Superfecta Bets In Horse Racing

The superfecta bet takes the concept behind the trifecta one step further: predicting the top four finishers of a horse race in exact order. A superfecta bet must correctly predict the horses that finish in first, second, third, and fourth place in that precise order to win.

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Superfecta bets tend to pay very well when they hit because of the difficulty of picking all four of a race’s top finishers. Few horse racing bets can match the potential payouts offered by superfectas, which have been known to top $100,000 off a $0.10 wager.

For example, the 2022 Kentucky Derby superfecta paid $321,500.10 on a $1 wager when 80-1 longshot Rich Strike took first place.

Of course, the odds work against the bettor. Superfectas are not easy to hit, but many tracks offer low minimums that let bettors take a gamble on a big superfecta payout without too much upfront risk.

How to Place A Superfecta Bet Online

Winning a superfecta horse bet is hard, but placing one is easy. And once a fans knows how to bet a superfecta, they’ll have no trouble with most other types of exotics. Fans can try their skill and luck by selecting a licensed horse racing betting site, signing up for an account, and making a deposit.

The next step is to choose a race by logging in and viewing all upcoming events. In most cases, online racebooks provide a schedule of the day’s races, ordered according to their start times.

Bettors can click or tap on any race to visit the program, where they can view the runners and place wagers. Most racebooks offer win bets by default, so customers need to use the betting menu to choose the superfecta option.

As the following screenshot shows, BettingUSA has selected Race 12 at Remington Park and used the menu to choose a $0.10 superfecta wager:

And on that same page below, BettingUSA has selected four horses and their finishing positions. As the next screenshot shows, BettingUSA has designated Ms Famous Racy in first, Jw Country Moon in second, Phunatic in third, and Paint Me Fury G in fourth:

All that remains now is to submit the wager and watch the race. If the four selected horses finish the race in the exact order designated by BettingUSA, the bet will win. If the horses finish in any other order, the bet will lose.

Superfecta Bet Costs

Superfectas are inexpensive bets at most tracks. Today, many tracks allow bettors to place a superfecta bet for as little as $0.10. Even superfectas placed at the minimum can return enough to make it worth the few seconds it takes to select four horses.

The small minimums at most tracks also lend themselves well to advanced betting options such as superfecta box bets. A superfecta box covers many possible combinations because it involves four finishing positions, but with a $0.10 minimum at many tracks, it is not a terribly expensive bet to box.

Some bettors take advantage of the ten-cent minimum to simply place ten superfectas for the price it used to cost for one wager. For horseplayers looking for a little gamble, paying $1.00 for ten chances at an enormous superfecta payout is worth it for sheer entertainment value alone.

Note that each track determines the minimum superfecta stake. Licensed horse racing betting sites employ the same minimum bet size as each track. Therefore, if the minimum superfecta at one track is $1.00, it will be the same when betting online. Likewise, that same betting site will offer $0.10 superfectas for races held at tracks that offer the same minimums in person.

How Superfecta Horse Racing Bets Work

The superfecta is easy to understand but challenging to win. For example, imagine a bettor studying an eight-horse race and deciding he likes four of the runners’ chances. After considering each horse’s relative strength, the bettor chooses to back #3, #5, #7, and #2 in that order.

The bettor places a superfecta on 3-5-7-2 and watches the race. If the top four finishers cross the line in that exact order, the bet wins, and the bettor will collect a payout.

Because superfectas are so inexpensive, the bettor in this example has numerous options at hand to increase his odds of winning the wager without spending too much. For example, the bettor could bet on 3-5-7-2 for $1.00 or decrease the bet size to $0.10 and place numerous wagers covering various orders of finishes for those four horses.

For example, the bettor could spend that same $1.00 on ten $0.10 superfectas covering every outcome that includes Horse #3 finishing first, plus several additional combinations:

Even with a bet size of just $0.10, the superfecta can pay very good money when it hits. Alternatively, the bettor in this case could place a superfecta box bet to cover every possible combination of his four selections.

