The Trifecta is an exotic bet and among horse racing’s most potentially lucrative wagers.
Bettors need to correctly predict the first three finishers in exact order. Trifectas are available for this year’s Preakness Stakes, which runs on Saturday at Laurel Park in Maryland.
What Did the Preakness Stakes Trifecta Pay Out Last Year?
Let’s use the finishing results from the 2025 Preakness to see how the Trifecta works.
Journalism (2), Gosger (9), and Sandman (7) finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. The $1 Trifecta on 2-9-7 paid out $73.50.
It was a relatively small payout as Journalism went off as the 8-5 favorite and Sandman was the second choice at 4-1. Obviously, it’s difficult to nail the first three finishers in precise order, but there are other ways to make Trifecta bets that improve your chances of winning.
Different Types of Trifecta Bets
We’ve shown you an example of a straight Trifecta bet above, but here are different variations on how to make Trifecta bets.
Trifecta Box
The Trifecta box bet allows you to wager on the first three finishers without needing the exact order of finish.
By “boxing” three horses, you’ll cover every possible winning combination. Thus, your $1 Trifecta box bet will cost $6. Like the #6, #7, and #9 to finish in the top 3? At the betting window, you’d say: “$1 Trifecta box on 6, 7, and 9.”
Here’s the amount, should you decide to include more horses:
- 4 horses (24 cominations): $24
- 5 horses (60 combinations): $60
- 6 horses (120 combinations): $120
Trifecta Key
Make this bet if you’re confident that a certain horse will win the race. Bet your “key” horse on top and other horses to finish second and third. For example, you believe the #5 horse will win, and the #7 and #9 will finish second and third.
You’d say: “$1 Trifecta Key #5 on top of 7 and 9.” Ticket cost equals $6.
The second-and third-place finishers can finish in either order. This saves you money because you don’t have to box all of the possible combinations.
Trifecta Wheel
Here, you can select one or two horses to finish in a specific position and combine them with every possible combination. Let’s say there are eight horses in the field, and you like the #1 to win. You’d say, $1 Trifecta 1-all-all.”
Your bet would cost $42 to cover every possible combination. Obviously, the size of your bet increases with more horses in the field.
Biggest Preakness Trifecta Payout
The biggest Trifecta payout in the modern era of the Preakness came in 2019 when War of Will won the race. The $1 Trifecta on 1-10-5 paid $4,699.80.
- 1st: #1 War of Will (6-1 odds)
- 2nd: #10 Everfast (29-1 odds)
- 3rd: #5 Owendale (8-1 odds)
This year’s Preakness is a wide-open affair and could produce another big payday for Trifecta bettors.
Also read: Exacta Bets | Superfecta Bets
