Playing superfectas – a different set of challenges
Posted on 11/14/2008 2:49:09 PM
By Pete Mitchell
Horse racing betting odds: playing superfectas
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WHO: Louisiana-bred Mare Tortuga Flats
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WHAT: The Mr. Sulu Stakes (Race 9)
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WHERE: Fair Grounds
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WHEN: Saturday, November 15
There are many ways to handicap horse races and just as many ways to bet on them. I’ve always had a preference for picking winners and betting on horses to win, whether it be a single race or a multi-race format such as Daily Doubles, Pick 3’s, Pick 4’s and occasionally Pick 6’s.
Up until now, I’ve never been particularly interested in trying to figure out who’s going to finish second, third or fourth. It’s somewhat problematic to figure out the horse racing betting odds on horses to finish in those positions. But that’s about to change.
I noticed a result at Churchill Downs on Wednesday, November 12 that sparked my interest. In the tenth race the favorite in a 12-horse field won, the second favorite ran second, and the third favorite ran third. The $2 Trifecta, as you would expect, paid a modest $89.40 – not particularly exciting horse racing betting odds.
Those three horses were clearly best, as it was another 4 ½ lengths to 4th-place finisher Sefas Vision, the longest shot in the field at 98-1. The $2 Superfecta returned a whopping $2,530.00!
A three-horse, $2 Trifecta Box with the top three finishers would have cost $12 (3 X 2 X 1 X $2 = $12), yielding a profit of 645 percent. By comparison, boxing the three favorites in the first three positions of the $2 Superfecta and using all the other horses in fourth slot would have cost $108 (3 X 2 X 1 X 9 X $2 = $108), yielding a profit of 2243 percent. Now those are horse racing betting odds you can get excited about! Clearly, the Superfecta was the way to go.
Let’s try to hit the Superfecta in the ninth race at Fair Grounds Saturday. We’ll key #3-Tortuga Flats in the first slot. She’s won 11-of-14 starts on grass. We’ll use #1-Desert Wheat, #2-Autobeacat, #5-Wildrally, #8-Willist, #12-Diggy Fresh and #14-Sprightly Star in the second, third and fourth slots, plus we’ll add #7-Brendyn Jo, #9-Grand Minit and #10-Stopka to the fourth slot. The $1 ticket will look like this: 3/1,2,5,8,12,14/1,2,5,8,12,14/1,2,5,7,8,9,10,12,14. The total comes to $210 (1 X 6 X 5 X 7 X $1 = $210).
Fair Grounds offers a 10-cent Superfecta so you could play this ticket for as little as $21.00! Good luck!
For more tips on horse racing betting odds, visit the Betting Edge every week.
Pete
Mitchell has been handicapping horses since his teenage years. He has been a
professional horse player for many years, and came to BetOnline.com’s attention
through multiple referrals from industry insiders/sportsbook owners. Pete
is revered for his horse handicapping opinion
and industry experts acknowledge his impressive career
winning record. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
