instance, if you like #1 and #2 for the exacta, if you “box” the exacta, you will collect if they finish 1-2 or 2-1. The chart below will help you calculate the cost to make a “box” wager:
| $1 EXACTA BOX | |
|---|---|
| 2 horses | costs $2 (2x1) |
| 3 horses | $6 (3x2) |
| 4 horses | $12 (4x3) |
| 5 horses | $20 (5x4) |
| 6 horses | $30 (6x5) |
| $1 TRIFECTA BOX | |
|---|---|
| 3 horses | costs $6 (3x2x1) |
| 4 horses | $24 (4x3x2) |
| 5 horses | $60 (5x4x3) |
| 6 horses | $120 (6x5x4) |
| DIME SUPERFECTA BOX | |
|---|---|
| 4 horses | costs $2.40 (4x3x2x1 x 10 cents) |
| 5 horses | $12 (5x4x3x2 x 10 cents) |
| 6 horses | $30 (6x5x4x3 x 10 cents) |
Wheel: Horseplayers who really like one horse may decide to “key” or “wheel” that runner with all other betting options, hoping to catch a longshot to round out their wager. This option is particularly popular in daily doubles and exactas.
Partial Wheel: This is the art of using multiple horses in a given position. For example, if you like the #1 and the #4 equally, and I think #2 and #7 are also good enough for second, you could construct an exacta ticket this way – 1-4 with 1-2-4-7. You would then have played six combinations: 1-2, 1-4, 1-7, 4-1, 4-2 and 4-7. If you bet this ticket for $2, your cost would be $12 (6 combinations X $2 = $12).
DRAWING “THE LINE'
The job of a morning-line maker is to predict, as accurately as possible, the final odds of each individual race on a day’s program.
When calculating odds, the final total of points should add between 122 and 126.
How To Bet Trifectas And Superfectas
| Odds | Points | Odds | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 70 | 7-2 | 22 |
| 2-5 | 65 | 4-1 | 20 |
| 3-5 | 60 | 9-2 | 18 |
| 4-5 | 55 | 5-1 | 17 |
| 1-1 | 50 | 6-1 | 14 |
| 6-5 | 45 | 8-1 | 11 |
| 7-5 | 41 | 10-1 | 9 |
| 8-5 | 38 | 12-1 | 8 |
| 9-5 | 35 | 15-1 | 6 |
| 2-1 | 33 | 20-1 | 5 |
| 5-2 | 28 | 30-1 | 3 |
| 3-1 | 25 | 50-1 | 2 |
A New Way to Handicap
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The Quinella wager is often overlooked by horse racing bettors. Although we’re not ENTIRELY sure why this is, we suspect it’s because of the potential payouts. Payouts for Quinellas are typically a lot lower than the payouts for the more advanced exotics, which is why they’re not nearly as appealing.
Is that the right way to view things though? We don’t think so.
Yes, you can win a generous amount of money when betting the more advanced exotics like Trifectas or Superfectas. Four figure payouts are reasonably common, and five figure payouts are not exactly rare either. An unexpected result in a major race can even mean a six-figure payout is possible. So, why are these payouts so high? They are VERY hard to get right! Quinellas may offer lower payouts, but they are much EASIER to win.
Does this mean that the Quinella is BETTER than the Trifecta and the Superfecta then? Not necessarily, no. We still recommend learning about it though. The Quinella is simple by nature and it can definitely be profitable if used correctly.
How To Bet Trifectas And Superfectas
We cover everything you need to know about the Quinella below. This includes a look at the different types of Quinella, and a comparison of Quinella to the other horse racing exotics.
What is a Horse Racing Quinella?
In horse racing, a Quinella is a wager on which horses will finish in the top two positions in a race. A straight Quinella ticket typically costs $2, and you have to pick two horses. BOTH of your selections must finish in the top two to earn a payout, but it doesn’t matter what order they finish in.
The Quinella and the Exacta are very similar wagers, but there’s a key difference. While an Exacta is also a wager on which horses will finish in the top two positions, it requires picking them in the CORRECT ORDER. That’s not the case with a Quinella. As long as you pick the right two horses, you’ll get a payout whether you picked them in the correct order or not.
For example, let’s say we placed a Quinella on the #3 horse and #4 horse to finish in the top two. If #3 wins and #4 comes second, our ticket is a winner. It’s also a winner if #4 wins and #3 comes second. We’ll only lose if one (or both) of our selections finish outside the top two.
Another difference between the Quinella and the Exacta is the payouts. Because Quinellas are easier to get right than Exactas, the payouts are noticeably lower on average.
Related Questions
Where can I place a Quinella?
You can place a Quinella at racetracks, off track betting bureaus, bookmaking shops and online horse racing betting sites. Please note that not ALL racetracks or betting sites actually offer them. Since they’re not as popular as the other exotics, they’re not as widely available.
Some racetracks and betting bureaus have special betting slips for Quinellas (and other exotic wagers). These are usually easy to fill out, and pretty self-explanatory. If you get stuck, just ask someone at the cashier’s window. They’ll tell you what you need to know.
