Straight Tricast Betting Term Meaning

A Straight Tricast refers to a single bet, commonly on horse racing or greyhound racing, in which you must pick the correct order of the first three finishers.

There are several options available to punters that like betting on racing; among them is the Straight Tricast wager. It is a very simple bet that only requires one betting unit (a single stake). 

From the race card, you must select three horses (or greyhounds); your first pick will be the horse you think will win (1st place), the second pick is the horse you think will be second (2nd place) and your third pick is the horse you think will be third (3rd place). 

There is no room for error. Your selections must finish in the exact order you picked them. An alternative is the Combination Tricast bet. This allows your selections to finish in any order; however, each permutation is a single bet so the stakes are higher with this method of betting.

It is not possible to calculate the odds and payout of a Straight Tricast wager in your head. The bookmaker uses its own formula based on a number of factors with the runner’s odds and their position in your Tricast being the most dominant. 

The size of the field is also taken into consideration as this will determine the total number of possible permutations in relation to the Tricast bet.

When betting online, the odds are calculated instantly within your bet slip, so you are aware of the payout before placing the wager. Below, we have listed some examples with all prices taken from the bet365 sportsbook.

Odds: 106.63 (105.63/1 fractions)

Odds: 204.21 (203.21/1 fractions)

Odds: 92.60 (91.60/1 fractions)

Predicting the first three past the post in the correct order is one of the most difficult bets to land. For instance, a race with only six runners has 120 Straight Tricast permutations. 

That said, the payouts can be generous enough to tempt you. The 15:05 at Fairview using those selections would return more than 200 to 1 and none of the runners are true outsiders either.

Similar to the Straight Forecast, which is the same bet but involving only two selections, placing a Tricast wager is useful if the race has a very strong favourite, and a clear second favourite is an advantage, too. This helps to narrow down the other places available to complete the Tricast.

You usually only find Tricast bets under the racing tab but it is possible to place this bet on other sports as well. Motor racing, such as Formula 1, MotoGP, Formula E, Athletics and tournaments which have a third-place play-off can each be formed into a Straight Tricast wager. You can also do it with football, rugby union and basketball leagues as well.

Each of these would be a special bet for which you would need to contact the bookmaker. This is now possible as quite a few operators accept personalised wagers if punters send a tweet via Twitter.