[dmtrader]

I've been betting a few trifectas here and there, and have experienced miserable results. When I do win (maybe 1 out of ten -- probably worse than that now that I think of it), it usually pays something awful like $17.50, not the hundreds or thousands of dollars that I imagined when I started betting.

Do you guys play exotics? Do you ever win some serious $? How and when do you place an exotic bet?

[PASS IT ON]

i dunno where ur from, but in Australia most ppl take trifectas in bigger races, because the more money in the pool gives better results, and u cant just back say the first few favourites, thats why u get bad dividends of $17.50, u hope to include a few roughies and hope they win or place,

i remember 1 year in the MELBOURNE CUP, my sister had $10 to spend, she had $1 on a trifecta and $9 on quinellas, picked up $1600, picked a fave and 2 roughies in the tri, and boxed them all in a quinella,

mate once again not sure where ur from or anything about u, but horses is VERY VERY hard to make money out of, ive worked with trainers and managed jockeys, if ur gonna have a big bet, make sure u ask the trainer, owners, and jockeys on how the horse will go, if u dont no any of them, probably save ur money, as those 3 connections 99% of the time no how the horse will run,

good luck with it

[TonyP]

That is the only way to make it is with exotics period

[madmaxx]

Trifectas are generally sucker bets. When I was a kid I would rarely play them and had much more success than I do now when I play them frequently. There are a few ways to look at trifectas. The first way is find a horse you really like to win...if this horse is 3-1 or lower, put that horse on top with 3-4 horses on the bottom. For instance you love the 1 horse: play 1/2,3,4/2,3,4,5,6 ... include some longshots for 3rd and the payout will be decent if one scores.

Another way is to hammer the shit out of it: Say Zenyatta is #1 2-5 (sure winner). Your dilemma now is figuring out who will run 2nd. Say you're pretty certain #2 is the second best horse and #4 is the 3rd best horse. Now you bet 1/2,4/2,4 about 50 times and collect a nice profit if it hits...this seems to work more often than you'd think in shorter fields.

The best way to play a tri is seek out a longshot, put it on top with a bunch of horses on the bottom and pray. This is where you see the $20,000 trifectas. Its a total crap shoot and is more luck than anything else but does happen.

You don't necessarily need a longshot to win for the trifecta to pay very good..if you get a 4-1 winner followed by some 10-1/20-1 horses it will pay very nice. Also, if the favorite runs out of the money...the trifecta always pays generously.

With that said, trifectas are sucker bets and you should avoid investing serious time in them because you won't hit them more than 5%. Play random combos from time to time and hope you hit something but exactas are hard enough...tris are a losing prop long-term.

[TonyP]

one way is to cover all the angles in races that will offer value. put 4 horses on top if you have to with the same 4 and add one if need be the over the same and in a super hit the all button for last.You can let your roll make money but you still have to capp the race and pass on more then you play but when you hit it is usually for box car payoffs.

[DogPlayer]

Bet on dogs... the tri's are much easier to hit (says captain obvious)


Seriously though Tri's on horse races are harder than shit to hit unless there are a ton of scratches... the odds are 1 in 1320 for a straight Tri in a 12 horse race... No Thanks

[thezzzone]

Great advice on the Zenyatta example Madmaxx, in my opinion it is the

[thezzzone]

the only way to get any "value" in a race like that especially if you are sure she will win...you can't bet the 2/5 (well some people do) but I do what u do...take her ontop as a key..and pound the chit out of her in an exacta...sometimes I will add a lngshot for 3rd but what I really want (and expect) to hit is the exacta. If i'm a normal $50/win player..i bet 50-100 buck exactas and will be happy to get my 25 X 7-15 dollars

[INVEGA MAN]

The reason tris are hard is because any horse in the field can come in 3rd. you always have to hit the ALL button for 3rd. This is where you can get a nice payout. The good horses give it all coming down the stretch but when they know they cant win, they pull them up. this is why u can get a 30-1 or 40-1 in 3rd. I see this all the time.

[madmaxx]

thezzzone, we're alike there.

I especially like doing this at the NY tracks in short fields/big races where the horses seem to run more true to form. Can get an 8/5 and 2-1 that you KNOW will run 1-2..just gotta figure out the order.

[Art Vandeleigh]

I like looking for vulnerable favorites, especially overpriced ones from the inside posts where they are often overbet.

Then I single the favorite to come in 3rd place on the trifecta ticket, and use your best handicapping for the horses in the top 2 spots, but for Christ's sake, don't wheel, DON'T EVER WHEEL. If you can't be selective you can't possibly be competitive in this game in the long haul.

The reasoning behind fav. in 3rd spot only, is that most people at the track only have a few bucks to play tri's and can't go too deep, so they play the favorite in the 1st or 2nd spot. The overlays are huge when the favorite comed in 3rd and you can see this by checking out the ratio of exacta payoff to trifecta payoff when th fav runs 3rd and compare it to the ratio of exacta/trifecta payoff when the fav runs 1st or 2nd.

The only time I would ever play an exacta, which is the #1 ripoff bet at the track, is when I like a longshot, but there's a heavy favorite in the race. So instead of playing the long shot WP, I'll play it w and then single the heavy favorite/longshot I like combo, kind of like a place ticket which will pay much more than place. Otherwise, the fastest way to watch your bankroll get depleted is playing nothing but exactas IMO.

[floridagolfer]

There's no better day of the year to play exotics than Breeders' Cup day, which is coming up in a few weeks. There are so many good horses and there's just not enough money to hammer all of them down to their more appropriate odds.

[thezzzone]

You're right about that golfplayer,,,but i consistenly get pounded Breeders day..which is my favourite racing day of the year anyway I might add.

[shantystar]

trifectas only make rich bookies.