A Superfecta is one of the hardest commonly offered single-race wagers: you pick the first four finishers in exact order. Because so few tickets hold the winning sequence, dividends can be enormous — the 2022 Kentucky Derby paid $321,500.10 on a $1 ticket when 80-1 Rich Strike shocked the field.
Covering multiple horses gets expensive fast at a $1 stake, which is why the 10-cent minimum offered on many race cards matters: it divides the price of every construction by ten. Use the free calculator below to price a straight, box, key or part-wheel ticket at any stake, then scale a displayed payoff to your unit on the Payout tab.
n × (n−1) × (n−2) × (n−3) × stake. See the full chart below.Superfecta Calculator
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What Is a Superfecta?
This is a pari-mutuel wager on the exact 1st-2nd-3rd-4th finishing order of a race. A straight ticket names one exact sequence and costs a single unit stake; every other construction — box, key wheel, key box, part wheel — is a bundle of straight combinations bought on one ticket, so the price is always the number of combinations multiplied by your unit stake. The 10-cent minimum, which became available in the mid-2000s and is now offered on many North American cards, made large tickets affordable: a 6-horse box costs $36 instead of $360.
Superfecta Ticket Cost Formulas
Total cost = Valid combinations × Unit stake
Each construction generates a different combination count:
| Construction | Combinations | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | 1 | One exact order = 1 × stake |
| Box (n horses) | n × (n−1) × (n−2) × (n−3) | 5 horses = 120 |
| Key Wheel (banker + m others) | m × (m−1) × (m−2) | Over 4 others = 24 |
| Key Box (banker + m others) | 4 × m × (m−1) × (m−2) | With 4 others = 96 |
| Two-Key Wheel (2 bankers + m others) | m × (m−1) | With 4 others = 12 |
| Part Wheel | Count of valid orders | Depends on your legs |
10-Cent Box Cost Chart: 4 to 10 Horses
When you “box” horses, they can fill the top four spots in any order. The step-by-step logic for 5 horses: 5 can finish 1st, 4 remain for 2nd, 3 for 3rd, 2 for 4th — 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 = 120 combinations. Each added horse multiplies the count, so costs climb steeply:
| # Horses | Combinations | $0.10 Cost | $0.50 Cost | $1.00 Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 24 | $2.40 | $12.00 | $24.00 |
| 5 | 120 | $12.00 | $60.00 | $120.00 |
| 6 | 360 | $36.00 | $180.00 | $360.00 |
| 7 | 840 | $84.00 | $420.00 | $840.00 |
| 8 | 1,680 | $168.00 | $840.00 | $1,680.00 |
| 9 | 3,024 | $302.40 | $1,512.00 | $3,024.00 |
| 10 | 5,040 | $504.00 | $2,520.00 | $5,040.00 |
Straight, Box, Key Wheel and Key Box
Straight Bet
One horse per position, in that exact sequence.
#4 → #7 → #1 → #5 → 1 combination = $0.10 at a dime stake
Any other order loses — no flexibility, minimum cost.
Box Bet
Pick a group; any four of them filling the top four spots in any order wins.
Box #1, #3, #4, #7, #8 → 120 combinations = $12.00 at $0.10
Key Wheel
Lock one banker into a specific position — 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th — and let m other horses fill the remaining three spots. The count is m × (m−1) × (m−2), and the cost is identical whichever position you fix.
Key: #4 over #1, #3, #7, #8 → 4 × 3 × 2 = 24 combinations = $2.40 at $0.10
Compare: boxing all 5 of those horses costs $12 at a dime. Keying saves $9.60 — the price of dropping every combination where #4 misses 1st.
| Other Horses | Combinations | $0.10 Cost | Savings vs Boxing the Same Runners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6 | $0.60 | $1.80 |
| 4 | 24 | $2.40 | $9.60 |
| 5 | 60 | $6.00 | $30.00 |
| 6 | 120 | $12.00 | $72.00 |
| 7 | 210 | $21.00 | $147.00 |
| 8 | 336 | $33.60 | $268.80 |
Key Box
The looser variant: the banker only has to finish anywhere in the top four, which multiplies the count by 4 to 4 × m × (m−1) × (m−2).
Key box: #4 with #1, #3, #7, #8 → 4 × 24 = 96 combinations = $9.60 at $0.10
Two-Key Wheels
When you are confident about two horses in two specific positions — classically 1st and 2nd — fix both as bankers and let m other horses fill the two remaining spots: m × (m−1) combinations.
