Superfecta Betting
The following is a discussion of Superfectas betting. Successful superfecta bettors can win substantial amounts of money, but the likelihood of making a successful straight superfecta bet is remote. More often, bettors choose Superfecta Box bets or Superfecta Wheel bets.
SUPERFECTA BET
To make a superfecta bet, select the horse that you think will place first; followed by the horse that will place second; followed by the horse that will place third; and finally the horse that will place fourth. You will win your superfecta bet if and only if the horses finish in the exact order you specified in your bet.
Example: $1 Straight Superfecta Bet
Most superfecta bets cost $1 or multiples of $1. If you’re betting a superfecta for the first time, bet the lowest amount possible – usually $1 – until you’re more comfortable making superfecta wagers.
Example Bet: $1 Straight Superfecta on Horses 2-13-9-4 means you are betting $1 that horses 2, 13, 9, and 4 will finish first, second, third, and fourth in consecutive order, respectively.
Superfecta Betting Variant #1: Superfecta Box Betting
Unlike a straight Superfecta Bet, Superfecta Box betting involves picking the top four horses that will finish the race in ANY order. Superfecta Box betting improves your chances of being successful because the order in which the horses finish is unimportant.
$1 Superfecta Box bets cost more than a Straight Superfecta Bet, usually $24 in total per bet. The extra money paid for a Superfecta Box bet is for purchasing all the various combinations in which your four horses can finish. Mathematically speaking, the are 24 possible finishing combinations of 4 horses. Therefore, your Superfecta Box bet will cost $1 per combination, for a total of $24. The $24 amount is usually the minimum wager required to make a Superfecta Box Bet.
Example: $1 Superfecta Box Bet
Sample for how to make a straight Superfecta Box Bet from a horse racebook.
1. First, make sure you select the "Superfecta" betting option from your horse racebook’s wagering menu.
2. Note the horses listed in the race, usually on the left hand side of the screen. The column to the right lists the odds – the "ML" column in the above diagram.
3. Make your picks for the horses that will place first,
second, third, and fourth in any order. In this diagram, you must click the blue "Box" option to make a Superifecta Box Bet.
Example: A $1 Superfecta Box on horses 11-9-13-1 means that there are 24 different possible winning combinations.
The total wager costs $24. The bet wins if horses 11, 9, 13 or 1 finish in the top 4 in ANY order.
Superfecta Box Combinations on horses 11, 9, 13 or 1 at $1 each:
Finishing 11-9-13-1 = $1
Finishing 11-9-1-13 = $1
Finishing 11-1-9-13 = $1
Finishing 11-1-13-9 = $1
Finishing 11-13-9-1 = $1
Finishing 11-13-1-9 = $1
Finishing 1-9-13-11 = $1
Finishing 1-9-11-13 = $1
Finishing 1-11-9-13 = $1
Finishing 1-11-13-9 = $1
Finishing 1-13-9-11 = $1
Finishing 1-13-11-9 = $1
Finishing 9-1-13-11 = $1
Finishing 9-1-11-13 = $1
Finishing 9-11-1-13 = $1
Finishing 9-11-13-1 = $1
Finishing 9-13-1-11 = $1
Finishing 9-13-11-1 = $1
Finishing 13-1-9-11 = $1
Finishing 13-1-11-9 = $1
Finishing 13-11-1-9 = $1
Finishing 13-11-9-1 = $1
Finishing 13-9-1-11 = $1
Finishing 13-9-11-1 = $1
Total Wager = $24
Superfecta Betting Variant #2: Superfecta Wheel Betting
The Superfecta Wheel bet involves keying in a horse OR horses into the race’s eventual first, second, third, and fourth place positions. Superfecta Wheel betting is much less risky than a straight superfecta bet because you are allowed to select more than 4 horses to finish in the top four positions in the exact order you specify. Wheel betting requires a specific order of multiple horses, whereas box betting requires any order of any 4 horses.
