How the Tote Trifecta works and a guide to betting on it

What is a Trifecta?

• The premise of a Tote Trifecta is to back the three horses who finish first, second and third in the race of your choice.
• When placing a Tote Trifecta bet, there are three ways to bet.
• Big dividend payouts are commonplace when you back the first three horses home in any race.

Winning a Tote Trifecta bet

Straight Trifecta

This is the most simple way, and the one that will generally see you return more on your initial stake. For this bet to win, you pick three horses to come first, second and third in that order. If you they do, you win a share of the money in the Tote Trifecta pool.

Combination Trifecta

Think you know which trio of runners will come home ahead of the pack, but are unsure of the exact order they'll finish? A combination trifecta is the bet for you in this case. With this bet you will include the six possible order permutations with your selections finishing in the first three.

You need to remember that by placing a Tote Trifecta of this kind, you are essentially having multiple bets, so your line stake will be multiplied by the number of permutations you are backing.

A Combination Trifecta doesn't have to be restricted to three selections either. Select as many horses as you like to make up your bet. Once again, because you are multiplying your potential winning lines, you are also multiplying your stake.

For example, choosing four horses in your Combination Trifecta would mean your bet would include 24 bets.

'Banker' Trifecta

Think you've found the winner of the race, but can't decide on which horses will follow it home? Then a 'Banker' style Trifecta may be the bet for you.

With this type of Trifecta bet, you lock in the horse to finish first, but cover the permutations of any other number of horses to finish second by selecting 'Any Order' for the other two horses.

In effect this type of bet sits somewhere in between both the risk stakes, and bet costs, of a Straight Trifecta and Combination Trifecta.

Non-Runners in Tote Trifecta bets

The repercussions of a non-runner in a Tote Trifecta bet that you have placed depends on the number of horses you have included.

For Straight Trifecta, a non-runner would deem your whole bet void.

If you have multiple lines and combinations in your bet, only those lines involving that horse would be voided, and your stake returned, the remaining bets will stand.

Click here for full Tote Trifecta rules, terms & info