Keys: #4 in 1st, #7 in 2nd, with #1, #3, #5, #8 → 4 × 3 = 12 combinations = $1.20 at $0.10
The positions can be any pair — 1st & 2nd, 1st & 4th, 2nd & 3rd — and the cost is the same for every pairing. Use the 2 Keys construction in the calculator above; it needs only two other horses as a minimum.
Part Wheel: Calculator and Exact Examples
The part wheel gives you full control over which horses appear in which position — the natural construction when your confidence differs by finishing spot, because it lets you invest most heavily in the outcomes you rate most likely. Use the Part Wheel tab in the calculator: pick horse numbers for each position and it prices the ticket by counting every valid order of four different horses, exactly the way the tote terminal does.
Example 1: Two Bankers on Top
1st: #4 | 2nd: #7 | 3rd: #1, #3, #5, #8 | 4th: #1, #3, #5, #8
The 3rd and 4th legs share the same four horses: after one takes 3rd, three remain for 4th. 1 × 1 × 4 × 3 = 12 combinations, $1.20 at $0.10.
Example 2: Key with Spread
1st: #4 | 2nd: #1, #3, #7, #8 | 3rd: #1, #3, #7, #8 | 4th: #1, #3, #5, #7, #8, #9
The 4th leg lists six horses, but in every combination two of them already occupy 2nd and 3rd, leaving four. 1 × 4 × 3 × 4 = 48 combinations, $4.80 at $0.10.
Example 3: Wide Coverage with Backup
1st: #8 | 2nd: #3, #14 | 3rd: #3, #7, #9, #14, #20 | 4th: #3, #7, #9, #14, #18, #20
Naive multiplication says 1 × 2 × 4 × 5 = 40 — and over-counts. The 4th leg contains both the horse that took 2nd and the horse that took 3rd, so six choices shrink by two, not one: 1 × 2 × 4 × 4 = 32 combinations, $3.20 at $0.10.
How the ALL Selection Is Priced
The 4th spot is the hardest to predict — a closer that just missed the board, a fader, an over-performing longshot — so a popular structure covers the entire field in the 4th leg with the ALL button. Two things to know about its price. First, it grows linearly with field size, unlike boxing, which grows multiplicatively. Second, ALL does not simply multiply by the field size: in each combination, three horses already occupy the first three spots. Example in a 12-horse field:
1st: #4 | 2nd: #1, #7, #8 | 3rd: #1, #3, #7, #8 | 4th: ALL (12)
Naive multiplication gives 1 × 3 × 4 × 12 = 144, but the calculator counts 81 valid orders — $8.10 at $0.10 instead of a mispriced $14.40. Tap ALL on the 4th-position row of the Part Wheel tab and the enumeration handles every exclusion automatically.
How Superfecta Payouts Work
Payouts are pari-mutuel: every bet of this type goes into one pool, the track removes its takeout, which varies by jurisdiction and track, and the remaining pool is divided among the winning units. In simplified form, the payoff per base unit is:
Payoff per base unit = Net pool ÷ Winning units on the combination
Exact calculations follow the rules of the specific pool and track. Nobody can know the final dividend before wagering closes — the pool and the money on each order keep moving until post time. What you can do is read the probable payoffs and scale them to your stake.
How to Scale a Displayed Payoff
Probable and final payoffs are always quoted against a base amount — $1 in most official charts, sometimes $0.10, $0.50 or $2 — and the base is printed next to the number. Check it, then scale only if your unit stake differs:
Your return = Displayed payoff × Your unit stake ÷ Displayed base
Example: the 2023 Kentucky Derby superfecta paid $15,643.65 at a $1 base. Under the scaling formula, a $0.10 unit on that order works out to 15,643.65 × 0.10 ÷ 1 = $1,564.37 — a mathematical comparison, since the Derby Day minimum was $1 and a literal dime ticket was not available for that race; the same arithmetic applies on any card where the $0.10 base is actually offered. If a winning order like that sat on a part-wheel ticket that cost $4.80, the net profit would be $1,564.37 − $4.80 = $1,559.57 — the return scales from the unit stake of the one winning combination, never from the full ticket cost. The Payout tab runs this arithmetic for any base, including the dime.
Why Win Odds Cannot Predict a Superfecta Dividend
There is no formula that turns the win odds of four horses into a dividend. This wager has its own separate pool: the payoff depends on how much money sits on that exact four-horse order, not on the win-pool odds of the individual runners. Two races with identical win odds can produce wildly different dividends. The only real preview is the probable payoffs display for this pool, read shortly before post time — and the Payout tab scales those numbers to your stake.
