| Dime supers are now offered at many tracks across | | | | the bettor $6.00. |
| the country and the bet seems to be a big hit. When | | | | To figure how much a wheel will cost, just multiply the |
| playing the superfecta, the bettor tries to pick the first | | | | number of horses in each leg or segment of the bet |
| four horses to finish. It is like a trifecta where the bettor | | | | times each of the others. For instance, here is how to |
| picks the first three finishers, a bet that has been | | | | figure what a 10 cent super bet with one horse on top, |
| popular for years, but the bettor must pick one more | | | | over three horses, over four horses, over five horses |
| horse. Anyone who has done some horse racing | | | | would cost... |
| handicapping betting for a while knows that this can be | | | | A/BCD/BCDE/BCDEF |
| a difficult task, but not impossible. | | | | (1) (3) (4) (5) |
| When superfectas were first offered, most tracks | | | | Believe it or not, there are actually only 27 possible |
| only offered a $1 or $2 base bet. So boxing four | | | | combinations in the partial wheel bet shown above so |
| horses in a superfecta box for a $1 bet would cost | | | | 27x.10 |
| $24 because there were 24 possible combinations. | | | | $ 2.70 |
| Key bets and wheels could be much more expensive | | | | Therefore, the (partial wheel) bet shown above would |
| as handicappers tried to get more horses into the | | | | cost $2.70 and would include a total of 6 horses |
| equation. The original superfecta bets attracted bettors | | | | spread over the four positions of a super bet. |
| who typically played for more money and bigger bets, | | | | If you can pick that one horse that will win and find |
| but who were willing to risk that much to have a | | | | some good horses to place in each of the other |
| chance to win a large superfecta. When only $1 or $2 | | | | positions, for $2.70 you may hit the dime super. If your |
| bets were available in the superfecta pools, the | | | | key horse that you played on top goes off at low |
| payoffs were often quite large, but now that many | | | | odds, the same amount wagered to win might not pay |
| people can play many combinations for a tenth of the | | | | much, but if a few longshots get into the top four |
| original costs, the payoffs have dropped accordingly. | | | | spots, you could hit a nice ten cent superfecta. |
| Realizing that they have to please the crowd and | | | | The secret to betting on horse racing for profit is to |
| small bettors without alienating the large bettors | | | | get the best value for your money. Good horseplayers |
| (whales), most race tracks have kept a few $1 | | | | look for value in all the pools, especially when one |
| minimum superfectas. Though this is only anecdotal, it | | | | horse is almost certain to win because of its superior |
| seems that those superfectas do have larger payoffs | | | | ability. While a win bet on such a runner may not pay |
| even after making the adjustment for the difference in | | | | well, the same money placed in another pool may bring |
| minimum bet amounts. People who prefer to play the | | | | a good payoff. The beauty of the dime super is that |
| supers for larger amounts and expect a big payoff | | | | you can get a lot of horses, including some longshots, |
| when they succeed can still find action in those | | | | into your betting combinations. |
| superfecta races. | | | | While good horses that lay over the field are the most |
| The "dime supers," as they are called, can be a lot of | | | | consistent, they rarely pay well so it is important to get |
| fun to play and still offer a chance for a good payoff | | | | some longshots into your bet. The next part of that |
| for a winning ticket. For just $2.40 a horse player can | | | | scenario, of course, is to get those longshots to run |
| box four horses and have a chance to win. A | | | | well enough to fill out your dime super bet. You'll have |
| horseplayer with a little more to spend can try wheels | | | | to depend upon racing luck for that. |
| and other bet combinations. A five horse box will cost | | | | |