Trifecta Strategies for Successful Horse Racing Handicapping

The trifecta is an exciting wager and a difficult one to make a profit from. First of all, many racing venues take out more from the trifecta pool than almost any other pool. While those who bet win may pay an 18% levy for that privilege, trifecta players often pay 25% or even more. So, in my opinion, if a serious horse player is going to make trifecta wagers, he or she should have a very good reason.

One of the many angles I tried over the years in order to hit more trifectas and make a profit is to find races where three horses have a distinct advantage. Every once in a while you'll handicap a race and find that there are three horses that stand far above the others because of superior class and speed.

My strategy was simple. Find races with three standout horses and box them in the trifecta. A $1 box with three horses costs $6. I did hit quite a few trifectas, but not as many as you might think. When I did cash a ticket on that trifecta I stood in a long line because many of the other "geniuses'" just like me had realized those three horses laid over the field and therefore were likely to be the trifecta.

I didn't hit enough tris to make a profit and I hit fewer than I thought I would, however, because the horse that managed to show and complete the trifecta was often one of the other horses in the race. A simple truth of horse racing handicapping is that while the fastest horse often wins the race, the second fastest horse isn't always second and the third fastest isn't always third.

Anyone who has played trifectas long enough knows the frustration of watching some other horse, one that seemed to have little chance of winning, manage to hit the board, so to speak, and ruin the trifecta. Many times when you bet the trifecta with three horses your horses will run first, second, and fourth.

After years of playing the horses I've come to some conclusions. First of all, I rarely play trifectas unless the takeout is low enough and I feel that I have a good key horse to play to win. Secondly, along with that key horse I also like to see a few horses at long odds that have at least one thing going for them to make one of them likely to be that other horse that gets into the trifecta.

I then key my top horse over a few of the likely contenders along with a few of the unlikely contenders who have a reason to spoil the trifecta. It can be costly but if those horses do manage to nose their way into the trifecta, the payoff can be generous, even with a likely horse on top.

If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to  Midas Method and get the truth about betting on horses and winning. Bill Peterson is a former race horse owner and professional handicapper.