Racing & Pari-Mutuel

Superfecta payout

A superfecta payout is the sum returned to a winning ticket when a bettor names the first four horses to cross the line in the precise order they finish.

How it's calculated: The payout equals the pool after commission divided among winning tickets: W_R = W_T(1-r) per dollar wagered.²
Example payout: A $1 superfecta paid $303.40 at the 2025 Preakness Stakes, though amounts vary by race.³
Bet requirement: The bettor must pick the first four finishers in exact order to win.¹²
Comparison to other bets: Superfecta payouts are generally higher than exacta or trifecta payouts because the bet is harder to hit.¹

Key points

A superfecta payout is not fixed in advance; it depends on the total pool and the number of winning tickets.²
The operator deducts a takeout from the pool before dividing the remainder among winners.²⁴
Superfecta payouts are common in US and Canadian horse racing and other parimutuel pools.¹²

How a superfecta payout works in practice

At the 2025 Preakness Stakes, a $1 superfecta ticket returned $303.40.³ That figure came from the race's superfecta pool after the track's takeout was removed, then divided equally among all tickets that correctly picked the top four finishers in exact order. Had more bettors hit the superfecta, each winning ticket would have received less.

Where this term is used

Not the same as

Superfecta — the bet type itself, not the payout
Superfecta odds — the estimated probability of a superfecta winning, not the actual return

Racing Superfecta Explains the superfecta wager and how to place it. Racing Superfecta wheel A betting strategy that covers multiple combinations for the top four finishers. Racing Superfecta odds How the chances of a superfecta winning are estimated before a race. Racing Quinella payout The return for picking two horses to finish first and second in any order. Racing Trifecta payout chart Shows typical payouts for picking the top three finishers in exact order. Racing Pari-mutuel payouts How all parimutuel betting pools calculate returns after takeout.

Sources

Superfecta en.wikipedia.org Defines superfecta and explains the bet requirement and typical payout size.
Parimutuel betting en.wikipedia.org Provides the parimutuel payout formula and the concept of takeout.
2025 Preakness Stakes en.wikipedia.org Gives a concrete example payout from the 2025 Preakness Stakes.
Tote betting - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Clarifies that superfecta dividends are a tote betting term.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.