Superfecta Box Bet

Bettors who would like to significantly increase their odds of winning can use the superfecta box bet to cover every possible winning combination of four or more horses.

Superfecta betting creates many possible winning combinations for four horses, even more for five horses, and so on. As a result, the superfecta box can get expensive quickly, even with a small base wager.

Common Superfecta Box Prices

The superfecta box cost (how much you’ll pay to place the bet) varies based on the size of the base wager and number of selections. Below, readers can see how much a $1 superfecta box bet will cost based on the number of horses. Divide the cost by 10 to compare prices for a $0.10 superfecta.

• Four-horse superfecta: $24 (24 combinations)
• Five-horse superfecta: $120 (120 combinations)
• Six-horse superfecta: $360 (360 combinations)
• Seven-horse superfecta: $840 (840 combinations)
• Eight-horse superfecta: $1,680 (1,680 combinations)

Superfecta Price Calculator Formula

Bettors may also calculate superfecta box prices by multiplying the number of selections with a simple formula:

(H) x (H-1) x (H-2) x (H-3) x P

H = the number of selections

P = base wager size

For example, a $0.50 five-horse superfecta is calculated as follows:

(5) x (5-1) x (5-2) x (5-3) x $0.50

(5x4x3x2) x $0.50

120 x $0.50 = $60

Superfecta Key Wheels And Part-Wheels

The two major downsides to the superfecta box bet are that they get expensive quickly and give equal weighting to every selection. Bettors can save money and create more efficient superfectas with wheels and part-wheels.

Superfecta Wheel

A basic superfecta wheel involves selecting one “key” horse to finish in first place and three or more additional selections to finish in 2^nd through 4^th places in any order.

Superfecta wheel bets are significantly cheaper than box bets because they reduce the number of possible winning combinations.

For example, a superfecta that keys Horse #4 over horses 5, 6, and 7 only wins if Horse #4 finishes in first place. This wager reduces the number of winning combinations, but the savings is considerable. A superfecta box covering four horses would cost $24, but by keying the #4, the wager would cost just $6.

The wager in this example would be considered a “part-wheel” because it only involves some of the horses in the race. A “full wheel” perfecta would key one horse over all other runners in the race.

Custom Superfecta Wheels

Bettors can customize their superfectas at will to build efficient wagers that target specific runners in every finishing position. In doing so, bettors can give weight to some horses, reduce the number of winning combinations, and save money by excluding less likely combinations.

A custom superfecta is structured in written form to designate selections for each finishing position:

FIRST / SECOND / THIRD / FOURTH

For example, a bettor who wishes to target exactly one horse for first place, two additional horses for second, three horses for third place, and four horses for fourth place might place a custom superfecta like this:

1 / 23 / 234 / 2345

This wager would win if Horse #1 finishes in first place, horses 2 or 3 finish in second, and so on down the line.

It takes careful planning to build custom superfectas because there are so many possible combinations. However, bettors can use specialized calculators to create superfectas and understand the total cost.

Building the above ticket using such a calculator would look like this:

If the above ticket is too specific for comfort considering how difficult it is to hit a superfecta, the bettor can add more horses to each position to increase the number of winning combinations.

For example:

12 / 1234 / 1234 / 1234

Which would look like this when input into a superfecta calculator:

By restricting the first-place position to horses 1 and 2, the bettor has cut the price in half compared to a standard superfecta box bet. This wager functions like a superfecta box, except it only wins if horse 1 or 2 takes first place. The remaining positions can be filled by horses 1, 2, 3, and 4 in any order.

If the bettor is willing to spend more money or reduce the base wager, he can add even more horses to the bottom of the ticket to create a superfecta that is likelier to win as long as horses 1 or 2 take first place:

 12 / 123 / 1234567 / 123456789

By restricting first and second place to just two or three of the best horses, the bettor has constructed a superfecta covering nine horses. Now, the bettor has a ticket that is likely to win if the strongest horses finish near the top of the race.

In this example, the bettor has also reduced his base wager because the additional selections create 120 possible combinations:

Superfecta Horse Racing Bet FAQ