1. The one downside of the trifecta box is the cost. This is a relatively expensive wager compared to other horse racing bets, but that is the price one pays to make multiple selections on one of the track’s highest-paying bets. Starting from a base wager of $1, a trifecta box with three horses costs $6 because it covers six possible outcomes.
2. Cezanne has gone 2-for-2 and just had a fantastic showing at Santa Anita early this June. Although I’ll be stacking the top three horses in my trifecta, boxed trifecta, and Tiz the Law in a perfecta or two, I think this horse is worth a small punt at 20-1. The only real issue I see is experience.

With a trifecta box betting, you can add more than three selections to the bet and increase the permutations covered by these being first, second and third in any order. For example, a four-horse trifecta box has 24 possible combinations in it meaning you must multiply your unit stake by 24. The one downside of the trifecta box is the cost. This is a relatively expensive wager compared to other horse racing bets, but that is the price one pays to make multiple selections on one of the track’s highest-paying bets. Starting from a base wager of $1, a trifecta box with three horses costs $6 because it covers six possible outcomes. TRIFECTA is the form of pari-mutuel wagering whereby you select in order the first, second, and third place horses in races which offer trifecta wagering. In boxing the trifecta, the bettor may bet a minimum of three horses on a single ticket, giving the bettor every possible combination of the chosen horses to finish first, second, third in exact order.

The Trifecta or Tricast is a wager laid in horse racing meant to pick the first, second, and third in the exact order they’ve finished the race. The Trifecta is one of the most popular exotic wager available in horse racing and so the use of a trifecta calculator, which is a horse racing calculator, is very common among punters.

The Trifecta wager is available in three different variations:
Straight Trifecta, the most common type of Trifecta in which the punter must pick 3 horses and the order in which these 3 horses will line up at the finish line. Have on horse misplaced and the wager is lost. For example, a punter fancies horse 2 and thinks 5 can go about finishing second and 7 is possible for finishing third. The punter registers the selection in the following manner, 2, 5, 7 and lays a wager on the selection. Each additional horse is an additional combination costing the original wager.
Trifecta box, a wager in which three horses or more are picked and the wager covers all possible combinations of these horses’ lining up at the finish line. The more horses added to the selections, the more combinations become possible and the stakes are raised.
Trifecta wheel, a wager in which one horse is picked for the win and two others are picked for two possible outcomes where each of them must finish third or second respectively. Again, the more horses introduced as selections, the more combinations costing money.

Wagering a Trifecta is something that should be practiced by experienced handicappers only, and the use of a horse racing calculator in the form of a Trifecta calculator is highly recommended in order to keep track of the combinations and their price, so that no undesired combination is made and no payouts below the stakes becomes possible. Trifecta payouts can turn out pretty nice but only in cases where no favorites lined up, so laying a Trifecta is recommended only when the punter notices an overpriced horse or when there are no clear favorites. Payouts increase significantly when the race has 8 runners or more and decrease significantly when the number of runners is below 8 down to 6.

Trifecta Calculator
The Trifecta calculator is a type of a horse betting calculator. In order to calculate the costs of laying a Trifecta wager, a punter must use the Trifecta calculator, either manually or by a computerized Trifecta calculator. The calculations are rather simple. Assume a punter lays a £2 wager on a Trifecta wheel, picking horse number 7 as first and horses number 6 and 5 for the second and third. When adding combinations, regardless of the Trifecta type, the original price is multiplied by the number of combinations chosen by the punter. The payout calculation is the ratio between the Trifecta pool and the amount of money placed on the winning combination, so if there is £100000 in the Trifecta pool and £2000 wager on the winning combination, the £1 payoff will be £50.

The trifecta is an advanced horse wager. Select the first, second, and third position horse. Your trifecta wins if the horses finish in the precise order you specified.

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The following video clip explains how to place this bet. Watch the entire video for other horse bets.

Sample for how to make a Trifecta Bet from a horse racebook.

1. Select the 'Trifecta Bet' from your racebook’s wagering menu.
2. Note the horses in the race, listed on the left. The next 'ML' column lists the odds.
3. Select the first position, second position and third position horse. Remember, final order matters. In this diagram, the first position horses has 2:1 odds, the second position horse has 10:1 odds, the third position horse has 12:1 odds.
4. ***Notes: Your 3 horses must finish in the order you specified. Advanced bettors could place a Trifecta Wheel bet by choosing more than one horse to finish in a each position. For example, horse Jones is selected to win. Horses Smith and Charlie are BOTH selected to take second. Horse William is selected to take third.

Example: $1 Straight Trifecta Bet

Straight Trifectas cost $1 minimum. Some tracks charge $2 or more.

Example Bet: $1 Straight Trifecta on Horses 13, 9, 4. That means you are betting Horse 13 finishes first, Horse 9 finishes second, and Horse 4 finishes third. Your order must be correct.

Variant #1: Trifecta Box Betting

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A Trifecta Box bet is picking the top 3 horses finishing in ANY order. This bet improves your chances of winning because you can choose more than 3 horses and order doesn’t matter.

There’s a catch. Trifecta Box bets cost more than a straight Trifecta. Each possible winning combination costs $1.

Trifecta Box Cost Calculation: (Number of horses) x (Number of horses – 1) x (Number of horses – 2) x (Cost per combination)

Trifecta Box Calculator

A 3 horse Trifecta Box means there are 6 possible finishing combinations. Your bet will cost $6, $1 per combination.
3 horse cost = (3 horses) x (3 horses – 1) x (3 horses – 2) x $1 = $6
4 horse cost = (4 horses) x (3) x (2) x $1 = $24
5 horse cost = (5 horses) x (4) x (3) x $1 = $60

Example: $1 Trifecta Box Bet

Sample for how to make a straight Trifecta Box Bet from a horse racebook.

