Trifecta Betting Strategies Articles | Horse Betting

By: Richard Bleuze

Trifecta betting in horse racing, using trifecta boxes and wheels as a betting strategy.

The Trifecta is a bet made in horse racing to pick the first, second, and third place horses in a race.  The trifecta is the second most popular "exotic" bet in horse racing behind the exacta. 

There are three  trifecta betting strategies.  They are:

1.  The straight trifecta in which you are picking the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers in a race and they must finish in exactly that order.   An example of a straight trifecta bet would be a $2 trifecta (2-6-9).   This means that the number 2 horse must finish first, the the number 6 horse must finish second, and the number 9 horse must finish in third.  It takes a very good and confident handicapper to make a straight trifecta wager. 

2.  In the Trifecta box you are covering all possible combinations of your 3 or more horses.   A $2 trifecta box using (3,5,8) would cost $12 because there are 6 combinations of (3,5,8) coming in - 3,5,8 / 3,8,5 / 5,3,8 / 5,8,3 / 8,3,5 / 8,5,4.   If you add another horse to your trifecta box (3,5,8,1) you will have 24 combinations and your $2 box will cost $48 ($2 X 24 combinations).  A quick way to figure out the cost of a trifecta box is to take the number of horses you wish to include, for example 5, and multiply 5x4x3 which would be 60, and then multiply that by the type of bet you want to make - $2 x 60 = $120.   For 6 horses the cost would be 6x5x4 which would be 120 combinations x $2 or a $240 bet.   The more horses you add to your Trifecta box, the higher the cost.   However, please remember that you do not want to spend $240 boxing the top 6 favorites and have the trifecta pay only $22.00 with an even money favorite in first and an 8:5 second choice in the place spot. 

Cost of Trifecta Boxes 

Number of Horses         Cost of $2 Trifecta Box
     3                                                      $12
     4                                                      $24
     5                                                      $120
     6                                                      $240
     7                                                      $420
     8                                                      $672

Trifectas are best played when you have a negative opinion on a short priced favorite, or when there is no clear cut favorite in the race.   It is also best to play trifectas in races with at least 8 horses.  Racetracks will not offer a trifecta bet in races with fewer than 6 horses.   In a race with 8 or more horses the trifecta payouts can get LARGE.

3.  The final trifecta strategy is the trifecta wheel.  In this strategy, you are using one horse with several others.   For example, you love the 9 horse and think that the 3 or 5 are almost certain to finish second.   You could construct your trifecta wheel in this fashion: 9/3,5/3,5.   For your bet to win the 9 would have to finish first and the 3 and 5 finish 2nd and 3rd.   That bet would cost $4 because there are only two outcomes 9-3-5 or 9-5-3.   Not much room for error.  By also wheeling the 9 in the second spot you would ask for a 3,5/9/3,5 too.   This would cover you if the 9 ran second and the 5 and 3 ran first and 3rd.   Most trifecta wheels involve betting more than a few horses in each spot, and are used by handicappers to create bets that cover several possible outcomes. 

The key to making a successful trifecta bet is to find a race in which you can find a horse that you would be willing to bet to win and place.   If your handicapping leads you to believe that your horse has a better than average chance of hitting the board then you can consider maximizing your payouts by using that horse in trifectas.