If there isn’t a special betting slip, you’ll need to write the name or numbers of your selected horses and the word Quinella on a standard slip. Many racetracks also offer the option to verbally place your wager, so you may have the option to just tell them you’d like to place a Quinella.
The process for placing Quinellas online varies at different betting sites, but they never seem to be overly complicated.
Do Quinellas always cost $2?
Technically, yes. The cost is always $2 per ticket, but you can buy as many tickets as you like. This means you can wager as much as you like on a Quinella. If you’ve picked the winning selection, each ticket will get you an equal share of the payout.
Quinellas are based on the pari-mutuel wagering system. All the money spent on Quinella tickets goes into a dedicated prize pool for each race. At the end of the race, the prize pool is divided by the number of winning tickets. That’s how the value of each winning ticket is determined.
For example, let’s say the prize pool for a race was $10,000. If there were 200 winning tickets, that $10,000 would be divided by 200 to get $50. Each winning ticket would be worth $50.
What is a Quinella Box?
This wager allows us to back more than two horses to finish first and second. If ANY two of our selections finish in the top two positions, then we win. The Quinella Box is basically an easy way to buy multiple straight Quinellas all at once.
For example, let’s say we like horses #2, #4 and #6 to finish in the top two. We’d place a three-horse Quinella Box to cover the following combinations.
Remember, we don’t need to get the finishing order right with Quinellas. So these three combinations of horses effectively cover six possible outcomes. These are as follows.
- 2-4
- 2-6
- 4-6
- 4-2
- 6-2
- 6-4
The cost of this box would be $6. We’ve essentially bought three separate Quinellas here, for each of the three possible combinations of our selections. We can do the same for more horses if we want, and increase the number of combinations covered. We must consider the price increase though, as we’ll always have to pay $2 per combination.
A four-horse box covers six possible combinations, so the cost is $12. A five-horse box covers ten possible combinations, at a cost of $20. A six-horse box covers 15 combinations, bringing the cost up to $30.
We don’t generally recommend using anything more than a four-horse box. The only exception is when there’s an especially large field.
A Quinella Wheel allows us to select specific combinations of horses to finish in the top two positions. A good time to use this wager is when we think we know which horse is going to take first place, but we can’t decide which horse will come in second.
We have two options with the Quinella Wheel. The first is the “full wheel,” which combines our one favored horse with all the other runners in the race. The second is the “part wheel,” which combines our favored horse with any other selections we want to include.
Full Wheel Example
We pick the #4 horse as the best horse in a race. We’re confident that this horse will win, or finish second at worst. We can’t separate the other horses in the field though, so we decide to place a full wheel to combine #4 with them all. There are six runners in total, so our full wheel would cover the following combinations.
There are five combinations here, so the cost of this wheel is $10. We’re guaranteed a winning ticket if the #4 horse finishes either first or second. If it finishes outside those positions, we’re going to lose.
Part Wheel Example
We’ve again picked the #4 horse as the best horse in the race. This time, though, we’ve also highlighted two other horses that stand out. We think the #2 horse and the #6 horse both have a good chance of finishing in the top two. We decide to place a part wheel combining #4 with our other two selections.
This would be just two combinations – #4 with #2 and #4 with #6. The cost would be $4. We’re guaranteed a winning ticket if any two of our three selections finish in the top two.
In our opinion, part wheels are the way to go with Quinellas. Full wheels can be effective in the right situations, and Quinella Boxes can occasionally be worth the money too. Part wheels generally offer the best value though. We don’t have to risk too much money, but we can still cover the combinations that we think are most likely.
What REALLY matters is how we pick our selections of course. Regardless of what type of Quinella we place, our chances of winning will always be dependent on our ability to pick good horses.
Trifectas and Superfectas offer a small chance of winning big. They could almost be considered the horse racing equivalent of buying a lottery ticket. Quinellas, on the other hand, offer a big chance of winning small. The rewards are much lower, but so is the risk. So, which is the better option then?
We want to end this article by making this point clear. We know horse racing bettors who constantly worry about whether they should be placing Trifectas and Superfectas or concentrating on Quinellas and Exactas instead. This is a waste of time and energy! They don’t have to choose, as it’s perfectly fine to place ALL these wagers.
Some people advise against going after the big wins that Trifectas and Superfectas can offer. We don’t agree with this advice. It might not be the BEST way to get value when betting on horse racing, but it’s not worst either. We regularly bet Trifectas and Superfectas ourselves, and we have a lot of fun doing so. We’ve also landed the occasional big win: nothing life-changing, but enough to get excited about.
We don’t agree with the people who say Quinellas and Exactas should be ignored either. This is just bad advice. Even though these wagers don’t offer the same potential rewards, they CAN be profitable. In fact, the average horse racing bettor is far more likely to make an overall profit with the less advanced exotics. The idea of winning little and often might not be as exciting as winning big just once, but it’s definitely more realistic.
Our advice here is simple. Learn about all the exotic wagers. Experiment with them. Have some fun. Try to win some money, but DON’T waste time thinking about which one is “best.” That’s just pointless.
Interested in learning more about the other exotic wagers? Then, check out the articles listed below!