1. Select the 'Trifecta Bet' from your racebook’s wagering menu.
2. Note the horses in the race, listed on the left. The next 'ML' column lists the odds.
3. Select 3 or more horses to finish first, second, and third. Remember, final order does not matter. In this diagram, the first horse has 2:1 odds. The second horse has 10:1 odds. The third horse has 12:1 odds.
4. You must click the blue 'Box' button. This indicates the bet is a Trifecta Box and not a straight Trifecta.
5. ***Notes: 3 or more horses must finish first, second and third.
   For example you bet horses James, Ted and Larry. Suppose the race finishes Ted, James and Larry. The bet would win. If the race finishes Larry, James and Ted the bet also wins. But if horse Bill ends up first, second or third the bet would lose. You did not choose Bill in your box.

Variant #2: Trifecta Wheel Betting

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The Trifecta Wheel bet is picking sets of horses to finish in first, second and third position. This bet improves your chances of winning because 1 or more horses can be chosen to finish in each position.

Difference between Trifecta Wheel and Trifecta Box Bets?
Trifecta Wheel betting requires a specific order from 3 sets of horses. Trifecta box betting requires any order of 3 or more horses.

The Trifecta 'Key' Concept

Keying means selecting a set of horses to finish in a certain position. Trifectas are for first, second and third position. That means 3 keys must be made for each Trifecta Wheel.

Start with the first position key. Select 1 or more horses. For example, suppose horses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 are racing.

Example 1st Horse Key: Horses 1, 5

That means horses 1 or 5 must finish first. You can only win if 1 or 5 finish first.

Example 2nd Horse Key: Horses 2, 3

That means horses 2 or 3 must finish second. You can only win if 2 or 3 finish second.

Example 3rd Horse Key: Horses 4, 6, 7

That means horses 4, 6 or 7 must finish third. You can only win if 4, 6 or 7 finish third.

Trifecta Wheel Cost Table

Trifecta Wheel Bets Cost $1 Per Finishing Combination

Consider the following examples. We’ve keyed horses into the first, second and third positions. Trifecta Wheel cost is $1 multiplied by total number of combinations.

Trifecta Wheel Cost Calculation:

The calculation is more complicated because there are more possible combinations. Also, putting the same horse in multiple keys must be considered.

Let A equal Key 1 number of horses, B equal Key 2 number of horses, C equal Key 3 number of horses.
Let AB equal number of same horses in both Key 1 and Key 2.
Let BC equal number of same horses in both Key 2 and Key 3.
Let AC equal number of same horses in both Key 1 and Key 3.
Let ABC equal number of same horses in all keys: Key 1, Key 2 and Key 3.

(A x B x C) – (AB x C) – (BC x A) – (AC x B) + (ABC x 2) = Total Trifecta Wheel Cost

Example 1: Trifecta Part Wheel

Horses 1 and 2 are your first key.
Horses 2, 3 and 4 are your second key.
Horses 5, 6 and 7 are your third key.
Note: 2 is in both first and second keys.
Note: No horses are in all keys.

(A x B x C) = 2 x 3 x 3 = 18
– (AB x C) – (BC x A) – (AC x B) = – (1 x 3) – (0 x 2) – (0 x 3) = -3
+ (ABC x 2) = (0 x 2) = 0
Total Example Trifecta Part Wheel Cost, $1 per Combination = 18 – 3 + 0 = 15 x $1 = $15

Example 2: Trifecta Full Wheel (1,2 – ALL – ALL)

Horses 1 and 2 are your first key.
Horses 3,4,5,6,7,8 are your second key.
Horses 3,4,5,6,7,8 are your third key.
Note: Horses 3,4,5,6,7,8 are in both second and third keys.
Note: No horses are in all keys.

(A x B x C) = 2 x 6 x 6 = 72
– (AB x C) – (BC x A) – (AC x B) = – (0 x 6) – (6 x 2) – (0 x 6) = -12
+ (ABC x 2) = (0 x 2) = 0
Total Example Trifecta Full Wheel Cost, $1 per Combination = 72 – 12 + 0 = 60 x $1 = $60

8 Horse Trifecta Full Wheel Winning Combinations
Assume 2 unique horse first key, 6 unique horse second key, 0 horse unique third key + 6 from second key.

For simplicity, 60 combinations is too many to write. Use the equation to calculate winning combinations for each Trifecta Full Wheel.

Trifecta Betting Cost Tables

Trifecta Box Cost Calculation: (Number of horses) x (Number of horses – 1) x (Number of horses – 2) x (Cost per combination)

Trifecta Wheel Cost
The calculation is more complicated because there are more possible combinations. Also, putting the same horse in multiple keys must be considered.

Let A equal Key 1 number of horses, B equal Key 2 number of horses, C equal Key 3 number of horses.
Let AB equal number of same horses in both Key 1 and Key 2.
Let BC equal number of same horses in both Key 2 and Key 3.
Let AC equal number of same horses in both Key 1 and Key 3.
Let ABC equal number of same horses in all keys: Key 1, Key 2 and Key 3.

(A x B x C) – (AB x C) – (BC x A) – (AC x B) + (ABC x 2) = Total Trifecta Wheel Cost

Trifecta Part Wheel Cost Table: $1 Per Combination
Each number represents a horse. Read 10 and 11 as two digit numbers in larger fields.
Some horses have been added to multiple keys.
Example:
1,2,3/1,2,3/1,2,3,4 = $12 (Horses 1,2,3 in all 3 keys)