Melbourne Cup 2021: A guide to exotics - trifectas, first fours and more!

It’s exciting times with the Melbourne Cup bringing out once-a-year punters.

Most of us like to have a wager on the race that stops a nation and naturally we liked to find value in such a race.

When it comes to hearing about big pay days from small outlays – it is generally the exotics, such as a trifecta – that are at the centre of the epic stories. This is the great thing about them – even a small bet amount can reap great reward. Whether it is The Cup or any other race, it is a style of betting that any level of punter looking for some fun and value can play. Below examines the key types of single race exotics that can be used, and how to place these – with a particular focus on trifectas.

Types of exotics

Quinella: this is selecting horses to finish first and second, in any order

Exacta: this is selecting horses to finish first and second, in the correct order

First four: As the name suggests, this is selecting the first four horses to finish. They are hard to get, but payouts can be sizeable. Last year’s Melbourne Cup
first four dividend was $64,418.50 (NSW tote).

Trifecta: this is selecting horses to finish first, second and third. Of course, if you do not get all three positions right – then the bet loses. This is challenging, but achievable and can incur significant payouts for lucky (or savvy) punters that pick correctly. They are arguably the best balance of risk and reward of all the single-race exotic bet types. The rest of this article will focus on these – as all principles are adaptable to the other forms anyway.

Selecting your Trifecta

You can categorise trifectas into three different types; straight, boxed and flexi.

1. A straight trifecta is selecting a single horse for first, another horse for second and another horse to finish third. This is the most difficult way of picking a trifecta, but will result in your highest percentage/payout(percentages discussed below).

2. A boxed trifecta is simply choosing any number of horses that you like, and they can finish first, second and third in any order. For example, you may box five horses – numbers 1,4,5,7,9. As long as any three of these horses fill the top three spots, you win.

3. A flexi trifecta gives freedom to have different runners in each position. For example, you might have numbers 3,4,5 to come first – 3,4,5,7 to come second – and 3,4,5,7,9,10 to come third. It is a way of managing your percentage so that you can still have plenty of selections. How many horses to include is always the weigh up – taking more runners gives you more chance of winning, but lowers your percentage. The payouts or dividends for exotics depend on which horses fill the positions. Generally speaking – the longer the price of the runners, the higher the dividends – so it can be good to include some roughies that you like. Last year’s Melbourne Cup trifecta paid over $2000, and while it can be less – many have been even more too. For example, in 2015 when Prince Of Penzance won at enormous odds, the trifecta paid around $26,000.

(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images for the VRC)

What is the percentage?

The percentage is the portion that you will collect from the total payout, if your ticket is successful. It is a calculation on the number of runners that you have chosen, as well as the amount of money that you bet. There is an algorithm to work this out, but fortunately we don’t have to burn brain cells calculating this –

PlayUp do it for you as you make your selections. You can play around with combinations in their app or online, and it will tell you the percentage as you go.
For example, if the trifecta ends up paying $4000 and your ticket is for 25per cent – you would therefore win $1000.

Placing your trifecta

Go into your PlayUp app. Navigate to the track and race you want to bet on. Then select ‘exotic’, then ‘trifecta’ (or whichever type you would like). It is here where you can select the numbers in each position that you want, and enter your bet amount to see the percentages that you will get. Once you are settled on your selections add it to the bet slip, confirm and get ready for some fun. Good luck!