What is Trixie Betting in Horse Racing?

Horse racing is arguably the most iconic betting sport in the world. The frequency of race cards means there is almost always an opportunity for a flutter. Whether you enjoy ‘The Sport of Kings’ on home soil or cast your eye over racing further afield, there is always some action available to you.

Racing also comes packed with jargon, industry terms and unfamiliar language. To a first-time punter, such word soup can be intimidating. The language of racing shares little in common with other sports, so if you’re someone who usually sticks to an over 2.5 goals on the weekend’s big game, you might be a little lost.

This is where Betfred Education can help. We aim to cut through the jargon and break down some of racing’s terminology to make your betting experience easier. Today we will look at Trixie betting.

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Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

A Trixie comprises three selections that are then placed across four bets. It is a type of ‘cover bet’, because if one selection fails you still have a guaranteed return. This contrasts with an accumulator, in which every selection needs to land for you to see a return.

The Trixie comprises three doubles and a single treble. Your total stake is four times your unit stake, as there are four bets being placed. 

For a more detailed breakdown, we shall refer to our selections as 1, 2 and 3. Here is how a Trixie bet is structured involving our selections. 

1 X Double on selections A and B. 

1 X Double on selections A and C. 

1 X Double on outcomes B and C. 

1 X Treble on all three outcomes A, B and C.

To clarify; if none or one of your selections land, you get nothing. If two land, then you get a return on one of your doubles. If all your selections land, your three doubles come in along with your treble, meaning a guaranteed profit.

There are two basic rules that govern Trixie bets. You cannot bet on multiple outcomes for the same event. For example, you cannot pick two horses in the same race. Secondly, you cannot bet across multiple sports. So you cannot pick a winner in a horse race and then Manchester City to beat Liverpool as part of your Trixie.

The Trixie beat is easily confused with the Patent bet, but there is a key difference. While a Patent also includes three selections from the punter, these are applied over seven bets rather than the four we find in a Trixie.