The Superfecta "Key" Concept
Understanding "keying" horses into your Superfecta Wheel is crucial to making a successful bet.
First, start with the first place position. Select a horse or set of horses that can place first in your wager. For example, if horses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are in a horse race, you could choose any one of the six to place first OR some combination of the six to place first.
Example 1st Horse Key is: Horses 1, 5 & 6
This means when the race has finished, if horse 1 OR horse 5 OR horse 6 places first, your first place superfecta wheel key will be successful.
Second, pick your horse or horses that will place second, third, and fourth using the same procedure as the first key. You can pick any of the horses to fill your second, third, and fourth keys.
Example 2nd Horse Key is: Horses 2, 3
This means when the race has finished, if horse 2 OR horse 3 places second, your second place superfecta wheel key will be successful.
Example 3rd Horse Key is: Horses 2, 3, & 4
This means when the race has finished, if horse 2 OR horse 3 OR horse 3 places third, your third place superfecta wheel key will be successful.
Example 4th Horse Key is: Horses 4, 2
This means when the race has finished, if horse 4 OR horse 2 places fourth, your fourth place superfecta wheel key will be successful.
Example Winning Combination with our Keys: 6, 3, 2, 4
Given the keys we created above, a race result of horse 6 placing first, horse 3 placing second, horse 2 placing third, and horse 4 placing fourth, the bet would win.
Example Losing Combination with our Keys: 3, 6, 5, 2
Given the keys we created above, a race result of horse 3 placing first, horse 6 placing second, horse 5 placing third, and horse 2 placing fourth, the bet would lose, because we did not include these horses in the correct order in our first, second, third, or fourth keys. Note, the bet still loses even though our third and fourth keys were correct because the first and second keys were incorrect.
Superfecta Wheel Bets Cost $1 Per Possible Finishing Combination
Consider the following example, where we’ve keyed select horses into the first, second, third, and fourth place positions; and how much the total bet would cost considering all of the possible finishing combinations.
Example 1: You believe horse 3 will win the race, and that horse is your first key. Next, you believe one of horses 2-7-6 will finish second, and that set is your second key. Then, you believe one of horses 2-7-6 will fiinish third, and that set is your third key. Finally, you believe one of horses 2-7-6 will finish fourth, and that is your fourth key.
Thus, this bet wins if horse 3 places first, follwed by any horse of 2-7-6 in second place, followed by any horse of 2-7-6 in third place, followed by any horse of 2-7-6 in fourth place. This bet would cost $6.
Superfecta Example #1 Wheel Combinations on horse 3 to win; then 2 or 7 or 6 for second place, then 2 or 7 or 6 for third place, then 2 or 7 or 6 for fourth place at $1 each:
Finishing 3-2-7-6 = $1
Finishing 3-2-6-7 = $1
Finishing 3-7-2-6 = $1
Finishing 3-7-6-2 = $1
Finishing 3-6-7-2 = $1
Finishing 3-6-2-7 = $1
Total Wager = $6
Horse 3 must win the race and any of your second, third, and fourth keys must be correct to win this wager.
Superfecta Betting General Reference Tables
Superfecta Box
4 horse $1 superfecta box = $24
5 horse $1 superfecta box = $120
6 horse $1 superfecta box = $360
7 horse $1 superfecta box = $840
8 horse $1 superfecta box = $1680
9 horse $1 superfecta box = $3024
10 horse $1 superfecta box = $5040
11 horse $1 superfecta box = $7920
12 horse $1 superfecta box = $11880
Superfecta Wheel, with one horse keying to win, and three other horses in any order:
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 3 horses= $6
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 4 horses = $24
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 5 horses = $60
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 6 horses = $120
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 7 horses = $201
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 8 horses = $336
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 9 horses = $504
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 10 horses = $720
$1 superfecta wheel 1 horse key followed by any 11 horses = $990