Horse Racing Bet Cost Calculator
A $1 trifecta box with four horses costs $24, because four horses can finish first, second and third in 24 different orders and the ticket buys every one of them. Every exotic ticket is priced the same way: count the combinations, multiply by the base bet. This calculator does the counting for a box, a key, a part wheel and the multi-race bets, and shows the arithmetic.
Price a ticket
Choose the bet and how the ticket is built, then tap the horses' program numbers. The cost is the number of combinations times the base bet.
- Combinations
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If you have a posted payout
Exotic payouts come out of the pool, so no one can say what one pays before the race is official. Type a figure from the tote's will-pays or a past chart to see what this ticket would return at your base bet.
How is the cost of an exotic bet worked out?
An exotic bet asks for more than one horse in one ticket: the first two in order (an exacta), the first three (a trifecta), the first four (a superfecta), the first five (a Super High-5), or the winners of two or more races in a row (a daily double, pick 3, pick 4, pick 5 or pick 6). A ticket that covers more than one possible result is really several bets at once, one for each combination. The cost is the number of combinations times the base bet, the amount riding on each combination.
A straight ticket names one exact order, so it is one combination. A box plays every order of the horses picked. For a trifecta box of n horses, any of the n can win, any of the other n minus 1 can run second, and any of the n minus 2 left can run third, so the count is n × (n − 1) × (n − 2). Four horses make 4 × 3 × 2 = 24 combinations, and at $1 each that is $24.
A key fixes one horse in a position and boxes the rest under it. With the key on top and k other horses, a trifecta is k × (k − 1): one horse keyed over four others is 4 × 3 = 12 combinations. Keying the horse anywhere in the top three costs three times as much, once for each place it can take.
A part wheel gives each position its own list of horses: say 1 and 2 to win, 1, 2, 3 and 4 to run second, and 1 to 6 to run third. Multiplying the rows gives 2 × 4 × 6 = 48, but a horse cannot finish twice, so the orders that would use one horse in two places are not bought. That leaves 24 combinations here, which is why the calculator counts a wheel rather than multiplying it.
The multi-race bets are the simplest: the product of the horses picked in each leg. A pick 4 with 2, 3, 1 and 4 horses in its legs is 2 × 3 × 1 × 4 = 24 combinations, $12 at a 50 cent base.
What does a box cost?
| Horses boxed | Exacta | Trifecta | Superfecta | Super High-5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 12 | 24 | 24 | |
| 5 | 20 | 60 | 120 | 120 |
| 6 | 30 | 120 | 360 | 720 |
| 7 | 42 | 210 | 840 | 2,520 |
The figures are combinations; multiply by the base bet for the cost. A superfecta box of six is 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 = 360 combinations, and at the 10 cent minimum that is $36. The same box at $1 would be $360, which is why the dime superfecta exists.
What are the minimum bets?
Each track sets its own. For its September and Fall Meets of 2026, Churchill Downs lists $2 for win, place and show; $2 for an exacta, or $1 for exacta boxes and wheels; $1 for the daily double and the Super High-5; 50 cents for the trifecta, pick 3, pick 4 and pick 5; 10 cents for the superfecta; and 20 cents for its jackpot pick 6, the Derby City-6. The calculator starts each bet at those figures and says so when the base typed is under them. Derby Day can differ, so check the track's own wagering page before betting a big day.
Does a bigger box make a winning ticket much more likely?
Less than the price suggests. The cost of a box grows with every horse added, because each new horse creates a new set of orders, while the ticket still needs the right horses in the top three. In a 20-horse field like the Kentucky Derby's there are 20 × 19 × 18 = 6,840 possible trifecta orders. A box of four covers 24 of them; a box of six, at five times the price, covers 120. Some orders are far likelier than others, which is what handicapping is about, but no box turns a long shot into a likely result.
The other number to know is the takeout. Churchill Downs takes out 22% of the money bet into its exacta, trifecta and superfecta pools before anything is paid back (17.5% on win, place and show), so across every ticket in a pool the bettors as a group get back about 78 cents of each dollar, less breakage. A payout depends on how much is in the pool and how many tickets share it, which is why the calculator prices a ticket but never guesses what one pays. The odds and payout calculator shows how a pool is divided.
How do you call the ticket at the window?
The line under the cost is the ticket written the way a teller or a betting app reads it: the base, the bet, how it is built and the program numbers, such as "$1 trifecta box 2-5-7-9". At a window, give the track and race number first. Exotic wagering for beginners covers what each exotic asks for, the bet types explained sets every bet side by side, the multi-race bets covers the daily double to pick 6, and Kentucky Derby betting for beginners puts it together for the first Saturday in May.
Sources: Churchill Downs, event information (minimums and takeout, September and Fall Meets 2026). The arithmetic is exact; the minimums are one track's. Betting is for adults where it is legal in your state; age limits and online wagering are set state by state (where online betting is legal). If gambling stops being fun, call or text 1-800-MY-RESET.