Kentucky Derby Minimum: Why Dime Supers Are Not Available on Derby Day
On regular Churchill Downs cards the superfecta minimum is $0.10 — but the track has used a $1 minimum on Oaks and Derby days. That means the famous dividends below were paid on $1 tickets, and a literal dime ticket could not be purchased for those races. If you are budgeting for that card, plan around the $1 unit and check the current wager menu before the card, since minimums are set by the track for each race.
Verified Kentucky Derby Payout History
The Kentucky Derby regularly produces some of the largest dividends of the season for this wager. The $1-base payoffs for recent runnings, per the official race charts:
| Year | Top 4 Finish | $1 Payoff |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Golden Tempo, Renegade, Ocelli, Chief Wallabee | $94,489.95 |
| 2025 | Sovereignty, Journalism, Baeza, Final Gambit | $1,682.27 |
| 2024 | Mystik Dan, Sierra Leone, Forever Young, Catching Freedom | $8,254.07 |
| 2023 | Mage, Two Phil’s, Angel of Empire, Disarm | $15,643.65 |
| 2022 | Rich Strike, Epicenter, Zandon, Simplification | $321,500.10 |
| 2019 | Country House, Code of Honor, Tacitus, Improbable | $51,400.10 |
| 2005 | Giacomo, Closing Argument, Afleet Alex, Don’t Get Mad | $864,253.50 |
Payoffs per the official Equibase race charts, quoted at the $1 base used on Derby Day.
The 2005 running produced a $1 payoff of $864,253.50 when 50-1 Giacomo won; the 2022 running paid $321,500.10 behind 80-1 Rich Strike. To translate any of these to a different unit stake, use the scaling formula above or the Payout tab.
Minimum Stakes and Track Differences
Many North American cards offer this wager with a $0.10 minimum, while some tracks or individual races require $0.50 or $1 — Churchill Downs on Derby Day being the best-known example. The minimum varies by track, race and wagering platform, so check the wager menu of the card you are playing and use the Custom stake field in the calculator for anything non-standard, from $0.10 up to high-roller units. Licensed ADW platforms normally support straight, box, key and part-wheel tickets, although available constructions and minimums vary.
Scratches and Refunds
At many tracks, combinations containing a scratched horse are refunded. Example at $0.10: a 5-horse box is 120 combinations ($12); if one horse scratches, the 96 that included it are refunded ($9.60), leaving a 4-horse box ($2.40). Treatment can vary by jurisdiction and by the timing of the scratch — check the official track rules for the card you are playing.
Box vs Key vs Part Wheel: When to Use Each
Use a BOX when:
- You like 4–5 horses but cannot separate them
- You have no opinion on their finishing order
- The field is short and the group is tight
Use a KEY when:
- One horse stands out — wheel it in a position, or use the looser variant if you only trust top 4
- Two horses stand out — fix both with a two-key wheel
- You want wide coverage at a fraction of boxing cost
Use a PART WHEEL when:
- Your confidence differs by position (1 to win, 2–3 for the places, wide or ALL for 4th)
- The field is large and a full box is too expensive
- You want maximum control over the ticket structure
A box provides the widest coverage but costs the most; a key construction costs less but loses whenever the banker misses its assigned condition. Choose by how well you can rank your contenders, not by which ticket feels safer.
Related Horse Racing Calculators
- Horse Racing Betting Calculators — Full hub of racing tools
- Trifecta Calculator — Pick the top 3 finishers
- Exacta Calculator — Pick 1st and 2nd place
- Pool Bet Payout Calculator — Pick 4 / Pick 6 payout estimation
- Kelly Criterion Calculator — Optimal bet sizing
- Exotic Bets Explained — Complete guide to all wager types
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a 10-cent superfecta?
How much does a 10-cent superfecta box cost?
n × (n−1) × (n−2) × (n−3) × stake.How much does an 8-horse 10-cent superfecta box cost?
What is the difference between a key wheel and a key box?
m × (m−1) × (m−2) combinations, and the cost is the same whichever position you fix. A key box lets the banker finish anywhere in the top four, multiplying the count by 4. Banker with 4 others: wheel = 24 combinations ($2.40 at $0.10), key box = 96 ($9.60 at $0.10).What is a two-key wheel?
m × (m−1) combinations. Keys in 1st and 2nd with 4 other horses = 12 combinations, $1.20 at $0.10. The two positions can be any pair, and the cost is identical for every pairing.Does a $0.10 bet pay the full displayed dividend?
displayed payoff × your stake ÷ displayed base. A dime ticket on a $1-base payoff of $15,643.65 returns $1,564.37. Check the base printed next to the number before scaling.