Trifecta wagering involves selecting the top three finishers in the exact in a horse race, no easy task but one that can offer big rewards.

Selecting the top three finishers in exact order is not easy, and one of the most popular ways to play a Trifecta is to box horses.

A $1.00 Trifecta Box using three runners would cost $6.00 and the ticket would be a winner as long as all three runners completed the top three places at the finish line. A $1.00 Trifecta Box using four horses would cost $24.00, while boxing five runners in a race would $60.00.

A more cost effect way to play a Trifecta would be employing a Trifecta Key wager. In this wager you use one or more “key” horses. For instance, if you liked the #1 to win, you could play a $1.00 Trifecta Key of #1 over #2,#3,#4,#5 over #2,#3,#4,#5. This would be a $12 ticket. The #1 has to win the race and any of the other four contenders have  to finish second and third for the wager to be a winner.

It can often be easier to identify a winner than horses that are going to run second or third. Here are a couple of examples of ways to use a Trifecta Key:

#1,#2 with #1,#2,#3 with #1,#2,#3,#4,#5,#6 = $16
#1,#2 with #1,#2,#3,#4 with #1,#2,#3,#4,$5,#6 = $24
#1,#2,#3 with #1,#2,#3,#4 with #1,#2,#3,#4,#5,#6 = $36

Races with large fields can produce large payoffs. The $1 Trifecta in the 2012 Kentucky Derby returned $1,532.80. The race was won by I’ll Have Another (15-1) with Bodemeister (4-1) and Dullahan (12-1) running second and third.

In 2009, Mine That Bird pulled off the shocker in the Kentucky Derby at 50-1. The $1 Trifecta payoff was a hefty $20,750.30. Pioneerof the Nile was second at 6-1, while 19-1 longshot Musket Man checked in third.

Keeneland and Churchill Downs offer the lowest takeout on Trifecta wagering at 19%.