What Is A Trifecta In Horse Racing
The trifecta is one of the most popular online betting choices among horseplayers, and for good reason. A small investment can turn into a generous windfall if you can correctly pick the exact running order of the top three finishers in a horse race. However, being a consistent winner in horse race trifecta betting takes smarts, handicapping prowess, and a little luck does not hurt either.
Keying a trifecta may sound like advanced horse racing betting to newer handicappers, but it is not an overly complicated wager in practice. In its simplest form, the trifecta key allows the bettor to select a “key” horse to finish a race in first place and two or more. Horse Betting: What is the Trifecta? You must select the first three horses in the exact order of finish. It's tough to pull off, but in addition to a huge potential payoff you get bragging rights for the next 24 hours, as in 'I hit the trifecta!' I Want to Bet Now. A common way to play a Trifecta is to box three horses. A $1 box using #1,#2, and #3 would cost $6. The three horses you selected must finish in the top three spots for you to win. A four-horse $1 box would cost $24. Often a better way to play is called a Trifecta key. A trifecta is a wager that requires the bettor to correctly predict the winner, the runner-up and the third-place finisher of a particular race — in exact order. Variations of this bet include a trifecta box, a trifecta key and a trifecta key box. What is a trifecta box?
Trifecta bets can be broken down into several key elements:
• Handicapping a horse race and coming up with the major contenders in a race.
• Finding a horse race in which at least one or two of the top three betting favorites looks vulnerable.
• Laying out the trifecta tickets to maximize profits and coverage.
*Below are a few horse racing trifecta betting tips to keep in mind when heading to the betting window
Selecting the Race
What Is A Trifecta Box In Horse Racing
In general, do not wager on races in which there are six runners or less, or in a race where you think the top two betting choices are going to complete the exacta. Even if you land a longshot in the third slot, the trifecta seldom will come back with a good payoff, and in the long run is not a good bet.
The best races to attack when doing trifectas is when you can find a race in which one or two of the top betting choices look weak, and in a large field where there are several live longshots that can land in the money.
Laying Out Your Ticket
The biggest mistakes is how tickets are played. Many horseplayers will narrow the field down to three or four horses, and just box the contenders.
Here is a look at the costs for boxing:
$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. A better strategy is to find one or two key horses that have the best chance to win, then more of your bankroll can be devoted to the second and third slots, which are generally trickier to fill.
Instead of just boxing your top four selections for a $24 investment, you could lay out the ticket like this:
- 1,2 over 1,2,3,4 over 1,2,3,4,5,6 = $24
A $60 ticket could look like this:
- 1,2,3 over 1,2,3,4,5 over 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 = $60
Most horseplayers find it easier to pick a winner than it is to find the horse that is going to land home third, and by spreading out on the bottom end of the ticket, you just might land a few longshots that complete a hefty trifecta payoff.
The 50-Cent Trifecta
Some tracks are now taking 50-cent trifectas, which give horseplayers added options.
With 50-cent tickets now available in online horse trifecta betting, even horseplayers with a limited bankroll can cover more options. The two examples of our trifecta keys above would be half the price, $12 and $30.
Of course, the payoff if you hit the trifecta would be half. However, with the money saved by halving the ticket, an astute horseplayer could play extra tickets with key horses.
For example the 1,2 over 1,2,3,4 over 1,2,3,4,5,6 for $12 could be supplemented with additional tickets.
For instance the following 50-cent tickets:
1 over 2 over 3,4,5,6,7,8 = $3
1 over 2,3 over 2,3,4,5 = $3
1 over 2,3,4 over 2,3,4 = $3
2 over 1,3 over 1,3,4,5 = $3
If your two key horses finish in the first and second spot, you are lined up to hit the trifecta multiple times. The key to successful trifecta wagering is to structure your tickets according to what you think the probabilities of the outcome are going to be.
You will save money by structuring your horse race trifecta betting tickets in this manner. While you may cash fewer tickets than using a boxing method, in the long run your return on investment will be higher. In addition, having multiple tickets with your key horse in the top spot could lead to higher payoffs.
These are just a couple of horse racing trifecta betting strategies that can make your online horse wagering more enjoyable and profitable.
Nothing says “summer” better than a trip to the racetrack and several ice-cold drinks while basking in the sun and skimming through the dailyracing program. Unfortunately, only a small amount of the betting public actually knows how to dissect the program properly which gives them a bit of an edge when it comes to placing their wagers. Most amateurs or leisure bettors stick to the simple bets like win, place or show despite the potential of a massive payout when playing the exotic bets. The exotic bet I will teach you about today is the popular trifecta bet, also known as a “triactor” at some tracks.
How to Bet a Trifecta
What Is A Trifecta Bet In Horse Racing
The exact definition of a trifecta bet is “a bet in which the person betting forecasts the first three finishers in a specific race in the correct order”. This means that you will not only be picking the winner of the race, but the second and third place finishers as well. A trifecta bet is one of the harder bets to win at the races but the potential payout is sometimes worth the risk – especially when the race is comprised of several longshot horses and a favorite of 5/2 odds or better. The only downside to being an avid trifecta bettor is that not every race offers up trifecta betting. This usually happens when the field is comprised of five or less horses, in which case the track could stand to lose money should it allow trifecta wagering.
Cost of a Trifecta Bet
The cost of a trifecta bet differs from track to track with the minimum stake usually set at $.50. The most popular trifecta wager is the $1 wager due to the high cost of a complex trifecta ticket. For example, the simplest trifecta bet would use three horses -one for first, one for second and one for third – and it would cost you a grand total of $1 since there is only one possible winning combination on your ticket. The more horses you add to your ticket (in any position) the more possible winning combinations you will have thus the higher cost of the wager. You can check out the other types of trifecta bets here, where the costs are much higher because of the numerous potential winning combinations
Trifecta Betting Calculator
This is a tricky thing to answer because the payout really depends on how many people have the winning ticket with the winning combination. Because of the popularity of the bet, the money wagered into the Trifecta pool is split amongst the winning tickets (after the track takes their cut of the pool). After the race, some tracks are known to flash the trifecta payout in $1 increments, while some show the amount for a $2 bet. If you bet $1 on the ticket, you would get half of amount of a $2 trifecta. For example, if the $2 trifecta payout is $200, you would get $100 if you wagered $1, which would profit you $99 if you only used three horses like mentioned above. To put this into perspective, the biggest Kentucky Derby payout happened in 2005 when Giacomo stunned the racing world at 50-1 odds. He was followed by Closing Argument which went off at 71-1 and then the second-choice Afleet Alex at 9/2. This combination paid out $133,134.90 on a $2 trifecta wager. That is some serious profit if you used just those three horses.
Trifecta Betting Strategies
Much like your typical sports betting, strategies and angles can only take you so far before whatever is going to happen in the race actually happens. In my opinion, the best strategyto use when thinking about placing a trifecta bet is to have an idea of how the race is going to play out and how the surface (dirt or turf) is going to affect the race. For example, if the surface is playing favorable to speed-style horses, it may be hard to include a closing-style horse for first or second. Another strategy I tend to use is one where I try to beat the favorite, thus increasing the chance for a bigger payout. When you see a favorite with odds of 8/5, 3/2 or 1/9, you know the majority of the betting public feel that they have their money on the best horse. Most squares tend to play the favorite “on top” (to come in first place in the trifecta) with a slew of horses for second and third. Because of this, the amount of winning tickets that include the favorite for first will typically yield a very poor return on your investment. If you look to beat the favorite and a longshot comes in first and/or second, the chances that people have that exact trifecta combination reduces drastically, thus increasing your payout and profit.
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